Don’t leave your children’s future in the hands of a crowdfunding site – Life happens

When it comes to being a parent, your to-do list can seem endless, from signing up for school activities to projects around the house and planning for the future. It seems like as soon as you check something off, a few more to-dos jump onto the list.

If you are a single parent, that list can be even longer and more complex, especially if you are the “only” one of your children. And you could feel the pressure: Three-quarters say they felt overwhelmed when becoming single parents.and more than a quarter (27%) admit to being very overwhelmed, according to Life Happens’ new survey, “Single Parents and the Financial Future.”

What’s more, single parents say they would need a minimum of $332,705 in savings feel comfortable raising your child. In fact, making sure your children are doing well financially is something the average single parent thinks about. five times a day on average.

However, four in 10 single parents admit that they did not start planning for their children’s financial future until they were 4 to 6 years old, or even later. According to the data, only 10% started before their child was born.

Don’t leave it to chance

Does any of this sound familiar to you? If so, have you asked yourself, “What if I wasn’t in the picture anymore?” Where would the money come from to take care of my children?”

More than a quarter of single parents surveyed (28%) say they would let others raise money on a crowdfunding site to support their children. Only half say they have purchased life insurance to protect your children’s financial future if someone else had to care for them.

Since life insurance is an affordable solution, why aren’t more single parents considering it? The truth is that most people overestimate the cost of life insurance by three times or more (Life Happens and LIMRA 2023 Insurance Barometer Study). So it stands to reason that if people think it would be out of their price range, they wouldn’t even consider it.

But let’s put it in perspective: A healthy 30-year-old can get a 20-year, $250,000 level term life insurance policy for about $200 a year. That’s about $4 a week. And if something were to happen to you, that $250,000 would go toward ensuring your child’s future was everything you dreamed it would be.

If you need inspiration (or motivation), check out Summer’s story here. She was a young single mother who, tragically, was hit by a car and died when she was just 22 years old. Her son, Nathan, was only nine months old. When she was pregnant, she took out a life insurance policy for just $12 a month that guaranteed Nathan’s future would be bright no matter what happened.

Don’t let uncertainty about how much or what type of life insurance to buy keep you from getting coverage. To get started, you can do a quick calculation with our Life Insurance Needs Calculator to get a general idea of ​​how much you may need. And if you want help choosing the right type of policy that fits your budget, you can speak to an insurance professional at no cost or obligation. If you don’t have anyone to work with, you can use the Life Happens Agent Locator here.