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ASK THE FOOL

Q Is life insurance really something everyone needs?

— T. N., Flagstaff, Ariz.

A Nope. Those with no children, no house and no debt might consider skipping it — for now.

Think of insurance as protection against a financial loss, not as an investment. ( There are, after all, more effective ways to invest.) If a partner or children are depending on your income, then buying life insurance makes sense. But if you don’t need to protect any income stream, consider parking your money elsewhere.

Learn more about insurance before buying any, though. Perhaps visit iii.org, lifehappens.org and fool.com/insurance.

Q How can I give single shares of stock as holiday gifts? — D. Y., Wilkes- Barre, Pa.

A You can buy one share of a stock as a gift at websites such as registerstock.com, giveashare.com, shareinaframe.com and oneshare.com. It’s not the smartest way to invest, though, as you may pay $ 35 or more in fees to buy one $ 45 share of stock.

Still, if it’s a gift, the recipient does end up with a $ 45 stock that might be worth $ 90 or much more one day.

When buying stock for yourself, take commissions and fees into account.

Try to not pay more than 2 or 3 percent of an investment’s value in fees. ( For a $ 500 investment, that would be $ 10 or $ 15.)

You can invest effectively with just a few dollars via direct investment plans or dividend reinvestment plans (“Drips”).

Learn more at dripinvestor. com, directinvesting. com and fool. com/ School/ DRIPs. htm. Or learn about solid, inexpensive brokerages at broker. fool. com.

Giving kids stocks is a great way to interest them in investing. Just be sure to keep talking about it with them, too.