Sometimes I feel great about my financial skills. Other times, I am embarrassed. A while back I posted about how I stopped my whole life insurance policy. I don't really need all that insurance and it freed up an extra $90 a month in my budget. What is embarrassing to me is that I had that policy and never really understood that much about it. I was young and foolish when I signed up for it over a decade ago but that shouldn't still be an excuse. If I had understood it I would have expected what came in the mail.
What did I get in the mail? A check for the cash value of the policy when I ended it. It's just over $5000. In the post before this I was whining about going over budget and this money will not help me there. I do not put unexpected windfalls towards bills I racked up by shopping too much. Nope, this money is going straight to the bank to sit there until I decide what to do with it. Principal on my mortgage? Home improvement? Expanding my EF fund to five months of income instead of four? I don't know, yet.
Carl Sagan's foreboding (28 years ago)
13 hours ago
Good job on exercising restraint!
ReplyDeleteYep, that's the "builds cash value" the commercials always talk about. It's funny that you never even thought about it but the cash value is what sucks many people into buying those types of plans.
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