To say that “money isn’t everything” is more than a cliché. Studies in the early 1970s demonstrated that a sense of well-being, or happiness, had not increased commensurately with income over the previous half century.1

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Understanding family attitudes towards money may improve financial decisions and reduce financial stress.

A tight housing market is leading many young adults to postpone purchasing a home, choosing instead to go the rental route. Many simply don’t want to be encumbered with a mortgage and all of the responsibilities that go with home ownership.

Pat and Kelly, new parents, made a couple monthly budget adjustments upon the arrival of their first child. First, due to the added cost of day care and dependent health insurance, they decreased the amount they were saving for a house. And second, they agreed to review their life insurance needs.

Accumulating wealth turns out to be a double-edged sword for business owners. It certainly has its privileges, but it also comes with additional risk exposures. In a 2011 Zogby survey, 92 percent of people with a high new worth indicated concerns over the possibility of home invasions, muggings, kidnapping, and even random street crimes.

Generally speaking, conversations about life insurance revolve around whether you should buy term or permanent insurance. However, every decision to buy life insurance begins with deciding what is the right amount of life insurance. And, integral to determining the right amount of life insurance is understanding the role of your Social Security Survivorship Benefit (SSSB).

Buying life insurance usually starts with trying to determine how much and what type you should buy. You will probably need some help making those decisions, so following is some insight on how to choose an agent who can help you make a smart life insurance buying decision.

The Markets

It’s a good time for a gut check.

Last week, after sliding lower for four days, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index recouped some of its losses on Friday. The reasons behind the week’s poor showing were diverse. Barron’s reported:

The enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) represents “the most sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years.”1

There’s a good reason there’s an estimated 74 to 96 million owned cats and 70 to 80 million dogs in the U.S. With wagging tails, slobbery kisses, and little whiskers that make for adorable Instagrams, pets give us that warm, cuddly feeling inside. They are part of our families and some of our best friends.