Welcome to Money As If, the super-major Le Creuset Signature Round Dutch Oven auctioned off at the end of your favorite local fundraiser.

Today’s prizes:

• When you do (or don’t) need life insurance

• Inside New Jersey’s bougiest tricky tray

• Champagne problems

— Jeanine

P.S. Enjoying Money As If? Share your referral link below with friends.

IN THESE, OUR (POSSIBLE) END TIMES

Do you need life insurance?

I’ve been … investigating all of our monthly bills recently for reasons (more on this in an upcoming issue). Life insurance was on deck this week — and, well, I wish this was a bit more interesting, but absent the weirdness around buying something you’ll only use if you die, the need for a policy is pretty straightforward.

“The primary purpose of life insurance is to protect your income after you pass,” says Jay Zigmont, certified financial planner (CFP®) and founder of Childfree Wealth. So:

• If you have or expect to have people in your life who depend on your income (i.e, a child, spouse, aging parents, etc.), you need some.

• If you don’t have and don’t expect to have people in your life who depend on your income, you don’t.

Any exceptions?

Sure, outliers exist in the first group (say you can self-insure) and the second (say you have a mortgage you don't want anyone to worry about upon your death). And people with no children and a non-dependent life partner have a little bit more discretion.

However, “there are real reasons to consider having it, especially if you're a high-income earner,” says Natasha McPherson, Managing Director at Hall Wealth Management. (Wealthy people often use cash value life insurance as a tax-saving strategy and a source of supplemental retirement income.)

I knew a lot of this, having spent four years working on editorial at Policygenius, an online insurance brokerage. But I wanted to get some fresh opinions on the spousal angle, since Teddy and I don’t have kids and our monthly premiums are a tad pricey: $125.80 a month to be exact. (We took the policy out a bit later than traditionally recommended — more on this in a sec.)

We’ve decided to keep our coverage, at least for the foreseeable future, as a way to look out for one another in life and death. As McPherson puts it: “Some clients say ‘money doesn’t make grieving go away but it does it make easier.’”

Life insurance in this brave new world

Our (potential) end times aren’t drastically altering this conversation.

Life insurance rates remained relatively stable throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and, unlike with property and casualty coverage, the industry has yet to be roiled by climate change.

There are rumblings that could change sooner rather than later. Life insurance premiums are expected to increase by 1.5% through 2025, and some industry experts are urging life insurers to prepare for the worsening impact of climate change on our health and average lifespan.

Those factors add some urgency around getting a policy.

“Insurance companies typically don't make quick changes, instead opting for years and years of research and results,” says CFP® Patrick Hanzel. “With this in mind, it is usually better to get your life insurance in place before potential rate increases in the future.”

But buying life insurance ASAP isn’t new-school advice.

“Life insurance rates for new policies increase as you get older, so getting coverage now helps you lock in the rates both for your current age and current health,” Hanzel explains.

Finding affordable coverage

Of course, needing life insurance and finding affordable coverage are two different things, so here are some ways to do the latter if the former applies.

• Buy early. We covered this already, but you’ll score cheaper rates if you get a policy when you’re young and have a clean medical record.

• Opt for term vs. whole life. Term policies ultimately expire, but they’re also up to 15X cheaper than permanent policies — and, for most families, they’ll get the job done.

• Only get the coverage you need. “The old ‘eight-to-10 times your income’ rule is always a starting point,” Hanzel says. Other factors include your age, number of dependents, and current debts. There are online calculators that can help you get ballpark estimates and avoid overpaying.

• Consider laddering, a strategy where you stagger a few policies of varying coverage amounts and terms to reflect diminishing needs as you (and your kids) age.

• Pay premiums annually or bi-annually vs. monthly. Yes, it’s a big bulk payment, but most insurers offer an up to 5% discount if you do so.

• Shop around. Life insurers price risk differently; some are more friendly to certain conditions (like asthma) or demographics (like smokers) than others. I recommend tapping Policygenius. (I used to work there, but this is not a paid endorsement.) It's one of the few places you can give your info once and actually get quotes from multiple insurers. Plus, its agents help you complete the entire application process.

RECEIPTS

The (al)lure of your local tricky tray

OK, so, no, I have not been to every tricky tray in the Garden State, but I can’t imagine they get much swankier than the one I just attended in Woodland Park, New Jersey.

Oak View Elementary School's bi-annual fundraiser is held at a country club, has a theme (this year's was Alice in Wonderland), and features a four-course sit-down dinner, cocktail hour, DJ, and super-grand prizes worth over $1,000.

