I Like to Move It, Moooove It

Six hundred elementary students + a nice sunny day + moving and groovin tunes....throw in a love of nutrition and exercise and you'll find yourself smack dab in the middle of A.C.E.S. - All Children Exercising Simultaneously. 

Presenting the check to P.E. Teacher Mrs. Hammond
and two representatives from each classroom.

Over the last two days, I've had the AWESOME experience of leading elementary students from Carrie Knause and Nikkari (St. Louis Public Schools) Elementary Schools in various exercises while joining an estimated 400,000 participants from 1,000 schools in Michigan.  

ACES in Michigan is coordinated by the Michigan Fitness Foundation and sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance. This is the 14^th year of support from Farm Bureau Insurance which allows the Michigan Fitness Foundation to provide free materials to plan the event and to distribute stickers and educational newsletters. In addition, when a Farm Bureau agent sponsors a school a $250 check is provided to purchase health and wellness items for the students. 

Did you know Chocolate Milk is an
AWESOME Post-Work Out Drink!

Growing up in the St. Louis school system I didn't just want to donate the money, I wanted to be apart of it - I mean who doesn't love to exercise with energetic youth....talk about motivating you!!! So I enlisted my mom to contact Dairy Farmers of America and have 20 gallons of chocolate milk donated for Nikkari Elementary. Then she called United Dairy Industry of Michigan and they donated 300 gotMILK? pencils  for Carrie Knause. Finally, we had two local FFA students - Hunter Hrabal and Jessica Sherwood suit up in the UDIM dairy cow costume and exercise with the groups!!

These boys are movin' it with their punching bag techniques!

What was great to see was all the teachers serving as amazing physical fitness role models as they danced like snakes, punched with power and ran in place with style. Their support, along with their amazing P.E. teacher Mrs. Hammond's commitment to educating the students about healthy lifestyles is monumental for their future. I hope they all pursue health lifestyles and continue to move it, moooove it for years to come!!!

Life Insurance As My Child's Savings Account??



Mr. Gauger - Our super polite, fun loving,
life rocks little guy.



My husband, Jesse, and I started putting money into a bank account about a year ago for each of the boys. We would put birthday money and money from our paychecks. It averaged out to about $50 a month for each boy. Once they finished college or a trade school, they would then be given the money to help with student loans, a down payment on a home, a wedding....whatever they wanted (approval by mom and dad required though :)!).

Then I started looking into whole life policies. Whole life is permanent insurance. (Find out lots more here!)As long as you pay the premium, you have insurance until you're 100. In addition, whole life builds cash value which you can take loans and withdrawals from. The death benefit also increases overtime - they're really a cool way to own your life insurance. I also saw them as a way to generate more for our sons' education/life than by just putting money in the bank.

Gunner and Gauge both have $100,000 whole life policies. Gunner's started when he was four and we pay $566 for the entire year, so roughly $47/month. For Gauge, since we started his when he was two, we pay $540/year which equates to $45/month. Together, we're paying less than $100 a month and we've given our children some amazing options.

Option One: Cash out the life insurance policy at age 25 (I'm guesstimating this will be when they have either finished college or a trade school and join the real world of adulthood). Gunner would have approx. $15,000 built up in cash value and Gauge would have $17,000. They could surrender the policy, giving up their death benefit and take the cash to use for whatever they choose (with mom and dad's guidance).



Gunner - Our perceptive, analytical
five year old.



Option Two: Continue having life insurance without ever paying a premium again. After a certain point in a life insurance policy, the dividend you're accumulating is actually more than your premium you're paying. So you can take the dividend and use it to pay the premium, and never pay again. Gunner could stop paying on his policy at the age of 28 and Gauge at 25, they would continue to have life insurance and their cash value would grow - not as rapidly, but it would still be there to provide my grandchildren a wonderful future if something were to happen.

Option Three: Become the owner of the policy and take over payments. Now this is where I want to be like.....why didn't anyone do this for me?!?!?! Talk about securing a future. If both boys continue to pay the $45-47/month payment when they reach age 70 Gunner would have $228,000 built up in cash value and his death benefit would have grown to $381,000!! Gauge would have $242,000 in cash value and have a death benefit of $400,000. No matter what their health is at 70, they continue to pay the premiums they received at age two and four....now that's one heck of a savings account.

The reality is this is a life insurance policy. It's meant to financially take care of loved one's left behind. Most people don't want to fathom putting life insurance on their own children.... I understand, I get it. Yet, if something did happen wouldn't you want to celebrate your child's life without putting canisters at the gas station or holding dinners to raise money? Wouldn't you want to take some time off work to grieve and start putting the pieces in a new formation in order to move through life with out worrying about losing your job too? And wouldn't it be awesome if you never, ever use this and help your son or daughter put a down payment on a home or provide for your grandchildren long after you're gone.

...That's creating a legacy....

FREE GAS CARDS -- WHAT!??!?

