You may not need life insurance at all if you are single and have no children.  However, people who want to protect their family's standard of living or who own a business should seriously consider how much life insurance to buy.

One rule of thumb is to purchase life insurance equal to 5 to 10 times your annual salary. But a better guide when figuring the amount is to focus on why you are buying the insurance.*

The amount you need can be much less, depending on a number of factors, such as how much your spouse earns and how much you have saved. Want to know more?

*Source: Quicken.com