How Much Would You Pay To Know…
For Yourself
Suppose someone said for they can tell you when you will die, and you know for sure that this person is legitimate. How much would you pay to know this information?
I asked this question to several people and their answers vary widely.
One person was adamant that this information is so cancerous and traumatic that they actually have to be paid to be told this information.
For Someone Else
Now, suppose someone said they can tell you when someone else dies, ie. your spouse, your child, your parents, etc. How much would you pay to know this information?
For Myself
For me, I looked at the question this way. Most of what we do in life is because we don’t know when we’re going to die, eg. retirement planning, life insurance, etc. Furthermore, this not-knowing causes an enormous amount of stress.
So for me, the answer is pretty mathematical.
For example, let’s just look at one factor: life insurance. Most people purchase life insurance (myself included) either through work or privately. I ran a quick quote online, and I could get a $250,000 life insurance policy for 30 years for $300/year in premiums.
Now if I knew that I would die 40 years from now, I wouldn’t buy this policy. It’d be a waste of money. The total money saved equals $300/yr x 30 years, which is $9,000. Therefore, I’d pay a maximum of $9,000 to learn when I’d die. If the guy charges me only $8,000, I’d come out $1,000 ahead.
The scenario changes drastically if I was to die before 30 years. For example, if I knew that I would die 20 years from now, I would definitely buy this policy. My family would receive $250,000 when I die, and my total cost in premiums would have been $300/year x 20 years, which is $6,000. If the guy charges me $9,000 to learn when I’d die, my family nets $235,000. It’s a no brainer.
