The latest figures from the housing market and the number of people still unemployed are worrying. It's not hard to think we're still in the recession. Washington announces the economy is growing. Like that ever had an effect on what happens in our neighborhoods. Most of the time, it's like these leaders live on a different planet. So, with credit still like gold and holding on to a job a struggle, how should you plan family finance? Most people went through a period of thrift, paying down all their debts and cutting back on non-essential spending. Recently this has changed. Because of the robosigning disaster for the banks holding mortgages, the foreclosure process has slowed right down. Rational families have therefore switched their payment schedule to reduce credit card debts, leaving mortgages on the backburner. They reason it's better to pay down the expensive debts first, particularly if this keeps the credit scores high. If the banks do make noises, they can wait a month or so before replying.

Against this background, how should you plan the question of insuring your life? If you are young, you would probably consider this type of insurance discretionary. With life expectancy rising fast, delaying until we are thirty-something may look attractive. Hopefully, by this time, we will have found stable employment with a level of pay that can cover all living expenses with enough left over to pay the insurance premiums. Except, no matter what's happening in the economy, we still have the same number of people caught up in crashes on the roads and accidents at work. Life is never as predictable as we would like to tell ourselves. Still, we still look on the positive side so long as we live solo - even moving out of the family home is a challenge for young adults. But perspective can start changing if a relationship is moving on to a more permanent basis. Should children appear, this may trigger a more cautious view of the future.

As a young earner, it may seem more fun to spend the pay on a good social life. Yet, if you bite the bullet and buy a whole life policy at the earliest possible opportunity, the premium may be a struggle and crimp your social life, but you have the best value for money policy so long as you maintain the payments. Inflation slowly brings the installments into the affordable range. After fifteen and more years, you will hardly notice the payments while the investment element should be building up. If the first policy you buy is term, this is going to commit you to a higher premium rate when you switch to whole life. The only problem with whole life is that the investment returns tend to be less than those available in the commercial market. You might do better to buy term and invest separately for your old age. But do you have the discipline to keep up the investment payments? So before you start asking for life insurance quotes, work out which strategy you want to follow. Indeed, perhaps the life insurance quotes should just be the starting point, triggering discussions with advisors on the best approach for your particular family circumstances.