Life insurance provides a safety net against unexpected death. Most people rely on a regular income to survive and to fulfil their goals and dreams in life. If that income was to go, what then? Life insurance is not needed by everyone.
Investments can successfully replace life insurance and are available even when the insured lives. Being wealthy should preclude the need for life insurance, but many wealthy people include life insurance as part of their portfolio.
Life insurance is essential for anyone who has a family that depends on his or her income in order to live.
In many ways life insurance is a waste of money. All those months and years of paying premiums for cover that you have never needed! But if and when something happens to change your life then the benefits of life insurance come into play.
There are alternatives to life insurance. To start you can accumulate great wealth. Start a business and turn it into a multi-million corporation. A lifelong investment strategy can help build up reserves that can be used in an emergency or in the event of the death of the breadwinner. This requires strong discipline, and unless there is money in the family the investment is long term. You can live for the moment and hope that you never die.
Life insurance comes in two main forms. Term insurance provides cover for a fixed term and only covers death. If you die while the policy is in force then your beneficiaries get paid. But if you live, you lose! Term insurance is generally the most cost effective form of life cover it is simple to administer and it does not incur huge commission costs.
Whole life policies generally include an investment portion which acquires a cash value over time. These policies are much more complex and the cost includes huge commission pay-outs.
John and Mary are a young married couple living in a nice middle class neighbourhood. They have bought a house and are struggling to keep up with the repayments. When Felicite was born, Mary stopped working to become a full time mother. John is the main breadwinner in the early stages of his career.
The cost of a new baby, running a home and two cars uses most of their resources. Life insurance takes a back seat. “We can’t afford it. We’ll look again when I get my next raise.”
If something happens to John, Mary will need to find employment fast! Felicite will have to go to a child care facility. Mary may have to adjust her life expectations. She may have to move to a cheaper area, find cheaper accommodation and consider a government school rather than the private education they had in mind. Luckily she is still young and will probably re-marry.
If Mary is the one that is lost then John will have to find additional resources to cover child care or a full time nanny. There will also be the loss of Mary’s future earnings (she did not plan to be a permanent home executive).
I began using the Internet over fifteen years ago. That was just before the Internet became highly commercialized, but even then had lots of sites and information on almost anything. I had lived all my life until then without email and without this vast information and opinion resource. Internet banking and Wikipedia belonged to the future. Microsoft had not yet entered the Internet browser market and Netscape was the leading browser available. Internet shopping was still a pipe-dream.
I soon discovered MP3s. I began downloading music by artists known and unknown. I explored music of different countries and discovered artists that are unknown where I live. In those days the only option that was open to me was dial-up. Some songs took almost an hour to download, often resulting in incomplete songs. This downloading of copyrighted material actually benefited the music industry. I managed to locate agents for artists that I had discovered to purchase legal copies of the CDs. The cost of dial-up was high enough to make it worth buying CDs when I was impressed by an artist.
The Internet soon became a major source of information and although some sites had to be treated with caution, much value was gained.
In 1996 I embarked on an MBA degree. The primary delivery mechanism of the university was distance learning. The on-line discussion forums for the course never really got off the ground, but the on-line delivery of study materials and articles proved to be of great value. So did on-line submission of assignments. The Internet really began to deliver value when the university’s library enrolled me on several on-line journal libraries. Articles from all the leading academic journals of the world were available at my fingertips! I could access a huge range of information for my assignments and research at all hours of the day and night without leaving my home. The days of waiting while the library sourced the journal were over.
Following my graduation, I became a part time lecturer on a business degree course. One of my tasks was to run an on-line discussion forum. I became an e-tutor for a top UKbusiness school and helped students from China,Canada, the UK, Australia, Europe and the Middle East to work their way through a variety of modules - all from my home in Johannesburg.
I participated on an on-line course on e-learning and ended up running courses for the same organisation. These courses are time-consuming but rewarding, and I continue to run these on an occasional basis.
My wife complains that I am glued to my computer - but although she was computer illiterate until a few months ago, she now has a work at home job on the Internet for an on-linedating site.
Six months ago while searching for information for a newsletter I stumbled upon Helium.com. I contributed an article and then another. My first article was purchased by a publisher and I then won third prize for a contest! On Helium I read about blogging and blogging for money. I now have several blogs but have not made much money. At least not yet!
I have set up sites to display my wife’s art.
On a daily basis, I use the Internet to access information, to find answers to technical and business issues, for Internet banking, and to get regular news updates.
Ebooks have made little inroad against printed versions. Even serious computer addicts (like me) that spend their time on-line reading blogs, comments and articles prefer a newspaper that we can page through. A book is a book and there is no way that I will even make an attempt to read a book on-line.
The question here is about written text. Are we going to continue to teach our children to write? Is every child going to be equipped with a laptop from the moment they start school? Will teachers still write on the blackboard or simply project images from their computers onto a screen?
Written text is becoming quite rare. I don’t remember the last time I saw a hand written letter. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a personal letter for a long time. The closest is a hastily typed email.
