September 6, 2008
How Much Does Life Insurance Cost, Anyway?
Life insurance premium rates vary widely for several reasons. How much does life insurance cost when you are in your thirties will be significantly lower than paying for life insurance in your sixties. Your health, the type of life insurance you opt for and the company you choose are also factors that determine how much does life insurance cost for you. Remember, life insurance companies are a business looking to make a profit. They will do this in any way they can. Please be sure that you really need life insurance in the first place before you buy any.
Your Age
Perhaps the single biggest factor that helps insurance companies figure out how much does life insurance cost for you is your current age. The older you are, the more you will pay. It’s that simple. And it’s very difficult (or next to impossible) to lock into a fixed monthly premium (like you can do with loans or mortgages). As you age, your life insurance premiums will go up. You can guarantee it. The reason is because as you age, you are more likely to die.
The Type
Another huge factor that helps insurance companies figure out how much does life insurance cost for you is the type of insurance that you are getting. Are you getting term insurance? Or is it whole life insurance? How long is this coverage to last? One year? Thirty years? The least expensive is term life insurance. However, the more you age, the more you pay. Every time you reach the end of your “term”, your “renegotiate” your premium (in other words, the company raises the rates. You don’t actually get to argue this.)
Why is whole life insurance and universal life insurance so much more expensive? Because your premiums don’t go entirely towards paying for your policy. A part of your policy money goes into investments which (hopefully) make beneficiaries get a lot more money after you die. The life insurance company is usually the one that does the investing. None of this happens with term life insurance.
The Company Itself
The other major factor that helps insurance companies figure out how much does life insurance cost for you is the company’s own rates. Life insurance is a product. Just like with any other product, you are going to have some companies charge more than others. A successful life insurance company with an A+ rating on Standard & Poor’s can charge a lot more than some brand new life insurance company. However, with life insurance, you generally get what you pay for.
The new Xbox 360 system console brings Microsoft technology to the gaming industry like never before. This new game sports new Internet connections to social gamers and puts the gamer in ultimate control with goo-gobs of fun add-ons.
This article describes some of those accessories and the games available that (almost) everyone can enjoy.
XBox 360 Accessories
For such a great system, it may be no surprise that this system takes full advantage of accessorizing. We can begin by saving games on the $19.99 512MB memory chip or with the $29.99 64MB memory unit. To keep the power lasting, we can look at the $29.99 Quick Charge Kit or the smaller $19.99 Play & Charge Kit. On the go, you can carry and use the $11.99 Rechargeable Batter Pack while re-powering your controller with the $29.99 charge Station.
Increase connectivity with the $99.99 Wireless Network Adapter and keep your system looking good with the $19.99 Intercooler. But enough about maintenance.
Let us look at the fun.
Get a $39.99 Wired controller or $49.99 Wireless Controller to enjoy your games. Unless you want to feel like going behind the wheel. In that case, you can try on the $149.99 Wireless Racing Wheel for size.
Craving a little multimedia action? Get a $199.99 HD-DVD player (don’t forget the $19.99 remote) – a $39.99 Live Vision Camera or a $59.99 Wireless Headset (wired headset available for $19.99). Then plow your way onto the $89.99 Guitar Hero II.
Of course, if you want to get down with your PC, check out Xbox’s $19.99 Wireless Gaming Receiver and user your Xbox 360 controller on the computer!
Looking for games? We have separated this part of our guide into two sections: one is for children and one for adults. Use caution when buying the XBox 360 games for players under 18 years of age.
FOR CHILDREN:
Xbox’s UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 $59.99
Xbox’s Viva Pinata $29.99
Xbox’s Fuzion Frenzy 2 $29.99
Meet the Robinsons $49.99 (by Disney Interactive Studios)
Xbox’s Star Trek Legacy $39.99
Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution Universe $49.99
FOR ADULTS:
Xbox’s Halo 2 $29.99 (rated 10 by GameInformer)
Xbox’s Gears of War $59.99 (rated 9.5 by GameInformer)
Xbox’s Crackdown $59.99 (rated 8.5 by GameInformer)
Capcom’s Lost Planet: Extreme Condition $59.99
Bethesda Softworks’ Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion $59.99
Xbox’s Rainbow Six: Vegas $59.99 (rated 9.5 by GameInformer)
D3 Publishers’ Earth Defense Force 2017 $39.99
Activision’s Cabela’s African Safari $29.99
Activision’s Marvel: Ultimate Alliance $59.99 (rated 9.25 by GameInformer)
Activision’s History Channel: Civil War $39.99
Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 $59.99 (rated 8.75 by GameInformer)
Sega’s Armored Core 4 $59.99
NOTE: A lot of Xbox core 360 games display the RP warning. Please remember to follow the guidelines provided by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) when buying games for children under the age of 18. Here’s a good reference to what the ratings mean:
C = Appropriate for Early childhood
E = Appropriate for Everyone
E 10+ = Appropriate for Everyone aged 10 and older
T = Appropriate for Teens
M = Appropriate for Mature Adults
RP = Rating Pending (NOT appropriate for children)
The following games sport ESRB’s RP rating:
Mass Effect
Shadowrun
Blue Dragon
Tenchu Z
The Drakness
Bioshock
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Hour of Victory
Although recent years have seen many steps taken to end violence in the family, domestic abuse is still a rampant problem in this country. Everywhere you look, you see news about family violence. Sometimes, it is just a matter of verbal abuse or neglect, but other times it takes a more sinister appearance. Family violence claims thousands of victims every year, many of them fatally injured in abuses that society should have prevented. It is not enough for us to keep violence out of our families. We must be able to spot violent families and provide help for victims before things get too far.
There may be many family violence laws in place, but often they are not enough. You see, unless the cops actually see the domestic abuse taking place, they will usually leave the situation alone. The cops first priority, after all, is not to end family violence, but to stabilize the situation. If they can get someone to cool down without arresting them and there are no clear signs of physical abuse, they will walk away. Even when violence family is reported and someone has been beaten or injured, they may not do anything about it. I have a friend who was the victim of domestic abuse and called the cops, but all they did was detain the man briefly before letting him go. They considered it a domestic issue and declined to participate.
Family violence prevention takes many different forms. You can earn a criminal justice degree, help run a domestic abuse shelter, or work to treat the causes of domestic violence. The latter has been my approach throughout my life. As a therapist, I see both victims and abusers. Is important to understand the family violence is a crime perpetrated by one member of the family against the other, but that does not mean that you cannot work with the abuser. If you see what makes families violent, you can take actions to stop it. If a domestic abuser can learn to control his anger, future outbreaks of family violence can be prevented.
On the other hand, this does not excuse family violence. If you know someone who has been the victim of family violence, you need to make sure that they get out of the house and leave their abuser as soon as possible. There is no reason for them to wait for him to change. They do not deserve to be beaten up in the meantime.