Dear Dave,

My husband and I both work, and we just bought a great house for $150,000. He makes $50,000 a year, and I make about $30,000. We’ve been getting lots of different mortgage life insurance offers in the mail. They say they will pay off the house if one of us dies. Do you think we should take advantage of this?

Blasha

Dear Blasha,

No! These kinds of offers are terrible unless you’re uninsurable, because most mortgage life insurance policies are a lot more expensive than term life insurance.

You and your husband both need about eight to ten times your annual incomes wrapped up in good, level term policies. Forget that overpriced stuff. These will take care of you both, and the house, for a lot less if something unthinkable happens.

—Dave