The amount of life insurance you buy is important because you want it to accomplish the goals you set out for your life insurance plan.
You want to buy enough coverage to protect and provide for your family after your passing, but you don't want to buy more than needed, so you can afford the life insurance.
Usually, when deciding on how much life insurance is needed, people will consider their budget, how many children they have, the income their spouse earns (if any), the amount of their home mortgage, how much money they have saved, their monthly living expenses, etc.
All of these items should be considered when reviewing your life insurance needs.
In the past, life insurance agents might recommend someone carry 10-20 times their annual income in life insurance.
So, if you earned $50,000 a year, maybe you should have $500,000 to a $1,000,000 of life insurance.
But now there is an easier and more accurate way to determine your life insurance needs. You can use a life insurance calculator that asks you some basic questions and gives you an instant, accurate estimate of your life insurance needs.