Go Fund Me isn't life insurance

 Have you ever been scrolling on Facebook and come across a Go Fund Me for someone that has recently passed away?  The other day I did, and I do many times to be honest.  This person was young and his death was unexpected.  While I am sure this is the case for many crowd funding campaigns there are ways that you can make sure that you are not one of them…

Your death should be a time of celebrating your life, even when it is unexpected, not a time for your loved ones to crowdfund asking for donations toward the final expenses that you failed to properly plan toward. I know that this is to the point but it is a fairly simple topic to understand.

There are a few simple reasons to have life insurance:

1. Not having life insurance is selfish.  Life insurance is not that expensive if done right, and when you are healthy and young.  Many times people wait because they are young and don't need it or don't have a family yet, however what they fail to recognize is the older you get the more expensive it gets and if you do end up with a medical condition that could increase your premiums or leave you uninsurable that is when people want it.  By not getting life insurance you are making the the choice to have others pay for your expenses at the time of your death.  

2. It is unfair to those around you.  They are dealing with your loss.  They are having to grieve and figure out what life will be like without you.  Now on top of that they are having to fund your burial expenses, any debt you incurred, caring for any dependents you leave behind, the list actually goes on.  Think about your children, if you have them, you choose to just have your group life from work (usually $25,000), your wife is a stay at home mom, and you unexpectedly die.  Just take a moment to think about how life will be like for your family without any additional life insurance.  (This thought should make you cringe). Now think about it if you were properly insured. (This thought should make you feel comfortable that your family won't be under financial duress).

3.  It is not everyone else's burden to pay for your lack of adulting. If you want to get a Go Fund Me started, do one to raise money to pay for your premiums.  I would love to see someone do that to be honest, and see what people give you as donations. I saw one of the donations for the person that passed away was $500, do you know that for some that would cover a whole years worth of premium for a $50,000 policy!  

I know that this article is blunt but it is true and we are passionate about what we do.  Please don't leave it to crowd sourcing to pay for your funeral and the burden you possibly leave behind.  I mean what happens if crowd sourcing doesn't provide any monies at your death... 

By obtaining life insurance it empowers your to take control of what happens when you are gone from this earth, let the memory be one of happiness and don't tarnish that with the memory that you were a burden because you didn't have coverage when your family needed it the most.