I have been to meetings where the participants faces are obscured by laptops. It may look as though they are furiously taking notes. In reality they are answering their emails. Students sit in lectures behind laptops. All the lecture notes are pre-printed. There is no need to take notes.
Somehow, there is still a need to use pen and paper. In my business consulting I use it all the time. On the odd occasion we work on a machine with a projected image, but pen and paper is still less obtrusive and much faster that using a laptop or a palm-top. Recording meetings may be useful where there is a dispute about the minutes, but who wants to sit through a two hour meeting again? When it comes to taking minutes, pen and paper is still the best. Writing is faster than typing. It allows for more flexibility.
Then there are written exams. Some on-line universities do have on-line exams as well, but that is a solution that favours the fast typers. I worked on course where this was applied - the students were not happy.
Pen and paper is still the most portable solution around. It love being able to leave my laptop at home.
One place where writing will never be replaced is on the Torah scrolls used in orthodox Judaism. The scrolls are made from leather parchment. Every letter in the Torah must be handwritten with a special kind of pen and a very specific ink. That is the law and it will never change. The same principal applies to the scrolls used in a Mezzuzah - these are placed on every door in a Jewish home. So this is one place where written text will survive. The Torah is read from the scrolls every Shabbat and at every festival and religious holiday.
Caligraphy is still popular. In fact, the calligraphy tools and materials are more easily available than ever. We are all tired of computer printed invitations and cards, and calligraphy has become the preferred medium.
Written text has fallen away in many respects. Letter writing is a disappearing art. But we are finding new ways to use pens, pencils and paper as a communication tool. We can use it during presentations. Everyone has had enough of slide presentations!
The art of writing is not dead! Let’s hope that it will never die.
Every day more and more South Africans have begin to sport mirror socks and flags on their cars showing the South African flag. Some have flags flying from their homes. With only 15 days to go, Soccer fever is getting a grip on South Africa.
A new tradition has emerged - people wear yellow soccer shirts every Friday.
South Africa’s team has been practising and it shows. Armed with massive public support, who knows what it can achieve!
The stadiums - many of which are amongst the world’s best - are ready. Some have already been used to feature soccer matches between the South African team and others in warm up matches leading to the cup.
The first team to arrive will be Australia. They arrive at Johannesburg’s OR Thambo airport this evening followed closely by Brazil tomorrow morning.
Over the next 15 days, teams will be arriving fast, settling into their South African residences for the duration. South Africa is ready.
The following is reproduced from a blogger on MyDigitalLife known as Dissol. I am publishing the post here (with permission) because there are some serious issues that need to be addressed. The original post was published as Polished Apartheid. The post speaks for itself.
Discrimination with style.
Maybe I should wait a while to calm down before posting this.The following may get deleted, as my blood pressure drops.
I mentioned in the Shout Box, that every (volcanic) cloud has a silver lining…Well I was wrong.What I should have realised is that I always get the shitty end of the stick again.
A good friend is in the international tourism business.He had arranged for a whole trip (for a BMW promotion) to fly a group out from Germany, and show them around South Africa, prior to the World Cup.One of the “highlights” of the trip was to have been a trip on the famous Blue Train, from Cape Town to Pretoria.But the flight restrictions meant that they could not fly out…So this friend had to cancel what he could, but he could not cancel the train, as he had booked out the whole train.So he contacted all his friends, offering us a trip on the Blue Train at a really good price (normally the trip from Cape Town to Pretoria is over R10,000 per person).
So, as it is my birthday coming up, and my wife felt that we deserved a break after a really hectic few months, we joined the trip.Now, our friend obviously knows that I am a wheelchair user, and double checked with the Blue Train management that the train was accessible.We were informed that the whole train is fully accessible, and that there is a specific cabin for wheelchair users.So we booked…and paid several thousand Rand over.We also booked return flights, and then last night, took my car to the airport, so we would be able to get home again when we flew back on Sunday night.We were really excited about the trip; the Blue Train is famous all around the world, and having the whole train full of our friends promised to be a once in a lifetime experience…
So this early this morning, we were collected by the minibus we organised, and drove through to Cape Town Station.We were greeted in the Blue Train lounge with champagne and bucks fizz, and checked in.Our wheelchair accessible cabin was booked…So we caught up with all our friends, and excitedly discussed the trip ahead.Then we were called to the train…
I began to get a sinking feeling with the way that the staff were treating me.Each of them trying to push me, even though I each time told them that I prefer to roll myself…and have no handles on my wheelchair for that reason.So we get taken to the train, and the feeling sank a bit further when the doorway into the train was a typical narrow door.
“Can you walk a few steps?”Hmmm…sink a bit more…
“No, I am sorry, I cannot walk or even stand at all”
“oh….”Sinking fast now.
They then ‘find’ the train’s wheelchair, which is a bit narrower than my own wheelchair, and inform me that I will have to use that.OK…even though I am much more comfortable in my own wheelchair, and the wheelchair they offer is certainly not in keeping with the 5 star plushness of the rest of the train; it looks a really tatty old thing. The baggage trolleys look much smarter!
