Jamie Lynn Spears (sister of Britney) is on the cover of the latest edition of OK! Magazine holding her newborn daughter, Maddie. Looking beautiful and rested, she is quoted as saying "Being a mom is the best feeling in the world." A teenage icon, Jamie Lynn is the star of Nickelodeon's "Zoe 101," and idolized by millions of young girls. Pregnant at 16 and a mother by age 17, Jamie Lynn is described in the article as living in "domestic bliss."

Great message for the kids. Maybe it works this way for wealthy celebrities, but for most teens the happily ever after ending doesn't happen. In real life, teen pregnancy traps women in a cycle of low paying jobs and poverty. In fact, teen parents are nine times more likely to live in poverty long term.

Worried about being abducted by aliens? Being mutilated by an enraged lover or having your dream wedding turn into a nightmare?

Fear not, there is insurance to cover these and many other risks that you might not have even considered. Insurance is not at all restricted to cars and houses and health anymore. If you can dream up a risky scenario, chances are there's a company out there willing to hedge a bet against it. Here are ten exotic policies that actually exist:

• Alien abductions: The UFO Abduction Insurance Co. offers $10 million worth of coverage to anyone who can prove that they were kidnapped by extraterrestrials. But as with any insurance policy, it pays to read the fine print. The Florida company requires that claimants get the signature of an "authorized on-board alien" for their claim to be considered, said Mike St. Lawrence, the company president, in an interview. The policies, which cost $19.95, pay out in increments of $1 per year. Nonetheless, quite a few people take his policies seriously.

• John Wayne Bobbitt: London-based insurance broker Goodfellow Rebecca Ingrams Pearson, which quit selling alien abduction policies after the Heaven's Gate mass suicide, offers coverage to men worried that they will get mutilated in the same way that gained Bobbitt notoriety, according to Investment News. No word on whether the policy includes psychological counseling.

Britney Spears recently divulged her spending for 2007, which to the shock of many totaled over $61 million! Upon hearing this news, media and bloggers lambasted the star for her extravagant spending, ignoring the fact that Britney actually tracks her spending, something I even struggle with.

On a more interesting note, MSNBC reports that an insider revealed to InTouch Online that Britney has reigned in her spending by 80% per month for 2008!

Even though this new information still puts Britney's monthly spending at a little over $1 million; dropping 80% of your spending is a pretty impressive feat. MSNBC looked into the actual breakdowns of her budget and pulled out several examples that even the average Joe can apply to saving money. Britney cut her transportation costs, housing expenses and money spent on child care in 2008, changes which will help her grow her personal net worth during the current calender year and are useful no matter your tax bracket.

Its not often that I would recommend you look to the stars as an example of fiscal responsibility but this time I'll make the exception. It seems that Britney took a look at her life and decided to reel back in some of her indiscretions and wasteful spending as part of a new life plan. Taking steps to ensure you have money for the future is important for anyone, from a multi-million dollar entertainment icon to someone pulling in $20K at a 9-to-5. These examples apply to both categories.

Experts have stated that it costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $190,000 to raise a child to adulthood. Although some people dispute that figure, there is no doubt that, over the long haul, passing on your DNA can be one of the most expensive decisions that you will ever make. This is why I was particularly interested in my colleague Zac's recent post on Britney Spears' finances. You see, Brit's parents have clearly stumbled across the ultimate way to make sex pay. Forget about prostitution, blackmail, or becoming a trophy wife: real pros simply pimp out their kids.

It's not like this is a particularly new discovery, either. In fact, looking over the annals of showbiz, I find that the industry is littered with integrity-challenged parents or guardians who seem to have little or no trouble cashing in on their children's talent, cuteness, or marketability. Here, then, is a quick rundown of four of history's more questionable showbiz moms and dads. If I missed one of your faves, please feel free to send me a response. I'm always looking to extend my knowledge of human depravity!

Mary Hilton: In 1908, an English barmaid named Kate Skinner gave birth to a pair of beautiful little girls. She was unmarried, however, and wasn't sure how to take care of them. Adding to the difficulty, the girls, Violet and Daisy, were, literally, joined at the hip: their pelvises were fused, and their hips and buttocks were attached. Recognizing the entertainment value of a pair of Siamese twins, Kate's boss, Mary Hilton, bought the girls from Kate, gave them her own last name, and began making money off them. Using a combination of physical abuse and economic slavery (the twins didn't receive any money from their performances), Mary and her husband managed to control the girls for over 20 years. Finally, in 1931, the Hilton sisters sued their "managers" for $100,000 and independence. Within a year, they had recast themselves as dancing flappers and were pursuing a career of their own design.

A large part of the blame for former pop princess Britney Spears' troubled personal life belongs on the shoulders of the people who have exploited her for commercial gain throughout her career. She was forced to grow up far too fast, starring on the Mickey Mouse Club at age 11. As a teen, she generated controversy over her overtly sexual image and clothing -- chosen, without doubt, by people much older than she was, who were being paid based on her sales.

Now in her hour of need, her father has been charged with handling her financial affairs which, while the singer is still quite wealthy, are in shambles from an organizational perspective.

It would be wonderful if James Spears could just help her because it's the right thing to do -- she's his daughter. But sadly, even with the singer in the midst of what is by all accounts a breakdown, he can't seem to hop off the gravy train. A court has ordered her estate to pay him $2500 per week plus a car for his services.

Hasn't this woman be used enough? Can't someone -- anyone -- just help her because it's the right thing to do? If anyone should, it should be her father, who should have been protecting her from exploitation, not living off it, a long time ago.

While Britney Spears struggles to get her personal life back in order, there are also serious questions about the status of her fortune, which one former financial adviser estimated as being in the $50 million range.

On February 1, her estranged father was named co-conservator along with Andrew M. Wallet, a lawyer brought in in part to dispel the notion that her family is making a run at her money. This came when Britney was involuntarily committed.

But as the New York Times reports, it's even more complicated than that: "Another team of lawyers was hired for the conservators and quickly set out to assess the financial damage. Yet another lawyer was appointed by the probate court, as is routine, to look out solely for Ms. Spears's interests. Ms. Spears's brother Bryan, along with a lawyer, were given control of her revocable trust, which contains all her liquid assets, so they could begin paying her bills. And Ms. Spears's criminal lawyer, Blair Berk, was said to be overseeing the whole Humpty Dumpty-like effort."

Frank S. Baker, assistant chief of the Associated Press's Los Angeles Bureau has a memo for his staffers:

Now and for the foreseeable future, virtually everything involving Britney is a big deal. That doesn't mean every rumor makes it on the wire. But it does mean we want to pay attention to what others are reporting and seek to confirm those stories that WE feel warrant the wire. And when we determine that we'll write something, we must expedite it. Thanks.

What's interesting is that, as recently as October, Forbes was reporting that Ms. Spears was no longer selling tabloids:

You think you have a hard time controlling your spending? Try being Britney Spears for a day, with so much money coming out of her ears that she can't spend it fast enough.

In an average month, the singer spends $16,000 on clothes, almost $5,000 on restaurants, and $17,000 on car and transportation costs. But that's nothing... she spends over $100,000 a month on what her lawyer called "entertainment, gifts and vacation," in a recent court filing.

But Britney's not the only celebrity spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Prince & Associates did a survey on the spending of celebrities, by talking to the business managers of musicians and entertainers with net worth over $10 million.