Welcome to the new and improved Financial Strategies for Women Newsletter. I hope you find the articles and ideas in this newsletter both informative and powerful in your everyday life. If you have any suggestions for articles, would like to ask me a question, or would like to be a featured writer please email me at shannah@slcinsuranceservices.com.
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If you are like me and zealously guard against any intrusion at 8:30 on Thursday night, you recognize the title of this article as a running joke on The Office. For those of you who haven't been introduced to this hilariously un-PC show, it centers around a group of dysfunctional office employees and their completely clueless boss, played with sincere delusion by Steve Carell. An investigator friend of mine, who has never worked in an office, doesn't understand the show and thinks Mr. Carell's portrayal of Michael Scott is over the top.

Need. As a child I thought I "needed" a lot of things. I "needed" the Trapper Keeper with the Golden Retriever puppies on it, I "needed" riding lessons, I "needed" new shoes for school. It wasn't until much later in life did I learn that none of those things was a necessity, but something for which I should have been much more thankful that I had. While my sisters and I never had money casually tossed our way as if it held no value, our parents' generosity was evident in our full closets, picture albums displaying photos of some pretty amazing vacations, and the latest "it" toys under our Christmas tree each year. As teenagers we were all given new cars, fancy dresses for formals and a credit card for "gas, reasonable spending and emergencies." It turned out that we three girls had a slightly more liberal definition of "reasonable spending" than dad did, but we usually found easier to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission…


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.
© 2007 Stanley L Compton Insurance Services, Inc.
Stanley L. Compton, CLU, RHU Ca. license #0B61029 | Shannah L. Compton, MBA Ca. license #0F29932