My husband and I have two young, rambunctious boys. Within a year of our older son being born, we made sure we had a will and a life insurance policy in place. We wanted to be sure our kids were at least taken care of financially if anything were to happen to us, and we wanted to make sure they would have enough to finish their education. I was brought up in a family where education was very important. And my own experience losing my mom at a young age made getting life insurance feel even more urgent.

I'm not sure I would've been able to go back. It really helped me deal with my grief and continue with my life — things didn’t just unravel and fall apart. I would be overwhelmed at certain points, obviously, but I knew my mom wanted me to continue with my studies. In many ways, staying in school was my saving grace. I was doing something that she wanted me to finish.

Obviously, you don't want to have to use life insurance, but I would definitely say get it — especially if you have kids. There’s no question. Even if something does happen to me, my kids will be taken care of.