But even that narrow wheelchair cannot fit through the door… They all scratch their heads for a while…delaying the train.Friends begin to come out of their cabins to see what the problem is.Some of them offer well meaning, but useless advice…I am really sinking fast now…No ramp, no way in… And the departure time has now been passed.So…against my wife’s advice, I bum shuffle onto the train, and lift myself into their narrow wheelchair.OK, at least I am on now…and hopefully the crowd will dissipate.
So I roll down the narrow corridor (there is no way my wheelchair would fit), thinking that it is pretty stupid to have the wheelchair accessible cabin so far from the dining car & bar…The smoking lounge is also at the opposite end of the train…never mind…So I decided to check the “accessible cabin”.
Now remember that this costs over R10,000 per person, and I could have been a traveller from Europe for this experience.Surely the cabin will be fantastic, to make up for this…But that sinking feeling is still with me, and going down, as I graze my knuckles down the corridor…I get to the cabin, but I cannot manoeuvre the tiny wheelchair through the door… It is impossible…
Oh, no, this is getting worse!
So my ‘butler’ lifts the wheelchair across and into the cabin…but I still can’t get in.I am stuck in the doorway, as the furniture inside (the specific wheelchair cabin) means that a wheelchair cannot get in.So I am lifted out of the room again.Still the train has not moved, and I warn the manager not to let it leave until we have this sorted…The furniture is then lifted out of the room…and I am lifted back in…But then I try to get into the one suite bathroom, and no way.The door from the “wheelchair accessible” cabin into its “wheelchair accessible” bathroom is too narrow to fit a wheelchair through.
At this stage there are tears rolling down my wife’s face…I am feeling shit, for again being the reason for spoiling another nice weekend…This is not going to work…So I decide to get off…If I cannot go to the toilet, get into bed, and have to be assisted in and out of my room, I am not going to be good company for this weekend.My wife wants to get off with me, but, through her tears, I convince her to stay on, and to enjoy the weekend with our friends.The staff look on hopeless…The manager is getting increasingly irate calls asking why the train is delayed…They all look suitably embarrassed.I am keeping my increasing anger under control.Several friends come along, and try to remonstrate with the staff, but I point out it is not their fault, and I do not want to spoil all their weekends…So I reverse down the corridor, and bum shuffle off the train, back into my wheelchair…The crowd has reformed, and while keeping my anger under control, I squirm in their collective sympathetic looks and comments.They all mean well, but I just need to get out of here.
The train manager assures me that someone will come to collect me, and they will arrange for a taxi to take me to the airport to collect my car.I kiss my wife, and tell her to enjoy the trip…while she wishes me a happy birthday…Our other friends look on helpless…
The doors close, and the train pulls out of the station…
But no one comes, as expected…So I make my own way back to the lounge.There is only the receptionist there…everyone else has gone.She then phones to ask for a taxi to the airport, and I decide to leave before I say or do something that I may later regret.Having to pay (R200) for my own taxi did not help my mood…I think the taxi driver could sense there was something wrong…as I was not able to enter a conversation with him…Angry that we were all given false information…Angry that a world recognised icon of South African tourism is not accessible…Angry that I have left a bad taste of the weekend with my friends…Angry that I cannot enjoy this special adventure…Angry that it has upset my wife…Angry that I can’t enjoy my birthday surprise…Angry that the management compounded their mistakes by not following through, and leaving me to pay for the taxi…Angry that the situation has embarrassed my friend who organised the trip….Angrythat I was put in the situation where all my friends could see my predicament, and angry that they are all feeling sorry for me now…Angry that I have hurt my shoulders & skinned my knuckles more getting into and out of, and around an inaccessible train…Angry that a 5 star luxurious facility has absolutely no idea of how to deal with people with disabilities…Angry that I have been discriminated against directly because of my disability…Angry that I am missing out on a once in a lifetime experience…Angry that something as well known as the Blue Train all around the world is blatantly breaking South African laws, and ignorant of the responsibilities it has under our constitution….Angry not only that they are inaccessible, but that they claim to be accessible, which makes it worse…
Really angry…
I shall calm down slowly over the weekend at home alone…Next week I shall write them a long letter, explaining where they went wrong, and how they need my company’s services to ensure that they comply with their responsibilities as a South African company.But not just yet.I am too angry.I have been excluded from joining my friends for a wonderful weekend, because of my disability.This is the same (in the eyes of the law) as kicking me off, because I have the wrong colour skin.Let no one tell you that we have got rid of Apartheid in South Africa.I got a dose of it today.I know how it feels to be excluded, discriminated against.Sod “Previously” disadvantaged individuals, how about trying to fix things for “Currently” disadvantaged individuals??
Just had a phone call from a tearful wife…She tells me that the friend who has organised the trip is feeling really awful, as are a number of our friends…There was talk apparently of them all getting off the train in support of me, but my wife pleaded with them not to do that, as it would only make me feel worse…
