It's undeniable when you step in the door. Maybe, in your house (like mine) it was the smell of bacon, crisp and sharp. Maybe it was the tomato/ground beef smell of meatballs that mom could never get out of the couch (So that's why she covered the furniture in plastic!), or was it curry, greens or incense at your place?

Homes smell like, well, home. Who or what was waiting for you when it was time for you to come home? Homes can invoke a feeling of comfort and safety, of warmth and joy.

If you pulled out your pocket book or wallet now, whose picture is inside? Who are the ones for whom you are making memories for now, tying them to the smells that they'll never forget in a lifetime?

This is why people earn money. It's not for the love (or the hate) of the work we do that drives us out of bed each morning. It is for the faces of those that depend on us - those faces that give us a purpose each day - that's we do it. Home is where they live, and home is why we work.

How can a home mean so much? Well, for most people it's the largest, most valuable (in a purely monetary sense) asset most people will ever own. How do we make it, keep it and grow it wisely? How do we keep the smells of home that we cherish linger, long after those that made them are gone?

It is never a comfortable topic but life insurance is the key to the continuation of those memories, long after a loved one has passed away - especially if they were the main income earner.

We have a client that had been with us for about 21 months. At 47 years old, he was like many in our community - married with two beautiful teenage daughters. He was an active man, running about 12 to 15 miles per week. After returning home from work one June day with pains in his chest he decided to take a nap. By 4 a.m. the next day he was dead.

It was something no one could have predicted. A heart attack on someone so young and in the prime of his life came as a great shock. He did not smoke, he watched what he ate and loved his family. Thankfully, he had enough foresight and cared for his family enough to want to secure their home and lifestyle with life insurance.

Listen, I know that everyone who sells it may not be the most ethical. That doesn't matter when it comes to protecting what you work so hard to earn. Find someone you trust and can lean on - they'll help you determine how much life insurance you really need in order to protect those you love.

Where will your children sleep after the initial shock is over? How will they see life? In this case, they will be able to sleep in the own beds. More importantly, their mom doesn't have to hold down two jobs and be gone 12 hours a day to support them. In these situations, they lose her, too.

Our homes are special. They provide a place of comfort and safety. By protecting the investment, they also can provide a place of stability during a very difficult time in your family's lives.


Arif Halaby is president of Total Financial Solutions. Ken Rice is vice president of Total Financial Solutions. Direct questions and suggestions to ahalaby@tfswealth.com; include "Inside SCV" in the subject line.