Once upon a time there was a woman named Mary and she had a sister named Sandra. Since the sisters were only a few years apart they became the best of friends growing up. They did everything together from dance camp to cooking classes to reading the same books.

People would confuse them for twins even though Sandra was older than Mary. The easiest way to tell them apart was that Mary was more cautious than Sandra. While they were the best of friends they decided it was better if they didn’t share an apartment, so instead they were neighbors, each in their own apartment.

When they were each given their lease agreement Mary spent the time to look through it and ask questions about the things she wasn’t sure about. Sandra did a quick glance through and made sure that the amount due each month was something she could afford.

Mary saw that renter’s insurance was only $20 a month and wanted to inquire if it was something she really needed since she was in an apartment and not a home. After getting informed that it helps cover anything from break-ins and accidental damage, to flooding or a fire, she decided to purchase it on the off-chance something happened. 

Sandra, on the other hand, listened to the apartment manager explain renter’s insurance but found herself not believing any of those things would ever happen to her. Plus, it was the price of a meal out or a few trips to Starbucks. In other words, Sandra saw the $20 best used in a place that would actually benefit her in the short-term.

The sisters were very happy with their living arrangement and things stayed peaceful for the next few months. All of this changed on the first Tuesday of their first six months in their apartments. It turns out that one of the neighbors above them had left a few candles burning and with the added door slamming and foot stomping that Tuesday afternoon, their above neighbor’s unit went up in flames.

Now we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the fire department got there quickly and did all they could to save everything. The bad news is that the fire ended up being right above Sandra’s unit and while Mary’s unit experienced some damage, Sandra got the worst of it.

Not only was Sandra’s living room ceiling ruined, but so were her couches, and all the fabrics that were in the living room suffered from smoke damage. What was even worse than seeing her unit damaged was the realization that she was going to have to pay for all of it to be fixed out of her own pocket -- while her sister got a few of her things replaced with no cost since she had been paying the $20 a month for renter’s insurance.

Don’t be a Sandra.

You may think it won’t happen to you, but no one can see the future. Save yourself the worry of being able to cover the cost if anything were to happen. Yes, it may mean that you don’t order your favorite Starbucks drink a few times a month, but it's better to be safe than sorry.