If wasting time and energy is your thing, you're probably a teenager in my house.

Coming this summer, in Wisconsin, you'll need to have auto insurance. Pretty soon, if ObamaCare passes, you'll be required to have health insurance. And, of course, you want homeowners' or renter's insurance, and you probably need business insurance, too, so you'd better get on the ball and start calling different insurance companies and agents, giving them all your information, waiting to hear back from them, and then comparing their quotes and coverages and making a final decision on what policy to buy.

That'll take you a couple of hours, or days, to get the work done, if not months, so get cracking!

Or, do it the easy way, using one of the online services like Netquote.com, where all you have to do is enter some basic information and you get referrals and quotes instantly.

Say you want some Mississippi insurance. You go to Netquote.com, type in your zip code, answer some basic questions, and within a minute you've got names, addresses, and even click-through links to find the insurance you need at a good price.

So I'd say use one of those -- but don't let me dissuade you from making all those phone calls, if wasting time and energy is your thing.