as life progresses. A father with
young, dependent children should carry considerably more insurance than
a man with no dependents other than his wife. Consequently, it is
desirable to carry two types of insurance: on the one hand, a straight
life contract, entered into preferably early in life when annual
premiums are lower, and, on the other hand, successive renewable
term-insurance policies which may be purchased when temporary
responsibilities, such as the rearing of children, are undertaken.

Protection for a childless wife might be limited to an amount equal to
two years of the husband's salary. Roughly, the same amount of term
insurance may be taken out for each child. The earlier in life such
policies are acquired, of course, the smaller the annual premiums.
Renewable term-insurance premiums are lower than straight life insurance
because in the former there is no cash surrender value. Term insurance,
like fire insurance, buys protection--and nothing else.

It is a mistake to look at life insurance as a primary form of saving
because, generally speaking, the more the life-insurance policy conforms
to a savings account, the less effectively and economically it affords
protection against the hazard of death. Buy the life insurance as life
insurance and put your savings into a savings account. It is well to
remember at this point, too, that if you can accumulate enough to pay
your insurance premiums yearly--rather than weekly or monthly--you will
pay a lower rate.

The purchase of a home is another difficult undertaking for the newly
married couple because the average person cannot tell the difference
between a well-built house and one which is poorly constructed. Unless
there is some understanding of this matter, it probably will be wiser to
defer the purchase of a house and live in rented quarters until one
acquires such knowledge. It must be remembered, also, that the upkeep of
a dwelling is likely to come to a substantial figure and that the budget
may be severely strained if one does not know in advance the actual
costs of owning real estate.

Not the least of these items to be investigated is the amount of
assessments which are or may be levied against the property. The
likelihood of such levies is seldom pointed out by the real-estate
salesman. Furthermore, if one's position is insecure or there is a
possibility of being transferred to another section of the country in
the course of one's employment, it