I've always listened to older, wiser family members says....."I remember when there was penny candy." "I remember throwing five kids in the back of the car with no seat belts, and we're all still alive." "I remember when........" Well my remember when is when gas was $1.20 and we all flipped out! If you had told my 16 year old self I'd now be paying $4 a gallon I would have laughed in your face.....who is laughing now??

Well in hopes of helping a little bit with the "historic" gas prices, I'll give you a $10 gas card for each referral you send my way who becomes one of my clients. You'll also receive another $10 gas card for each life insurance policy your referral(s) invest in. There's no limit to the number of referrals you send me - so you could possibly fill up your vehicle on referrals alone for 2012! Who is laughing NOW :)

Feel free to print off this pdf or email me with contact information. Haven't had an insurance review yet? Refer yourself :)! Then you can say... "Remember when we first joined Farm Bureau, gas was $4 a gallon back then!"

My Coverages

Continuing to simplify my life by combining all my blogs into one....here's another post from my old insurance blog :)!




My husband and my boys' role model.



Early on, one of my bosses told me to put my own house in order as far as family protection. He asked, "How can you really sell something you don't own and believe in yourself?" The day I wrote the check to pay for my first month's premium made me choke up a bit. Not because of the premium or it was money I really would never see the benefit of....but because I knew if I left the office that night and didn't make it home, Gunner and Gauge (my four and two year old boys) and my husband Jesse, would financially be okay. It made me realize what legacy I would leave for my family.

My boys could continue sleeping in the comfort of their own beds, they would have enough to at least pay off the mortgage, take care of my funeral expenses....well let me just stop there.  Why don't I just share with you the family protection I have and the reasoning behind it.

First let me say, each family has a different need, a different budget and a different scenario. So my protection plan may not fit your family's needs, but if you're a bit like me, I still like to know people's reasoning so I can better formulate my own.

Tonight, I'll start with my husband Jesse's coverage. He has a $500,000 10 year term policy. He uses tobacco, so his premium is a bit higher than mine. His premium is $79.17/month.

So why did we go with this policy?

He's young with two little boys and a super fun wife (I added that in there, but he would hopefully agree :)!). If he didn't come home tonight and Farm Bureau delivered me a check for $500,000 - we decided I would pay his funeral expenses $12,000 for a decent funeral, pay off the mortgage $132,000, pay off my car loan $15,000, pay off my college debt $20,000, set some aside for the boys' college educations $40,000 and that would leave me with about $280,000 to cover his contributing income for four and a half years.

Term is great because it provides maximum coverage at a fraction of the cost of whole life. Now term is like renting. We only have this policy for ten years. Once the ten years finish, he has no more coverage. It also does not generate cash. So we have small premiums, receive maximum coverage and walk away with nothing after the term.

The catch is within those ten years, we'll slowly convert portions of the policy into whole life insurance. Whole life is with you until you're 100 and generates cash you can use while you're alive - say for retirement. Next year, we could convert $50,000 into whole life and continue to have $450,000 in term. The plan would be by the time the ten years are done we converted a good portion, if not all into whole life.

Basically, Jesse and I made the choice to have a lot of coverage while our children are young in order for him to feel that his family would be taken care of, would have time to grieve and would be able to continue living the life he works so hard to provide for us. Why? Because he loves us.

Has this scenario put your brain into over drive? Curious to learn more - I would LOVE to sit down and discuss the perfect plan for your family. Tomorrow and Wednesday we'll cover my coverages and Thursday we'll discuss Gunner and Gauge's life insurance policies.

Thanks for reading! And make sure you're not just insured, you're covered!

kte

Simplify

I have a sign above a door in my home that says Live Simple....one would think if I focused on the saying a little more I would have found time to post at least once on here since LAST August - but none the less I'm going to try hard and simply focus on making sure something gets up on this blog at least a couple times a week - from insurance to sharing insight into my family to posting a couple recent photo shoots - you're going to see a little of everything. For the next couple days I'll be reposting from the insurance blog so I can merge it onto this main blog and then see what happens from there - I hope you follow me and share your comments and questions.I hope you enjoy and find a way today to do one thing a little more simple.

A Blog on Insurance?

Yeah..... I know it's probably not the first words you type when looking for an inspirational blog to follow.....but stick with me here...

If you know me, you know I love social media....and this blog has been in the back of my mind since August 1, 2011 - the day I started my new career as an insurance agent with Farm Bureau Insurance. I have been trying to figure out how I could connect a blog with what I do (aka put my journalism degree from MSU to good use!)  So why not kick off the new year with another way to connect with people.

You don't have to be my client, you don't even have to ask for an insurance review (though I'm always willing to give free reviews!!). My intent is really to just share what I do - since insurance can be "scary, intimidating, the elephant in the room, ignored, worthless, confusing, piling up on my counter or just thrown in a folder in hopes I never have to see it again" - all descriptions I've personally heard.

For most people, insurance is something you don't want to deal with nor see the value in it until you need it. Others can't seem to get enough protection based on a life experience. Everyone sees insurance differently. This blog will show you how I see it, as I sit next to people like you trying to sort through it all.

