If someone depends on your income, this matters.

Not in a dramatic way.
In a math way.

Term life insurance isn’t about “getting rich.”
It’s about replacing income and protecting stability if you weren’t here.

So how do you figure out the right amount?

Let’s break it down.

Step 1: Start With Your Mortgage

Ask:

• What’s the remaining balance?

• Would your partner realistically keep the home without your income?

If the answer is no, your coverage should at minimum wipe out the mortgage.

Example:

• $620,000 remaining on mortgage
  → That alone may justify $600K+ of coverage.

Because the goal is housing stability.

Step 2: Add Other Debts

Think:

• Student loans (especially private loans)

• Personal loans

• Car loans

• Credit cards

Important note:
Federal student loans are usually discharged at death.
Private loans are not always.

So don’t just throw your entire loan balance into the calculation, understand which debts would remain.

Step 3: Replace Income (This Is The Big One)

The real purpose of term insurance is income replacement.

A common starting framework:
10–15x annual income

But let’s make that more practical.

If you earn $110,000 per year:

• 10x = $1.1M

• 15x = $1.65M

Why that range?

Because your family isn’t just losing your salary for one year.
They’re losing years of:

• Mortgage payments

• Childcare

• Retirement contributions

• Health insurance

• Daily living expenses

If you have young children, lean higher.
If your partner earns similarly and could sustain things, lean lower.

This is not one-size-fits-all.

Step 4: Think About Childcare & Education

If you have kids:

Would your partner need:

• Full-time childcare?

• After-school programs?

• College funding support?

Losing a parent often increases expenses, not decreases them.

A stay-at-home parent especially needs coverage because replacing that unpaid labor is expensive.

Step 5: Subtract Existing Assets

Now reduce the number by:

• Savings

• Investments

• Existing life insurance

• Work coverage

Important reality:
Employer life insurance is usually 1–2x salary.

That is almost never enough for a family with a mortgage.

And if you leave the job?
It doesn’t follow you.

A Real-World Example

Nurse, age 32
Income: $105,000
Mortgage: $550,000
Private student loans: $40,000
Two young kids

Rough math:

• Mortgage: $550K

• Loans: $40K

• Income replacement (10x): $1,050,000

Total need ≈ $1.6M

That sounds like a big number.

But 20–30 year term policies at that amount for someone healthy in their 30s are often surprisingly affordable.

Term insurance is typically inexpensive when you’re young and healthy.
It gets expensive when you wait.

What You Probably Don’t Need

You likely do NOT need:

• Whole life pitched as an “investment”

• A policy with complicated riders you don’t understand

• A policy larger than your total financial impact

Term insurance is a protection tool.
Not a wealth strategy.

Investing builds wealth.
Insurance protects it.

Different jobs.

Quick Self-Check Questions

Ask yourself:

• If I died tomorrow, could my partner stay in our home?

• Would debt become overwhelming?

• Would my children’s stability change dramatically?

• Would my partner need to rush back to work?

If those answers make you pause, it’s worth running the numbers.

At NurseMoneyDate®, we don’t sell insurance.

We run the math with you.
We pressure test it.
We look at what actually needs protecting.

Because this isn’t about fear.
It’s about giving your family breathing room.

And breathing room is priceless.