All the Financial Advice You'll Ever Need on a 4x6 Index Card

We often like to think that taking care of our finances is an incredibly complicated affair. However, when it boils down to it, it's supposed to be simple. In fact, University of Chicago professor Harold Pollack managed to stuff all the important financial advice he knew onto an index card. The advice is pretty simple: Max your 401k or equivalent employee contribution. Buy inexpensive, well diversified mutual funds such as Vanguard Target 20XX funds. Never buy or sell an individual security. The person on the other side of the table knows more than you do about this stuff. Save 20% of your money. Pay your credit card balance in full every month. Maximize tax-advantages savings vehicles like Roth, SEP and 529 accounts. Pay attention to fees. Avoid actively managed funds. Make financial advisor commit to a fiduciary standard. Promote social insurance programs to help people when things go wrong. We've mentioned a few of these tips before, especially the importance of your company's 401(k), overpaying on fees, and saving 20%. As the Washington Post points out, the card is all most of us need to be in much better shape than most Americans.