There are important differences between Term and Whole Life Insurance, but don’t think that one is bad and the other is good. It depends on the situation. You get more term insurance than whole life per dollar spent, but this is because whole life is more than just insurance against accidental death, it is also an investment. As such you can figure it into your overall investment planning for retirement.An InvestmentHow can life insurance be an investment when most policies only pay upon death? Let me tell you a true story related to me by my mother. She said my dad bought a whole life policy within a few years after they were married. Until then he only had a Term Life policy through his work that would cover little more than burial expenses. The new whole life policy would give my mom a little extra to pay the bills should anything happen to him.This Whole Life policy helped them realize a dream come true and make extra money along the way. Several years went by. Along came one child, then two, then three and four. They bought a house in the suburbs, but their dream was to get a small parcel of acreage in Central Florida’s horse country. Finally an opportunity came–five acres. The price was right, but $1,000 was needed for the down payment; the balance could be paid off on time by monthly payments. Mom said the payments weren’t a problem. By then my dad’s salary could handle the extra for the monthly payments, but where would they get the thousand dollars?Mom said she wracked her brain every which way, but couldn’t see any way clear to get the thousand dollars. Then one day she thought of the Whole Life insurance policy they had been paying on several years. She remembered the young salesman sitting at their kitchen table explaining benefits of the whole life policy without dying versus term life in which someone else collects at death.One of the benefits was being able to borrow money from the policy. She called up the insurance company and sure enough it had accumulated over a $1,000 cash value which could be borrowed.You Can Borrow From The PolicyCan it make sense to borrow money from your insurance policy? You bet it can. The interest rate will likely be lower than anything you can get anywhere else such as a home equity loan and you won’t be on a schedule to pay it back. You should at least make regular payments on the interest accrued to keep the loan balance from getting larger. The insurance company won’t determine how much you should pay every month.The amount is up to you, so you can’t be penalized for missing a payment. You will want to repay it eventually though, since the idea behind getting life insurance in the first place was to have the cash value available to you or your heirs at some time in the future. The only reason not to pay it back would be if you used the money to make an even better investment, such as buying property that would appreciate in value.Mom said that little Whole Life insurance policy really saved the day a few other times too when they needed a few hundred dollars suddenly in an emergency. Just like the little Energizer bunny rabbit, it just kept on giving and giving. A Whole Life insurance policy may ‘literally save your life’ some time when you need money and can’t borrow money from the bank for one reason or another.If you’re searching for Term Life insurance, be sure to get a Whole Life insurance quote, too. You can obtain one over the internet. Look at each policy type various companies offer, matching them with your individual Term Life insurance needs. After all, an educated consumer is a happy consumer.
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Cedar Homes – Green Living That’s Affordable and Luxurious
Eco-friendly Cedar Home Packages
Designed to promote sustainable living and built with environmentally sound materials and processes, high quality kit home packages are perfect for discriminating eco-savvy home buyers. These eco-friendly home packages are developed based on the custom details of each order and shipped worldwide to accommodate the building location of the homeowner.Renewable Resources and Responsible Practices
More than 75% of these custom homes are made from renewable resources. As a result, homeowners enjoy a prefab log home with more beauty and character, and one that’s more efficient than traditional homes.Energy Efficient – Resulting in Cost Savings
Cedar homes, post and beam homes and timbercrafted homes are sought-after due to the use of premium, Western Red Cedar. This stable and durable building material is very energy efficient, resulting in cost savings for owners.To minimize the environmental impact of the building process, these homes are built from carefully premeasured home packages consisting of the precise amount of required materials. Every component that will go into these homes is counted, so any waste is greatly minimized.Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
What’s also resonating with today’s eco-smart home buyers is the fact that wood homes reduce greenhouse gas emissions because they use less carbon dioxide in their construction process and operation. Manufacturers work to protect this valuable, sustainable resource by only using timber from forests that are immediately replanted.Eco-savvy homeowners want to design their home according to the landscape, and to conserve as much energy as possible. In the last few years, there has been an increased interest in the inherent, natural attributes of cedar homes – people want to create their own sustainable environment.Homes From the Inside Out
On the inside, these custom homes get high marks for what is referred to in the green building industry as “indoor environmental quality.” Manufacturers of these prefab log homes use brand-name suppliers who meet the high standards of regulatory bodies and educated consumers. For instance, window suppliers are leading ENERGY STAR certified companies and front runner in the area of environmental manufacturing processes. Since a large percentage of each home is framed around magnificent views, windows play an important role in the indoor environmental quality of each home. Not only do they let natural light into the living space, approved windows can contribute to green building certification due to their efficiency and ability to improve air quality.Many prefab log home designs can also include unseen, but important, features to increase sustainability. Radiant barrier sheathing, improved insulation and duct sealing are just a few components. Other visible environmental features that can be part of a cedar home are low-VOC paints and stains, solar panels, radiant heat flooring, hot-water-on-demand, geothermal systems, and metal roofs.Custom Prefab Log Homes
The benefits of a custom home residence, however, do not end with its sustainable design, development and functionality. The warmth and aesthetic appeal of premium Western Red Cedar and other wood species, combined with each home’s distinctive design elements, contribute to the growing, global demand for our unique products and services.Complete Custom Home Customization
There is the opportunity for complete customization that is specific to the building lot and unique to each homeowner’s needs before the package goes into production. A carefully customized site plan is critical to green home design and building practices. Design principles such as conserving the natural surroundings, and house orientation to maximize passive solar heating and cooling are processes used when planning the home sites.