Derick Newton

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. To celebrate, you may want to present your loved ones with chocolates, flowers or any number of other traditional gifts. But if your valentine also happens to be your spouse or your life partner, you also might want to show your love in another way — by making sure you have adequate insurance.

Just consider some of the things that life insurance can do for you and your family:

Pay off your mortgage — With sufficient life insurance, your family can remain in their home should anything happen to you.

As an investor, you know that 2011 was a somewhat “choppy” year, with the financial markets going through many ups and downs. So what can you expect in 2012?

As baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra is quoted as saying: “It’s hard to make predictions — especially about the future.” And these words are certainly applicable for anyone who would like an accurate forecast of the investment climate.

Yet we do know of some factors that may affect your portfolio in the months ahead. Here are a few of them:

As an investor, you’ve pretty much seen it all in 2011 — including slow-but-steady gains early in the year, a market correction during the debt ceiling debate and the U.S. credit downgrade, and huge one-day price movements, both up and down — and there’s still a month to go. But despite the volatility of the past 11 months, you can make some positive year-end investment moves, including the following:

Several years ago, a book titled Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus was quite popular. As the title suggests, the book argues that men and women are vastly different from each other, particularly in their emotional needs and in the way they communicate. While not everyone agrees with the notion that men and women might as well be from different planets, most of us would probably concur that the two genders frequently behave differently — and this divergence in behavior may also show up in the way that we invest.

You may be unaware of it, but September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. And while a whole month may seem like a long time to focus on life insurance, it’s actually a good opportunity for you to realize the important role that life insurance can play in your life.

Unfortunately, many people don’t have sufficient insurance. A recent report by LIMRA, a research and consulting group, shows the following:

Individual life insurance ownership among U.S. households has reached a 50-year low.

On September 5, we observe Labor Day, which is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. Of course, if you’re like most people, work is essential to your life, both as a means of personal fulfillment and as a necessity for achieving your financial goals, such as a comfortable retirement. But if you’re going to attain those goals, you’ll want your investments to work as hard as you do.

For that to happen, you’ll need to take these steps: