After all my investing and personal finance reading over the past decade, I can sum it up to some basics that’ll work for 90% of us. Here goes.

• Live within your means. “In”come must be more than expenses in the long run.
• Pay off credit card debt ASAP. Paying off a 15% card is better than saving in a 2% account.
• Save up at least 6 months of spending in an emergency fund. Keep in a conservative savings or money-market account.
• Find the lowest-cost investment accounts (Vanguard, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and a few others).
• Index, index, index. 50% stock, 50% bond. Let simmer until you pull Medicare.
• Stop reading all the investing tips elsewhere and go find a Haruki Murakami novel to lay back and relax with.

Hit me back with any other ideas or comments. Simplicity is bliss.