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Insights

Plain answers about protecting the people who depend on you.

Written by Caleb Bullard from real conversations with clients. No hype, no jargon, and every number sourced.

Life insuranceHow Much Does Life Insurance Really Cost? Less Than Most People Guess, and Why That MattersThree-quarters of adults overestimate the cost of life insurance, and young healthy people guess 7 to 12 times too high. Here is what term coverage actually costs, why the price depends on your health today, and the $99 decision one couple made.2026-09-10 · 7 min read Life insuranceDeclined for Life Insurance? What a Decline Actually Means, and the Three Paths That Usually Still WorkA life insurance decline is one carrier's answer to one application, not a verdict. How to find out why, why another carrier may say yes, and how simplified-issue and guaranteed-issue whole life work when nothing else will.2026-09-10 · 7 min read Life insuranceGoFundMe Is Not a Financial Plan: Why Families Insure Children, and What a Funeral Actually Costs in 2026Memorial fundraisers are one of the largest categories on GoFundMe, and most fall short. What a funeral costs, why some families insure children, how child riders and small whole life policies work, and the story of a mother who came up short.2026-09-09 · 8 min read Life insuranceIs Life Insurance Through Work Enough? Five Questions to Ask About Your Employer Coverage55% of working adults have life insurance through an employer, and for most of them it is one or two times salary that disappears when the job does. How much group coverage is really there, whether it is portable, and how to decide what to own yourself.2026-09-09 · 7 min read Life insuranceUsing Life Insurance to Build Wealth: An Honest Look at Cash Value, Infinite Banking, and Who It Is Really ForSearches for using life insurance to build wealth are up more than 1,000% in a year. What cash value actually does, what infinite banking claims, the fees and time it takes, who it fits, and the mother whose children's policies were doing the wrong job.2026-09-08 · 9 min read VeteransLeaving the Military? The 240-Day VGLI Window, What It Costs by Age, and What a Healthy Veteran Should Do InsteadSGLI ends 120 days after separation. VGLI accepts you with no health questions for 240 days, then rises with every age band. A veteran and former combat medic explains the deadlines, the 2025-26 VGLI premium table, and the apply-for-both strategy that protects healthy veterans from the $100,000 mistake.2026-09-08 · 8 min read College fundingFAFSA 2026-27: What Counts, What Doesn't, and How the Student Aid Index Actually Treats Your MoneyThe Student Aid Index replaced the EFC. Parent assets are assessed at 5.64%, student assets at 20%, retirement accounts, home equity and life insurance cash value are not reported, and starting July 2026 neither is a family business with 100 or fewer employees. A plain-English guide for families filing this fall, with the new Pell cutoff of $14,790.2026-09-07 · 9 min read Business ownersThe 412(e)(3) Plan: A Guaranteed Retirement Plan for the Business Owner Who Is Behind, Explained Without the Sales PitchA 412(e)(3) fully insured defined benefit plan lets a profitable small business owner make very large tax-deductible contributions funded entirely with guaranteed annuity and life insurance contracts. Who it fits (older owner, stable profits, few employees), how it compares to a SEP or 401(k), the downsides, and the IRS abuses to avoid.2026-09-07 · 9 min read Life insuranceHow to Verify a Life Insurance Agent Before You Buy, and How to Buy Remotely Without Getting BurnedLook up the agent's National Producer Number on NIPR, confirm the carrier's rating and state licensing, never pay premiums to the agent, and expect a policy delivered by the carrier. A step-by-step verification checklist from an agent whose client flew across several states to check him out in person.2026-09-06 · 7 min read Life insuranceMortgage Protection on a Budget: Full Coverage, Partial Coverage, and the Question That Comes Before the PremiumMortgage protection is term life sized to the house and paid to your family, not the bank. When full protection doesn't fit, partial protection that stays in force is the right answer. How to size it, what it costs, how it differs from the lender's mortgage life insurance, and the homeowner who looked at the premium first.2026-09-06 · 7 min read