From movie nights to a family beach vacation use life insurance for family memories.
What does term life insurance payout cover? Well, it can cover things like student loan debt and auto debt for sure. But that’s the boring stuff! It can cover pretty much anything else, the sky’s the limit! (unless you wanted to shoot your ashes into space, which, in that case, the sky’s not the limit). Policyholders can request where they want the money to go, but once the money’s been paid out, the beneficiary chooses what to do with it. If they want to use it to start an underground baseball league, they can. A death without life insurance means that the baseball league may be stopped before it even started.
Joking aside, if you’re a policyholder, talk with your beneficiaries about your expectations—how much coverage you should have and what should be tackled should something unfortunate happen. It’s never fun when a parent dies. No life insurance on top just means your family might miss out on tackling their needs. But, while you’re planning, you can get fun with it too. Let your creative juices flow and see what you could request to gift your family. If you don’t know where to start, look no further. Here are 5 fun family things you (probably) didn’t know a life insurance payout could cover.
- Rent a theater for movie night with family
- Send family on a yearly beach vacation
- Give your family the pet of their dreams
- Pay for a wedding
- Gift quarterly spa days
- Conclusion
1. Rent a theater for movie night with family
For all you movie lovers out there, you can request that some of your life insurance benefit goes to a monthly movie night with the family (you’ll be there in spirit, of course). If your family loves going to the theaters, you could request to give them the gift of renting one out for movie marathons, events, or whatever else. And it’s surprisingly cheap to rent out a theater. Depending on the company and movie, you could pay anywhere between $99 to $350 for up to 20 or so guests. Not too bad for your family to get a theater all to themselves.
2. Send family on a yearly beach vacation
Should you go, you could request to give the gift of fun in the sun! Your loved ones can use some of the payout to take a yearly family beach vacation. The costs will vary depending on the size of your family and their destination, but the average cost of a one-week vacation for two people in the US is $3,116. You’ll have to think about where they’ll stay, transportation, food, and entertainment, but with the right policy, your family can enjoy some nice surf and sand in your honor.
3. Give your family the pet of their dreams
Life insurance payouts can help give the gift of a pet your family has always wanted. Costs can vary, of course. Just adopting a dog, for example, may run you anywhere between $1,050 to $4,480. And that’s not including the ongoing expenses to think about, such as veterinary costs, food, toys, etc. However, the love that a new furry friend can bring to a family is priceless. So why not think of how your policy benefit can be used for a wonderful companion in your memory.
4. Pay for a wedding
We’ve written about this in more detail here, but a life insurance payout can be a great way to cover the costs of a wedding. For context, the average cost of a wedding in 2021 was $28k! If you have older kids or teens, it may not be a bad idea for your loved ones to use some of that life insurance payout to give the gift of a dope wedding (and an even doper wedding reception).
5. Gift quarterly spa days
This one is more for your partner or spouse than the whole family. But your partner could use some of that life insurance payout for quarterly day spa outings. Losing a loved one is hard, but spas can be great ways to relax (and who wouldn’t like a bit of a vacation from the kids?). Day spas can offer packages that include massages, facials, body treatments, and other relaxation treatments. And depending on which one you go with, packages may start at under $100 and go up to $450 and up.
Conclusion
A life insurance payout can cover what your beneficiaries need. But that payout can also cover what you want. But dying without life insurance means that your family can miss out on taking care of those needs and some fun wants. Policyholders should discuss with their beneficiaries what coverage they’ll need so you can plan for the fun stuff as well. Life insurance is about protection, yes. But it can also be a way to keep giving to those we love, in unexpected ways, even after we’re gone.
