5 Ways to Protect Your Family

This post is sponsored by Amica® Insurance. Discover extraordinary personal service and the power of helpfulness at Amica.com.

Our families. Our everything. This time of year is such a time of reflection – the good and the bad this year had to bring. I’m thankful for a year that brought us more good than bad. But each time we look back, I realize how important it is to plan for everything, because you just don’t know what is around the corner. So in this season of reflection and planning, we’ve partnered with Amica Insurance to share 5 ways you can protect your family – protect your everything.

1. SET A BUDGET. It sounds so simple, but financial security is really key to protecting your family. And through the ups and downs of careers, health and more over the past few years my husband and I know now more than ever that you can’t always count on guaranteed income. So we budget, covering our current bills and saving for future “what ifs” to make sure that even if something does happen along the way that our family is taken care of.

Read more: Financial Planning Tips for a Family of Five

2. SHARE WITH YOUR KIDS. Not only do we try to stick to our agreed upon budget, but we are also trying to share money matters with our kids. Their concepts of money are fluid right now, and we have been really blessed during their lifetimes, but it’s important to us to share the WHY when there are times we cannot or choose not to spend money. This not only protects our family now, but ensures that our kids have the tools to live and spend wisely in the future.

Read more: 4 Valuable Money Lessons to Teach Your Children

3. START A COLLEGE FUND. I’m a huge proponent of education. If there was one thing that my parents instilled in me at an early age was that as long as I got my education, I could really do anything in life – I could be anything. Education was always a strong focus so it was no surprise that come time for college they were ready to send me off without hesitation or question of cost. That’s what I want for my children, too. There is no question of “if” but rather “when” they’ll go off to college. So we’re saving now to protect their future.

Read more: Your Child’s College Fund in 3 Easy Steps

4. ESTABLISH HOME SAFETY. This is actually a rather new concept for us. We live in Arizona where we don’t have to plan as much for natural disasters, but the more that we see between hurricanes and fires the more that we know that we not only have to protect our home with Home Insurance, but also have a checklist and plan for possible disasters. I realized that if something were to happen in the blink of an eye, that we might not be ready. The best time to plan is now.

Read more: The Ultimate Home Safety Checklist

5. GET LIFE INSURANCE. It’s not something we like to think about — a time when we may not be here for our family. But the subject came up for us when we were preparing to leave our kids and go on a trip just the two of us, for an extended period of time. What if something happened? You hate to think of it, but it really put a lot into perspective. Would our kids be taken care of if something did happen? That’s when we realized we needed to put things into place — to establish a will and invest in a Life Insurance policy. Now that we have I can rest assured that in the event that something happens, finances will be the last thing our family has to worry about. When it comes to life insurance, it’s important to make sure you’re adequately covered. Amica will make sure you have the right coverage to protect your family.

Read more: What Type of Life Insurance Is Right for You?

With more than a century of business know-how to their name, Amica is the oldest mutual insurer of automobiles in the country. Their primary product offerings are auto, home, and life insurance. Their core is built around exceptional customer service and an award-winning team that is willing to take the time with each potential and existing customer to make sure that they are educating, explaining, and finding the best value for each individual person. From your family and your finances, to your home and your car—Amica has the tips and tools to help to take care of the people you love most.