Magazines, Magazines, and More Magazines
by Shannah Compton

If you are anything like me, you are drawn to those magazines that are in the shelves right next to the checkout lane at the grocery store. It is almost as if they call my name, "Shannah, please read me. I will offer hours of mind numbing enjoyment!" I am most guilty of picking up the recent copy of US Magazine. I live in Los Angeles, where we are bombarded by scandal all day long, so I am not sure why I feel the need to read about the latest Britney vs. K-Fed allegations, or why Oscar De La Hoya feels the need to dress up in fishnet tights and take pictures.

The downside of my grocery store magazine buying frenzy is that you ALWAYS pay more money for the magazine than you do if you have a regular subscription. I am a money person, and deal with smart financial planning all day long, so why do I always throw my own advice out the door when I see those shiny magazines in the checkout lane?

I have always said that smart money management is not about giving up the things you love to do, or in my case love to read. Rather, smart money management is about making smart choices and taking a look at other alternatives that can offer you the best of both worlds.

I am a "have my cake and eat it" kind of girl. I believe that women shouldn't have to sacrifice their indulgences in order to live a smart financial life. Take a look at my smart financial alternative below and you will hopefully see that by changing your thought pattern you can have it all!

Let's take my US Magazine as an example:
Subscription Price: $1.29 per issue
52 issues per year= $67.08
Checkout Lane Price: $3.49 per issue
52 issues per year = $181.48
Difference: $114.40

Now, For the Smart Financial Alternative:
If I took my $114.40 that I would save every year and put it towards the purchase of one of the most important financial building blocks, life insurance, I would not only have the mind numbing enjoyment of reading 52 issues of US Magazine, but I would also have the security of knowing my family is taken care of in the event of a tragedy.

A $250,000, 20 Year Term Life Insurance Policy on a 30 year old female, non-smoker preferred, in CA would have an annual premium of only $168.00!

Total amount of my Us Magazine subscription plus my $250,000 life insurance policy annually= $235.08, just a few dollars more for a smart financial alternative!

(Please feel free to contact me for more information on term life insurance.)

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