I mean, look at this thing …

For any uninitiated out there: Tricky trays, also known as card parties, penny socials, penny sales, or school auctions, are essentially a big old raffle. Attendees buy tickets and drop them in containers for the items they’d like to win.

They’ve been popular since at least the ‘50s, probably because they’re awesome — a good excuse for a communal night out and a great way for underfunded schools and nonprofit organizations to raise money.

But there’s also money psychology at play, namely, the “peanuts effect.” This phenomenon finds more people are more willing to take risks for small stakes than larger ones and suggests gambling, at the right price and in the right circumstances, has some utility in our lives. (Basically, when you get all of the thrill and none of the devastating financial consequences.)

The Oak View Tricky Tray 2025 didn’t exactly cost peanuts. Admission, which included dinner and a sheet of minor prize tickets, cost $75 per person, a steep price tag as far as these things go.

Additional raffle tickets ranged from $5 to $20 per sheet — which, TBH, felt pretty reasonable, given prizes included a PS5, outdoor basketball hoop, Dyson Airwrap hair styler, Callaway golf bag, LED light therapy face mask, and a bag from my old friend Louis Vuitton.

I spent about $180 in total and didn’t go home empty-handed. I won mugs with hot cocoa, a candle with a diffuser, and … two light-up 4th of July candlesticks I must have put in for in a panic. (Swipe through the Instagram slider above to get a load of these.)

My mother cleaned up. She won a box of cigars, a basket of goodies for her grand-doggos, and … the super-grand Apple prize, which included an iPad Air, Magic Keyboard, Pencil Pro, and AirPods Max.

But, even without the prizes, the night felt like money well spent. I got to spend time with friends, bond with mom, dress up in an outfit other people would actually see (something that’s taken on new value following the pandemic), and help a good cause.

Besides, there are certainly much pricier ways to spend a night out.

PRICE TAGS

Broadway Spring 2025 edition

Speaking of pricey nights, celebrities have descended upon Broadway — more so than usual — and their presence is making expensive theater tickets way more expensive. These price tags reflect the cost of two orchestra seats at a Saturday night show in May.

🎭 $1,842

to see Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. Something’s gotta pay for the $19,000 chess set decorating Gyllenhaal’s dressing room.

🏘 $1,688

to watch Roman Roy Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, Bill Burr, and Michael McKean duke it out in the latest revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. (They say it’s OK.)

🚬 $1,598

to see Good Night, and Good Luck, written by and starring George Clooney. The show broke Othello’s short-lived record for the highest-grossing play last week.

🖼 $1,042

to see Shiv Roy Sarah Snook in a solo adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. (They say she’s very good.)

🎤 $590

to watch ‘NSYNC’s Joey Fatone reprise his role in & Juliet, a musical riff  on Shakespeare’s most well-known play. Fatone returns as Lance (yeah, I have no idea) on April 22.

🍝 $36.95

the per-person price for Becco’s prix fixe pasta menu, which includes an appetizer and unlimited table side service of three daily pasta specials. (Hey, if you’re gonna spend on star-studded tickets, you might as well find a great deal on good food.)

FRESH GREEN

Nowadays, most financial takes are boilerplate. These aren't.

• Oh, ugh, today, in why we can't have nice things: The Wall Street Journal found and interviewed some people using remote work to (poorly) hold two full-time jobs. Usually, I'd say, "Get your bag," but stories like these seem like fodder for more companies to mandate a full-time return to office.

• This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with the subprime mortgage market, but a BNPL burrito.

• A helpful guide from Consumer Reports: How to buy a car at a reasonable price in the time of tariffs.

THIRST TRAP

And, finally, today, in things I would buy if, you know, I could just buy things …

Bottles up

Ode à la Nature – Edition Volutes, a collaboration between fine Champagne-maker Perrier-Jouët and embroiderer Atelier Montex, available on request for $100,000.

It’s certainly the most beautiful Champagne bottle I’ve ever seen, though, in fairness to all the other Champagne bottles out there, I can’t say I’ve ever gone window-shopping for one.

Got questions, comments, receipts, tips, thirst traps, etc. you’d like to share? Send them to [email protected].

_{This article is for educational purposes only. We don’t recommend or advise individuals to buy, not buy, sell, or not sell particular investments or other assets, as everyone’s circumstances are different. Also, it’s your money and ultimately up to you to decide the best use for it.}