Sit quietly and think.

Manawatu Herald, 8 January 1898, Page 3

Sit quietly and think.

In the leader of The Mutual Provident Messenger for December is to be found the following very suitable abviee:-— We would aek them to sit down quietly and ask themselves seriously whether,; in view of their domestic responsibilities they are carrying a sufficient amount of assurance on their lives. The natural affection of a father for his Wife and family is a strong incentive to him to exert himself to the utmost to make provision for them ; but he too frequently endeavours to do this by saving money, investing in shares, and such like, instead of paying life assurance. The reason probably lies in the fact that he can gee his deposit receipt or his scrip aotually in his possession, while the proceeds 0/ his life policy appear to to concealed in the womb of the future. Yet the latter is in reality a more tangible asset than the former, inasmuch as it represents actual oash at his death, while assets of the other characters named may be difficult of realisation at any time. Furthermore, the ordinary man with a moderate salary and domestic responsibilities finds it extremely difficult to save; in any event the process is a long and tedious one. Again, many men, more, doubtless, from thoughtlessness than design, fail to realise the disproportion which usually exists between the future requirements of a family and the provision made to meet them. The maa with a salary of from £250 to 4500, per annum often rest's satisfied with a policy for £500, and yet if he would but reflect he would j soon convince himself how absurd it is to expect one or two years' •alary, of an amount on which be finds it, as he thinks, hard to live, is »uffioient to provide for lifetime of his widow and for the helpless years of his children. A sum of £500 cannot be made uow-a-days to yield an income of more than £25 per annum, and yt>t a man who spends £500 a year in the maintenance of his family and himself will expect his family to live on a twentieth of that without his experience and counsel to guide them. ■