There is now a universal need to create assets or to maintain the ones we already possess and, once this is addressed, it provides a solution as to how to pay for our liabilities and sustain our existence. Many individuals find that to create a budget helps account for their incomes and expenditures.
If a person’s assets are more than their liabilities then they are said to have accumulated wealth. Ideally, it is desirable to remain in this position. Whilst this gives the person the ability to spend more in the consumption of goods and services, it is widely recognizable that once something is consumed, it may never be able to be recovered.
Therefore, when wealth is achieved a person has a responsibility to spend that wealth wisely, for it is the continuous flow of value or money that maintains or increases wealth. Changes in an individual’s circumstances may elicit a higher level of precaution than previous engaged in, such as the purchasing of a life insurance policy.

Despite the most elaborate and strategic of financial plans, the uncertainty of the future can often present unexpected contingencies that may affect even the most careful of individuals.
For example, a person’s assets may be well in excess of their liabilities, but if the value of these assets were to fall then their overall wealth would also decline. Depending upon the gravity of the reduction in value, this may have profound consequences.
This kind of unforeseen circumstance has often occurred when a significant proportion of assets are of one type, such as shares in public companies. When the stock market experiences a crash, the value of these assets can plummet in unison due to their similarities and many have been found to have suffered financial loss to the point of unavoidable debt.
Similarly, storing money with any one financial institution can also at times be found to have similar results, particularly when that institution is found to be insolvent and goes into receivership for bankruptcy.

As such, from the above it can be seen that holding assets entails a certain amount of risk. It is fair to say that the diversifying or spreading that risk over a number of different asset types is financially wise and doing so in a manner which provides for the unexpected contingencies that human life often throws back at us shows a considered approach to both your personal wealth and the wish to protect your future.

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, in a world that is more and more commercially driven, the well being of a person is particularly dependent upon their resources. Since Western modern societies have shifted away from being predominantly agriculturally based, the focus of valuable resources for the average person is quite firmly centered on the particular financial resources a person may have at their disposal.

Often the term ‘asset’ is associated with the serious finance of corporations, and particularly frequently in an accounting context. Quite simply, however, an asset is anything that a person may possess within their control that is able to be readily converted into cash.

Assets come in various forms and can include anything from actual cash, to balances in a bank account, stocks and bonds, possessions, buildings and land, equipment, and even extend to what are known as ‘intangible assets’. The latter are able to be converted into cash but are unable to be physically handled because they are in the form of a right or entitlement. Such things as a patent or a copyright, or the goodwill of a business may be termed as an intangible asset. Many businesses choose to protect their assets through a business life insurance policy, enabling them to protect shares, key people within the company or their employees.

Of course, as reluctant as most of us are to undertake a lengthy study of accounting and economic theory, it is interesting to note that all of us engage in some form of accounting analysis each day.

Every day we participate in an economy where we pay others for the privilege of consuming goods or services. The ability to pay for these valuables stems from the assets that we already have control over, or assets that we create by receiving payment ourselves.

This ability or purchasing power to pay for things that we need is entirely dependent on the flow of ‘value’ or money. However, just like any dam full of water, if it isn’t topped up it will eventually run dry….

So herein lays an extremely important issue.

Any discussion of assets necessarily includes the recognition of what are known as ‘liabilities’ and these include the debts or financial obligations that a person owes to others already, or those that they will owe at a time in the future.

Given that an asset is something that can be converted into cash, if a person were to convert all of their assets into cash and then repay all of their debts, bills or ‘liabilities’, then the excess balance would be what is known as financial equity or ownership.

If, of course, the result is that there are liabilities left outstanding, then we are presented with a person who has negative equity and is really one who, without financial recovery, is living on borrowed time before the inevitable conclusion is drawn that creditors are unable to be paid.

This condition has a number of consequences, the most serious of which may be in the form of bankruptcy, which is a formal and legal declaration that a person’s creditors are unable to be paid. This may lead to restrictions being imposed on a person that restrain them from the full participation in economic life that other people enjoy. Concessions often need to be made, such as giving up smoking; worthy of noting is that non-smokers enjoy much lower premiums on life insurance, whereas a smoker’s life insurance premiums are often up to 50-60% more expensive than a non-smoker’s. Clearly, this demonstrates the need for sound asset management.

Because of the savings or investment component, permanent policies cost more than term policies. The first main issue for you to consider is the scale of the investment element. Over the last ten years, the stock market has outperformed other forms of investment. It’s only recently that the DJIA and other indicators have begun to fall. Thus, if all you want is high growth, don’t buy policies of this type. Buy term life insurance and make your own investment decisions. Insurance companies are not wealth managers with a mission to maximize your capital. They are conservative investment managers whose only mission is to provide steady growth (if possible) over time. Remember, to maintain the tax efficiencies, the policy should be in force at least fifteen years. Always think long term and, so long as the policy has the required number of years in play, the benefits pass to your beneficiaries tax free.

The different types of permanent insurance policies give you a choice on how your savings are to be invested. It’s up to you to investigate the options and to be comfortable with the decisions you make about risk. A further essential element to consider are the options to stop paying the premiums later in the policy’s life. Depending on the terms of the life insurance policy, you may be able to use the accumulated investment income to pay the premiums, or you may buy an annuity with that element. This will relieve any financial strain in maintaining instalment payments during your retirement.

Finally, look carefully at the conditions you have to meet to withdraw cash from the investment account, or borrow from the account or use it as collateral for a loan. Since there will be both a cash and surrender value, it is important to know how to use this value to pay for your children’s education or should an emergency arise. Always have a clear understanding of a life insurance policy before you buy. Never buy simply because the premium is a low or affordable cost. Get the best value for your dollars.