A properly-valued life insurance policy will function in part as your mortgage-replacement insurance, your credit-card insurance, your installment-debt insurance, etc. However, most life insurance policies do not cover disability, which is a far more likely occurrence over your career than death. If you cannot work at your job, what could you do which would earn you enough money to continue to pay your bills? Some workplaces offer disability insurance, either paid for by the company (rarer and rarer) or as a group policy for its employees. The thing to watch for there is "own occupation" -- cheaper disability-insurance policies will only pay you for your disability if you are unable to perform any job (even filling boxes on an assembly line or stuffing erasers on pencils) -- regardless of whether the income that new job provides remotely resembles your old income. In that case, you probably qualify for SSDI anyway. So, if you go for disability insurance, make sure it covers your income for the kinds of jobs you have been educated to do.

tinylady, in your shoes I would try to find a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) who does financial planning on an hourly fee basis. Everyone's situation is utterly unique to them. An in-depth financial analysis would determine where you are, what are your goals, and whether you are on-track to achieve them. If you are not, then an advisor with fiduciary responsibility is obligated to discuss alternatives that are in your best interest, without pushing products that earn him/her $$. Pls do contact your pension fund administrators or HR dept first, as some companies offer their employees low-cost or a free initial referral to a CFP for planning purposes. This referral service is becoming a popular benefit so see if it's available to you. CFP means Certified Financial Planner, which falls under the strict RIA classification. If not, there are two member organizations of fee-only CFPs. I don't know of any for CPAs with PFS certification (another of the 4 certified titles that qualify as fiduciary-duty RIAs) but if you Google you may find an association that can refer you to such a person in your area. Depending on where you live it can be hard to find an RIA nearby who is fee-only. There is a lot of misunderstanding about what financial planning is. It is a roadmap of where you are, an identification of your goals, and a plan on how to achieve those goals. Only RIAs are allowed to do true financial planning; any other title, no matter how fancy it sounds, can offer investment advice but NOT a true financial plan. A financial plan involves investing but that is not its sole purpose, although that may be most important to you at this time. It is not solely centered around retirement, but instead should focus on all aspects of your financial well-being. This is something one could DIY, at least up to a point I can and have. But getting an objective opinion once in a while from a good RIA is something weÂve found worthwhile. We Âpiggy-back on a relativeÂs CFP and itÂs been very helpful to touch base annually. The two fee-only CPA associations are: NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, is the nationÂs leading organization dedicated to the advancement of Fee-Only comprehensive financial planning. Website is http://www.napfa.org/ Garrett Planning Network is an international network of fee-only financial advisors and planners. Website is http://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com/ Below is a link to an excellent list of questions you should ask any advisor, on the CFP.net website. This website also has a search function for finding a CFP, but they are more geared towards asset-based mgmt CFPs (those who charge a percentage of portfolio assets, usually with a $250K minimum on investments) as opposed to fee-only CFPs. Anyway, good luck to you going forward. I hope you are able to retire according to your plans! I've been retired since 2006 and we're counting the days down till my DH retires early next year.

Guardsman's fabricoate is a nice program due to it's warranty. Their warranty typically covers not just staining but rips cuts tears, dog piddles on sofa etc. It depends on what your retailer is offering for their warranty program because guardsman has many different types. It depends on the retailer also. What I described above is what my local retailer offers. ($79 for a sofa) The price is also relative to how many pieces are being treated. If this is a 3 piece sectional I would say it's about right. a two piece sectional I think it's a little overpriced. Penn House as well as any Upholsterer buys their fabrics from mills like the curtain companies, clothing companies and everyone else. Typically Upholstry Mfgs. only warranty the fabric for a year because they do not mfg.it. Also guardsman's Fabricoate may void the Manufacturers warranty on fabric only. But that warranty should be covered by Fabricoate if you purchase the program. So what are you getting? (how many pieces)

Guardsman is misleading consumers grossly and with no shame. Their fine print exclusions dis-qualify all damages they claim to cover in their marketing brochure. Guardsman plan was sold to me along with my purchase of outdoor furniture from Chair King. The nice brochure said it covered rips/cuts/burns. When I made a claim about a rip from the dog, they denied it under their "misuse - animal damage" section. In fact, every possible cause of any cut/tear/burn is excluded from their coverage. The brochure also says that they cover burns and heat marks, but then the exclusions say that they do not cover such burns/heat marks that are caused by fire. What else these can be caused by? Their exclusions are very broad and basically dis-qualifies all damages they claim to cover on their brochure.