Life Insurance

Are 3 Months Expenses Enough?

Ethos Life | Jul 1, 2019
Mother and son making pottery together

70% of Americans don’t have more than three months’ expenses saved in their bank account. That means if a family in that 70% lost their primary breadwinner, they could easily go bankrupt within three months. It’s a scary stat to think about. In a room of ten people who’ve lost loved ones, seven of them could begin missing payments on mortgages, health care expenses, student-loan debt, car loans, and many other living essentials. Most people haven’t even saved enough money to weather a small emergency, let alone something as tragic as losing a loved one who provided for the family.

At the end of the day, even if a family lost a loved one, the bills still need to be paid. Looking at how much monthly expenses really are can help put things into perspective.

Jen is an average 40-year-old working professional and mother.

Here are her monthly bills:

  • Mortgage: $838
  • Groceries: $625
  • Child-related expenses: $1,230
  • Transportation: $750

Total: $3,443

These monthly expenses only include some of the necessities that many people spend their paychecks on. It doesn’t include things like, debt that needs to be paid down, social life spending, or plans to save money—all of which are also important. This is just an example of average monthly costs in the U.S., but we know that everyone’s story is unique. Regardless of your situation, it’s important to be prepared so that your family’s future is protected.

That’s why term life insurance might be your best option. Saving money is no easy task, especially when you already feel flooded by other expenses to worry about on a monthly basis. But you know that taking care of your family is a must, and we understand that.

At Ethos, we recommend that your term life insurance policy cost no more than 1% of your monthly income. Take a second to think about that, a $30 policy can get you covered for $500K. That’s enough to make sure those $3,443 in monthly expenses get paid for years beyond just three months of savings.

We work every day to make sure that you don’t have to worry about if you’ve saved enough money in case of a tragic emergency or not. Whether you have more than three months of expenses saved or not, term life insurance with Ethos can help you protect the ones you love. Simple, affordable, and the right coverage for your family. Our application takes only minutes to complete, and it’s 100% online. Get started here.