All About Mother's Day

Your wonderful, sweet mother is worth…no less than $68,875 per year, according to Insure.com’s annual survey quantifying the value of all of those labors of love she performs day in and day out.

If you’re as insulted as I am, then let’s calm down together a bit. Though I believe a mother’s value is beyond calculation, it’s clear that the insurance information and tools site each year computes a Mother’s Day Index for two reasons:

One is to acknowledge that whatever kind of paid work they may do, mothers get no day off from cooking, driving, helping with homework, taking care of the kids and sundry other activities that Insure.com includes in its Index, which rose 1.9% over last year’s value, meaning she would actually be shortchanged for these efforts, if paid, given today’s 2.1% inflation rate.

Its second reason, doubtless, is to sell insurance. While that is self-interested, I find it more praiseworthy than the first. It is an important protection for the whole family! If Mom’s income would be reduced following Dad’s untimely demise, life insurance is a moral and financial imperative. Similarly, in the event of an unexpected death, a life insurance policy would pay for services that must carry on and which grandparents may be unwilling or incapable of performing on a daily basis.

This matter is no exaggeration. Many Moms do go uninsured. I quote from Insure.com’s release:

…36 percent of women in an annual poll by Insure.com reported that they cannot afford a life insurance policy. But with the value of moms reaching nearly $69,000 a year, most families cannot afford to be without one.”

The news release continues:

Of the women who reported having either a term, whole or both types of life insurance policies, nearly a quarter reported paying $251-$500 annually for their policy – that’s less than $1.50 a day.”

It bears mentioning that the cost of term life insurance for a young person can be had quite cheaply – at less, even much less, than a dollar a day.

But beyond insurance, important though it be, I think there are a few financially connected sort of lessons we can learn, even if your Mom, like mine, is not a money person.

The most basic is that whatever your issue is – not saving enough, can’t control spending – you can actually achieve your goal if stop, consider and emulate the countless and indefatigable sacrifices your mother has made for you.

The second is an awareness of longevity. In the normal course of life, a mother predeceases her children. Factual as this is, it is nearly impossible to wrap your head around it, meaning if the opportunity still exists, you can still ask more questions, learn more, listen more and express your gratitude.

The third goes beyond investing and is reflected in how a mother views her “portfolio.” If you have three investments, and two have displayed handsome returns and one has not, you can say – “that’s great, I’m up.” A mother finds no solace in two kids doing great and one experiencing difficulty. Her heart beats for her children, no matter what, no matter when. And it is this fact that gives lie to the very concept of Mother’s Day, which is actually every day.

Culled from seekingalpha.com