What the experts say
Choosing life insurance; Keep your accounts safe; When greed is good
Choosing life insurance
Is it time to start thinking about life insurance? asked Jeff Reeves in USA Today. “If you’re young and single, not making all that much money, life insurance probably isn’t a pressing concern.” But it may be if you have a spouse, child, or parent who depends on your income. Term life insurance is the most affordable option, but it leaves you “with nothing after 20 years of premiums (other than your health, obviously).” Americans are increasingly buying whole and universal life insurance plans, which have higher premiums and function as hybrid insurance and investing plans, allowing policyholders to cash out early if they want the money. But the risks and rewards of these plans are hard to figure out, so the best choice for most people is to opt for term life and invest the premiums you save in a mutual fund. “The cost savings over the decades will add up big time.”
Keep your accounts safe
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Learn to keep your online identities safe, said Stephanie AuWerter in CNN.com. To guard your financial transactions, install an anti-virus program and update your software to fix security holes. It’s also a good idea to isolate your financial information from other personal data by using a single Web browser to conduct all of your online transactions and nothing else. That way, if your usual browser is compromised, your credit card numbers, logins, passwords, and banking information can stay safe. Many banks will also alert you by email or text message whenever there’s suspicious activity on your account. Make the effort to come up with strong passwords—and resist the urge to recycle the same password for different institutions.
When greed is good
Sometimes it’s all right to be a little greedy, said Farnoosh Torabi in Yahoo.com—especially when putting your own needs first is “the best way to build and protect your family’s wealth.” If you’re saving for retirement and your children’s college, put money in your 401(k) first. Retirement doesn’t come with scholarships or government-backed loans, and you need “much more in the bank to fund 20 to 30 years in retirement versus just four in college.” And if you’re negotiating a salary, don’t be afraid to tack on an extra 10 to 15 percent to your ideal number in case your new boss tries “to negotiate you down.” You never know; being a little greedy could pay off.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brand
Feature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
Unraveling autism
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
'Two dolls': Can Trump sell Americans on austerity?
Feature Trump's tariffs may be threatening holiday shelves but they've handed Democrats a 'huge gift'