I hope you follow me, if nothing else to feel like you're not alone when you don't understand something. I hope you ask questions and add experiences. I hope you feel different about insurance every time you read it. I hope you just read it. :)

Happy New Year!

kte



I promise I'll have way more fun looking photos too :)!
Katie Eisenberger, Multi-Lines Agent. Office: (989) 681-6000 Cell: (989) 400-2434 Email: keisenberger@fbinsmi.com

To My 4-H Family and Supporters

I'm the one in the long sleeve denim, jeans tucked into her boots
with an extremely flustered face - I took feeder calves the next year.

When I was nine my sheep got loose five times in the judging ring. FIVE TIMES in just 15 minutes. Not my most shining moment.....but I never guessed that 4-H would provide much more than a livestock check and memories of me chasing that dang sheep around the ring in front of a packed audience. 


A large part of my foundation began sitting around the Jasper Township Hall making crafts, going to other families home's to learn about livestock, spending time with friends at camps, working on our club's talent show plays and ultimately building life skills and developing relationships that I still hold very close today. 

Our club performed the Big Bad Wolf for the
county 4-H talent show. I'm in the black and pink dress and
super cute permed hair :)

Seven years ago, when the job opened up for my home county's 4-H agent position, I knew it was the exact job for me. I have had the honor of working with some amazing young men and women of Gratiot County. Amazing doesn't do justice to what these youth can do - they have inspired me, made me laugh, challenged me to take programs to the next level, taught me how to just sit back, relax and enjoy life - yeah they're that cool and I care so much about them.....


And my leaders, who have been through seven years of my wild, crazy ideas - thank you. Thank you for believing in them, not looking at me crazy when I shared them (at least not in front of me :)!),  helping me work through them and among it all....becoming some of my closest friends. 

Our family at Gauger's first Gratiot County Fair for Youth -
he's the one passed out in my carrier :)

Together we have built a strong foundation for our youth and I know you will all continue developing the incredible young men and women we have in Gratiot County. On a personal note, you've been with me through some major life changing events including my wedding and the births of my two boys. My son Gunner will probably always walk around the fairgrounds like he owns it and both have enjoyed spending time playing with and learning from their 4-H family. Thank you for having such a positive impacted on my family and I. We will always be grateful.


So saying all this....many have heard, but I wanted to make the announcement....


Recently, I accepted a position with Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan as a multi-lines insurance agent. My last day as the GC 4-H Educator is Sunday, July 31 and I will begin my new position on Monday, August 1 in St. Louis at the Reichard Insurance Agency. To clarify, Monte Reichard didn't hire me, he's serving as my mentor. We are both employees of Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan. He was gracious enough to open up office space and offer his resources and experience to help me get started. 

MSU Extension is currently working on what our county's transition, so I do not have a timeline of what it will look like. For now, many of the pieces will be picked up by the local office - whom which, our program would never have been as successful as it has become and I will always owe them for the many times they've stepped up to the plate to help with whatever was going on in 4-H land. I'm confident you will continue to receive the quality response and resources you need as MSUE moves forward in hiring someone.

And though I'm extremely excited about taking this new career path, Gratiot County 4-H is my home and I will continue to be a resource, volunteer and supporter. Thank you for allowing me to consider you all family. I have  grown and been motivated by each of you. And so much more importantly, together we've built one AWESOME youth program for this county.

Sweet Summer Time

Daddy got the jeep running - Who looks the happiest!? :)

This weekend I did something I haven't in a long time. I put my phone away, closed my computer lid and literally laid by the pool and lake all day for three days.

Baby Emma enjoying the pool in style.

I don't remember the last time I've went more than an hour not checking my email, responding to a FB message or seeing what's happening on Twitter. I felt like my in-home tether was lifted and I simply enjoyed face to face conversations without sharing my thoughts or feelings through acronyms and emoticons. 


Did I miss an opportunity to catch up on photo editing? Yes. Could I have become more comfortable using Twitter. Sure. I probably should have even answered emails in a much more timely fashion. 

Fishing with Uncle Teddy and Mason.

But I would have missed splashing around in the pool with my boys, niece and nephew. My eyes wouldn't have seen a beautiful fireworks show on Lake Isabella. Squishing my toes in the sand wouldn't have been as childlike if I was connected to my Blackberry rather than my four year's hand. And finding Gauger dirty

 from head to toe with sand in every crevice wouldn't have been so funny if I had spent my morning 

reading blogs instead of getting dirty right next to him.

Jesse and Gauge with our nephew Mason
and his Uncle Eric.

I needed a couple days to shut down the technology to remind myself that social media can only bring you so far. It will never make the level of impact riding with the jeep top off, tasting a juicy brat with all the fixings, laughing hard with friends and family or hear the loud boom of an actual fireworks show. 

Here's to many more weekends of cutting the cords and enjoying people, places and objects the way they should be - in person!