This weekend a piece of Ontario history burned to the ground with the overnight loss of the St. Jacob's farmer's market. Ironically, my husband and I had just been there the afternoon before and it had been a long time since our last visit.
It was a Sunday and the market was closed but for anyone who has visited this location on a market day you will know that it was not just a market. It was a place to rendezvous with your friends, have a bite to eat, chat with the vendors, do some shopping and have a great day. On Saturdays the place was so packed you would often have to walk miles back to your car weighed down with all of your purchases after jostling your way around all the people who were there, however, no one ever complained.
The fire has displaced sixty vendors who now have to find a temporary location as the fall harvest is starting to come in. September and October are traditionally a very busy season so everyone is vowing to be up and running in some form to bring their wares to market. It makes you want to cry when you look at the charred remains of what was once the hub of the community. No strangers to barn raising and rebuilding there is already talk of a new market. Goods were lost and livelihoods affected yet thankfully, they can be replaced, so I keep saying a silent thank you for the fact that no lives were lost.
The news about this fire got me thinking about insurance and the fact that so many people have insured their homes and belongings against damage or loss. However, many people often tend to overlook insuring the biggest asset in their lives, themselves. Think about this for a moment, if you were to become ill and could not work for an extended period, how would you pay the bills? If someone you loved died and had been generating an income and there was no life insurance in place, how would you pay the bills?
My 39-year-old husband walked out the door one Sunday morning and a police officer came up my driveway later that day to tell me that he had been killed in an accident. In the blink of an eye, I became a widow with a twelve-and-a-half-year old daughter with a terrifying road ahead. However, what I did not have to do was to try to pick myself up off the ground financially as well has emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually because my husband insured his greatest asset, himself .
The summer is winding down, the kids are going back to school and September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. Now is a great time to have a courageous conversation with yourself and your loved ones about the need for life insurance and making sure your number one asset, yourself, is protected. If the life you live was suddenly turned upside down due to a disability or death how prepared would you be?
To learn more tips and strategies to help you take control of your family's financial future please visit Jane Blaufus to order my book, WITH THE [STROKE] OF A PEN®, Claim your life. Please join in the 'Courageous Conversations' by following me on Twitter and on Facebook.