Insurance

Bump up your deductible to as high as you can afford and you will get a big drop in your annual premium. Homeowner’s insurance should be your safety blanket for catastrophic damage. You shouldn’t use it for small claims because that will drive up your premiums.

Sh!t happens. Cars break down. Water heaters leak. You lose your job. You need an emergency fund of available cash that you can tap to cover these emergencies. You should shoot to cover six months of living expenses.

Term life insurance. You buy a policy for a fixed amount of time and you pay a fixed rate depending on how much of payout you’re buying.

If you put down less than a 20% down payment when buying a home, the lender will require you to have mortgage insurance to protect them in case you end up not paying your mortgage. If you bought a $500,000 home, you would have to pay around $7,500 for mortgage insurance.

An investment account from your employer that lets you save for health costs – no taxes for money that goes in, no taxes on money it makes, and no taxes when you take it out. You should only consider it if you and your family generally have low health expenses.