What is laddering term life insurance and why would I do it?

Laddering means buying several term policies of different lengths instead of one big policy, so your coverage shrinks as your need for it does. For example, instead of a single $1.5 million 30-year policy, you might stack a $500,000 30-year policy, a $500,000 20-year policy, and a $500,000 10-year policy. Early on you have the full $1.5 million while kids are young and the mortgage is large. As shorter policies expire, your coverage steps down to match a paid-down mortgage and grown children — and your total premiums drop too, since the shorter and expiring policies cost less. The trade-off is managing multiple policies and applications. Laddering works best when you can clearly map out when specific obligations end. Estimate the right total at wealthserene.com/tools/insurance-calculator.