The insurance industry is enormous and can be quite intimidating. Insurance is being sold for almost anything and everything you can imagine. Determining what’s right for you can be a very daunting task. Hopefully I’ll be able to shed some light on the subject.

First of all, insurance is a product. There are companies that sell it and consumers that buy it. Don’t falsely believe that insurance companies are doing some sort of charity work by offering a huge payout in exchange for small monthly payments. Insurance companies are in the business of making money and they do it very well.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ever buy insurance. You just need to determine what’s right for you, and this isn’t necessarily what a company may say is right for you. We need to understand what the purpose of insurance is.

Insurance should be bought to protect you against a calamity that would otherwise be financially devastating.

Let’s take a few examples and hold them up against this criteria.

One type of insurance I see advertised is a life insurance policy for children and even babies. The attempt here is to play on your emotions because you love your children right? If (heaven forbid) you were to lose a child, it would be devastating emotionally, but is a cool half million going make it better? A family (usually) doesn’t rely on a child’s income to maintain their standard of living, so why would you need to insure them?

Now let’s examine auto insurance. A certain level of coverage is required by law, but this is mainly to cover the other party in case of an accident being your fault. The other options are exactly that, options. If having your car totaled in an accident would devastate you financially, there’s a case for more insurance. If you would be unable to come up with $100 to repair your car, you’d probably want a really low deductible, but you’d be paying higher premiums. Once you have an emergency fund, you should be able to handle a much higher deductible such as $1,000 or even $2500. This can significantly lower your premiums.

This same line of reasoning can apply to adult life insurance. Say you currently have a 20 year term policy. After actively saving and investing, when the term is up, you don’t necessarily need another insurance policy. If you’ve already got a couple hundred thousand to a million stashed away, would your loved ones be financially strapped if you were to pass away unexpectedly?

I realize that every situation is unique, but some thought should be put into what amount and type of insurance you need, if any at all. Also, realize that situations change over time and what was once right, may not be anymore. Take a look at your current policies and see if you could save some money by raising the deductibles. Maybe there are policies that you no longer need at all. It can’t hurt to review them from time to time.

It’s a topic that always draws a lot of attention, and we’ve all heard that “Sex Sells”. Whether you like it or not, it’s a tactic that’s being used by more and more advertisers and businesses.

Paris Hilton has become a brand in and of herself based almost solely on this principle. Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and a host of other pop stars rely heavily on their sex appeal in order to sell records and tickets.

If you’ve ever browsed a record store, you probably noticed that many CDs have chosen sexy artwork even when it has absolutely nothing to do with the album itself. Beer commercials are also notorious for employing these techniques because it helps them sell more beer. Apparently if you drink a certain type of beer, you’re guaranteed to have hot friends.

Movie trailers are also created with this concept firmly in mind. If the movie appears sexy, more people will want to see it. Sometimes the sex in advertisements is so blatantly out of place, but it’s still used. It’s believed to be that effective.

Interestingly enough, sexy has infiltrated almost all aspects of our lives. People are even describing certain investments as sexy. It seems that people will try almost anything in order to boost sales and turn a profit.

Who knows? Maybe this site will now get a surge of traffic out of this post. I’ll refrain from putting up any pictures though.

A few minutes ago there was a knock on the door. In this day and age, it’s very rare that someone you know just comes over and knocks on your door. Anyone I know would’ve called me on my cell phone.

It was a guy from TruGreen lawn care who had left something on the door earlier in the day. Apparently our next door neighbor is already a customer and we both have a couple dandelions. Not exactly a subject that’s going to keep up at night.

I told him that I wasn’t interested but he continued his spiel saying that he wasn’t going to let me off that easily. He obviously didn’t know who he was speaking to. I can’t really blame him though; I didn’t know who I was speaking to either.

He then asked me what I put down on the lawn to try and get rid of them. That was an easy one. Nothing. I mow the lawn with a mulching blade so I don’t have to bag any of the clippings. I edge the lawn and weedeat around everything else so it looks all nice and groomed. I’m not really concerned with a couple of weeds out there that are just going to come back again either later in the season or next year.

He wasn’t all too impressed with my answer, but I can’t say that I share his same passion for weed elimination. When I was younger, my older brother and I had a landscaping business. I love the look of a nice lawn, but it’s not something that I’m willing to pay for especially when it would be a recurring cost.

I will give him props though for not just giving up with the first “no”. It’s just not worth it to me right now. We’ve only lived in the house for about 8 months and I’m not exactly looking to sell it or rent it out anytime soon. The yard is also about as small as they come. It’s probably only about 10′ by 10′.

So why am I going on about this? This is just one example of the many daily things that compete for our money. Too many people lack the nerve to just say no. You don’t have to buy something just because a salesman is nice or you want to just get rid of him.

I also make it a point not to buy anything that I’m not looking for. I didn’t wake up today thinking that I need to do something about those 3 dandelions in the front yard. So why should I impulsively sign on with a lawn care company?

Remember it’s your money. And if you want to be rich, you have to take control of it.