How much to cover now when life changes are further down the road?

I (31M) am trying to figure out if it’s better to over insure myself today with the idea that it’ll be better to get a lower premium for max coverage now, or get a adequate coverage now and add on later as I get older and have solidified a greater need. There are nuances. I also acknowledge and understand that life insurance is meant to cover debt/surviving needs, and not treated as a pay day of my death.

My income is $125,000 and my wife’s income is $150,000. I expect my income to eventually reach $175,000 over the next 10 years while she expects hers to stay the same. For calculation purposes, let’s just stick to $125,000.

We don’t know if we want kids yet. If we do, we might want 1, or 2, or 3 – we honestly cannot predict it. For calculation purposes, let’s just say 2 future kids if we must give an answer today. We want all college tuition paid for.

I currently have a townhome mortgage with about $300,000 balance. I have ambitions of renting this unit out eventually, and we will eventually finance another home when we are ready. We can’t predict where we end up, how big, or small, but if forced to give a realistic number on a future primary home, the mortgage would likely be $500,000 – $600,000. I may even sell the townhome and roll equity over, I honestly cannot predict it.

I’m currently contributing 25% of my income across various IRAs. My wife is contributing 20% of her income across various IRAs. We have no other outstanding debt for now. I have leftover funds to still save and also pay term premiums.

My question is: using various online calculators and factoring possible children, I’m getting a possible benefit amount between 2-3 million. Let’s go with the higher number. I’m quoted $150/month for $3 million in coverage for 30 years. I have space in my budget for this.

Is it better for me to just accept this cost now because it’ll be cheaper than adding on more coverage later, and I can always reduce coverage if I find out we won’t have kids?

Or is it better to simply cover my mortgage and immediate death expenses (funerals, time to grief/lost income) and add on more coverage later as we solidify having kids or buying another home/put on more debt?

submitted by /u/WorSteve849
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