Thanks to Scott Adams of Dilbert fame for this succinct, accurate and easily understood 129 word checklist for financial success:
1. Make a will
2 .Pay off your credit cards
3. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support
4. Fund your 401k to the maximum
5. Fund your IRA to the maximum
6. Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it
7. Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account
8. 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 retirement9. If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going
on (retirement, college planning, tax issues), hire a fee-based
financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolioJust ’cause I can, I’ll add one more:
If, and ONLY if you accomplish all that, invest in cashflow generating real estate and/or businesses. And the key words are cashflow generating.
