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Think Money Smart By SHARON EPPERSON Figuring out life insurance Some experts say you need enough life in surance to cover five, six, even 10 times your annual income (esjiedally I \ PI if you have a young family). However, “the answer really isn’t how much life insurance you need, it’s how much money your family will need after you are gone,” says Byron Udell, CEO of AccuQuote, which provides term life insurance rates and helps individuals secure policies, lb get started: EVALUATE YOUR FAMILY’S NEEDS. Policies can pay immediate expenses, such as medical costs, funeral bills, taxes, mortgage payments and out standing debts. But you also should have enough coverage to pay for future Animal Smart steve dale “People” names now popular for pets What ever happened to “Rover”? It’s no longer cool, it seems, to name a dog Fido, Snoopy or Lassie. According to a database of more than 450,000 pets insured by Veterinary Pet Insurance, Max is the most popular name for both dogs and cats. Other crossover favorites: Lucy and Bella. Interestingly, the top 10 dog names are also names for people. “When Pets are an integral part of many families. pets are an integral part of the family people are more inclined to choose a human name,” says Carol McConnell, who is the chief veterinary medical offi- JvMk I \ n I w^:vLWSm. Government Employees insurance Co • GEICO General Insurance Co • GEICO Indemnity Co. • GEICO Casualty Co. These companies are subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. GEICO auto insurance is not available in Mass GEICO: Washington. DC 20076. © 2006 GEICO Smart financial obligations. “Outline your family’s cash-flow needs and financial goals, and then add up the price tag to figure out your true insurance needs,” says Judith Rosen thal, a financial adviser with Ameriprise. TALLY UP TILE RESOURCES your survivors could use to help support themselves. These may include your spouse’s income: long- and short term savings, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, 529 plans for college and emer gency reserves; and cer at Veterinary Pet Insurance. 1 Max 2 Molly 3 Buddy 4 Bella 5 Lucy 6 Maggie 7 Daisy 8 Jake 9 Bailey 10 Rocky To »k any USA WEEKEND columnist a question, visit usawookond.com. HELPFULTIPS CfIMQUREVERYDAY LIFE Your family’s situation determines the coverage you’ll need. TOP CAT NAMES TOP DOG NAMES Max Chloe Lucy Tigger Tiger Smokey Oliver Bella Sophie Princess /\ ft ( \ Vi v \ AiLil existing life insurance policies. The dif ference between your family’s needs and the available resources will tell you how much life insurance to get. For help with calculations, go to smartmoney.com and search for its Life Insurance Worksheet Relation Tips dennie hughes Go on, Google your date* i A reader asked me recently whether ™ it’s acceptable to Google a date. My take: Nothing is wrong with getting your Google on. Everyone does it even President Bush admits to using the site because it’s a quick and easy tool for scoping out any possible posi tive points (having w r on a citizenship award, for example) of someone you’re about to meet as well as revealing nega tives (such as an arrest). Dating blindly is a thing of the past However, don’t rely solely on a Web search for guidance. Avoid going out with someone w r ho makes you uncom fortable. Trust your gut not Google. SURVIVE THE’6Os? YOU DESERVE SPECIAL TREATMENT. GEICO geico.com Game Smart melanie d.g. kaplan How about Pac-Man with your peanuts? Grab your boarding pass and go play. Just as fliers have had it up to here with cuts in amenities by U.S. carri ers, a few foreign airlines have raised the bar by adding some fun and games to travel. Air France installed PS3 consoles in its new satellite at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. And last year, when Virgin Atlantic opened a new Club house (business-class lounge) at Lon don’s Heathrow Airport the airline in cluded among the available diversions a dedicated games area called the Den. It features a pool table, comfy sofas, retro tabletop video games like Astro jff Virgin Atlantic offers pool in the Den. Wars and Pac-Man and hand-held PSP stations. (You just need to show your boarding pass for access to the games.) In the States, check out Virgin At lantic’s Clubhouse at Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. Business-class passengers can access a separate room that offers an educational board game called Take Off plus a flat-screen TV on which to play video games such as NBA Street, NASCAR Thunder and The Simpsons: Hit & Run. tt That’s why GEICO offers personal service, just for you. MONEYSMART ILLUSTRATION JASON SCHNEIDER CANOPY /VEER CAT: 808 ELSDALE. WORKBOOK/JUPITERIMAGES