Money Monday!
For the last couple of years, most of my reading has been in the realm of finance. This includes personal finance, investments, stocks, bonds etc.
One of the best advice I’ve come across till date is from the cartoonist Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert comic strip.
He wrote a book called ‘Everything You Need to Know About Financial Planning’. The book is 87 words long. That’s words, not pages.
Here it is, in its entirety:
Make a will. Pay off your credit cards. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support. Fund your 401(k) to the maximum. Fund your IRA to the maximum. Buy a house if you want to live in a house and you can afford it. Put six months’ expenses in a money market fund. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement.
Talking heads on CNBC will not show this because it’s too practical and more importantly too short for them. If they show this, what will they show for the rest 23 hours and 55 minutes?
In defense of CNBC. They are correct for not broadcasting this. They’ re in the business of infotainment, not education.
The advice from Scott Adamas is short but don’t let its size fool you. The majority have not been able to follow it, probably because of its simplicity.
And simple is boring. It won’t release any dopamine or increase heart rate to give the thrill you get while gambling, but it will create wealth.
