the ideal partner. Did you two discuss your insurance needs?"
"We each bought a renewable term insurance policy, naming the other as beneficiary, with a face value of twenty-two thousand dollars that declines over the term of the loan—decreasing term insurance, the agent called it. If either of us dies, the survivor will be able to pay off our entire down-payment loan. Now it won't cause me any financial hardship if Brian happens to die. In fact, I'm encouraging him to take up hang gliding," Tom joked.
"Good thinking, Tom. Not the hang-gliding part, but the insurance. You're a surprisingly quick study," Roy reflected. "What do you mean 'surprisingly'?" Tom sputtered.
"Today, we're going to look at the various ways to save for your retirement," Roy continued, rendering Tom's question rhetorical. "I'm sure everyone here would agree that it's imperative that all of us plan for the future— after all, we're going to spend the rest of our lives there!
"Recognizing that, I'm sure everyone here would also agree that it makes sense to develop a retirement plan— retirement being an important and lengthy part of that future. Basically, what we need to do is to prepare a plan that will lead to prosperous 'golden years' without de-manding too great a sacrifice today. That, in essence, is what good retirement planning is all about."
"Building for the future without killing the present," Tom paraphrased—accurately, judging by Roy's nod.
"Today, we're going to look at a number of investment vehicles that will help you save for retirement, and we're going to learn to select those that are best suited to your needs within the boundaries of Tom's retirement-planning rule.