Life Insurance

Life insurance is unusual among financial products because the person buying it will never personally benefit from the payout — it exists entirely for the people who depend on you. That makes it easy to postpone, but rates are generally lowest when you're young and healthy, so waiting has a real cost.

The biggest decision is term versus permanent coverage, and for most people with a clear, time-bound need — replacing income until kids are grown, or a mortgage is paid off — term life insurance covers that need at a fraction of the cost of a permanent policy.