I've been talking to one of our sons about investing and planning for the future. I have also been listening to the Freakonomics podcast quite regularly. In one recent episode, they covered the essential rules for managing money. Skip the expensive financial planners. Skip investing in corporate stocks. Just follow these rules and your odds of having a financially successful life experience will increase tremendously.
One might even say exponentially, considering the miracle that is compound interest.
Head on over to listen to the entire podcast. They discuss sound investing and economic planning with Harold Pollack, Annamaria Lusardi, and John Bogle. The additional discussion is worth your time.
If you are interested in a little more reading on the subject, you might also consider purchasing a book about those 9 easy rules written by Professor Pollack and Helain Olen about the ideas contained on that one little index card. I can't vouch for the book, but Professor Pollack even admits that just following the 9....or 10....rules should be enough. Sometimes more information is better than less information.
In the meantime, here are those 9....or 10....easy rules about personal finance that will lead towards economic success.
Rule No. 1: strive to save 10 to 20 percent of your income.
Rule No. 2: pay your credit card balance in full every month.
Rule No. 3: max out your 401(k) and other tax-advantaged savings accounts.
Rule No. 4: never buy or sell individual stocks.
Rule No. 5: buy inexpensive, well-diversified index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
Rule No. 6: make your financial advisor commit to the fiduciary standard.
Rule No. 7: buy a home when you are financially ready.
Rule No. 8: insurance. Make sure you’re protected.
Rule No. 9: do what you can to support the social safety net.
Rule 10 ought to be the easiest of the lot. But you never know.
Rule No. 10: remember the index card.
As an after thought, you might also consider my rules for a successful life that I wrote many years ago.
