Like losing weight, personal finance has it's gurus and tips n tricks, when the fundamentals really remain the same. Everyone knows to lose weight you simply need to eat less calories than you burn. It's how you do that consistently that allows you to lose the weight and keep it off. Most adults know that good finances spend less than what earn. But this goes a bit deeper and gives you good solid advice on how to keep your basic finances, how to handle your credit card(s), how to handle investments and watching for the pitfalls of insurance/annuities. Solid advice for anyone at any age, but especially good advice for young people just about to graduate high school. (We really do need to teach home economics in schools again, along with how to fill out your job withholding, pick the right insurance plan and do your taxes in schools again). Easy to read; and even those w ADHD will find the shrt chapters and the writing engaging enough to get through. One finance book to start them all on their way.

Olen and Pollack have written a quick easy to read book on personal finance. (This is ironic given that Olen previously wrote Pound Foolish, which lambast most of popular personal finance books.) In Pound Foolish, Olen criticizes personal finance gurus for overemphasizing financial gimmicks, such "The Latte Factor" or the "Dogs of the Dow." and financial advisors for selling overly-complicated self-serving investment and insurance products. After being so critical of other people's financial advice, one wonders what Olen would recommend people do with their money? Well in The Index Card, Olen joins with Harold Pollack (a social science professor, but not an economist, at the University of Chicago) to answer the question, "What should middle class Americans do with their money?"

As the title indicates, Olen's and Pollack's answer fits on an Index Card. 1-Strive to save 10%-20% of your income. 2-Pay your credit cards off every month (and minimize other debt). 3-Maximize your 401(k) and other tax-advantaged savings accounts. 4-Never buy or sell individual stocks. 5-Buy inexpensive well-diversified indexed mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. 6-Hire a fee-based fiduciary (avoid commission-based financial salespeople). 7-Wait to buy only as much home as you can afford (remember homes are usually highly-leveraged investments with high maintenance costs). 8-Buy term life insurance, auto-insurance (especially liability), home insurance or renter's insurance, and disability insurance. 9-Support the social safety net (government programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and student loans, because 96% of American depend on such programs for financial assistance, even though 40% deny obtaining help from the government.) 10-Keep doing the first 9.

Much of this advice falls under easier said than done, but these are achievable goals for someone in a stable financial situation. The authors repeatedly tell readers how to take care of their money during good times, so that they will have money during bad times. The first principle, saving ten to twenty percent of your income will be difficult for people who have gotten used to spending what they make, which the authors acknowledge, but one should at least save as much as possible. Likewise with the second principle, payoff your credit cards every month, easier said than done, but the Olen and Pollack suggest that if you can't pay them off, then stop using them altogether. Psychologically cash is harder to spend than credit. Principle 3 harkens back to principle 1, save 10-20% of your income, only try to save as many pre-tax dollars as possible to reduce your taxes and you're less likely to miss what you never got. Principle 4 is simple, playing the stock market is like playing poker, unless you are exceptionally skilled and lucky (and rich) you will lose more often than you win. Instead, principle 5 suggest that you bet with the house and just try to match the market, since most stock-pickers and fund managers do worse than the market over the long run. The last two principles stress protection for disasters that are too big for you to self-insure with your savings. Finally, like staying in physical shape, staying in financial shape requires frequent repetition.

Through trial and error as well as research, I have come to many of the same conclusions. Recently, I have been able to implement all ten principles. They work well for me, but I wish the Olen and Pollack had said more about costs that seem destined to set one back, such paying for college and home renovations. Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to recent high-school or college graduates just beginning their careers.

P.S. I have taught college courses and published papers on the sociology of money. I have also obtained licenses to sell life and health insurance and mutual funds. Thus, I have been on both sides of the table.

This is a straightforward book with simple advice to follow. I purchased this book because it was listed as a “beach read” in Money Magazine. Although a lot of the advice is common sense, I still found the book valuable because it confirmed strategies that I was already doing- like pay your credit card balance in full every month and buy inexpensive index mutual funds. I found their advice on mutual funds very beneficial because it led me to re-evaluate the mutual funds that I currently own and I ended up selling off my funds that were both poor performers and had high management fees (as they were actively managed) and purchased better rated mutual funds with low fees. I didn’t agree with all of the financial advice such as never buy or sell individual stocks. Instead, I would suggest to place the bulk of your money in low fee diversified index mutual funds and for any extra money that you are okay with losing, then it’s okay to buy individual stocks. I purchased both Ford and GM stocks and did very well with the former and lost all my investment with the latter. I also disagree with their short argument against making money from income properties as they state “Real estate speculation is best reserved for gamblers and the pros” (page 175). I have 3 investment properties and do very well with them. I have a property manager to handle any daily issues that may come up. They are all paid off so I receive positive cash flow every month. I do not think they did the topic justice and would suggest the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” series for anybody interested in real estate. Overall, I think the book is worth purchasing for those new to finance or anybody wanting financial strategies explained very simply.

I've been reading personal finance books off and on since the 1990s. I haven't read all of the most popular books, but some. This is the most down to earth, easily digestible financial planning book that I've ever read. All of the books and lectures that I've read and attended assume that people have money sitting around. This book doesn't do that in its entirety and there is much more advice that working class single and married people can implement right away. I purchased two additional finance books and they were not good. Many of them are just not good. This was the third that I purchased at the same time, and I am very pleased. If you want to take risks, and have the time, you can do that and there are plenty of books that will guide you. This book imparts some limited knowledge on an approach with more risk. However, I needed solid, practical suggestions, and this book offers just that--I refer back to it often. I hope that they will update this one with more discussion on long term health insurance. The conversation on insurance in general is kind of limited (health, life, etc.).

My takeaway:

-Start automatic saving today, even just 3-5% of your income and work your way up.

Force yourself to because other forces are working against you.

-Stop trying to live like Diddy.

-Cancel all the subscriptions you aren't needing. There are a lot.

-Anything that makes it easy to buy stuff is bad for you and the planet and your kids and your marriage and your health.

-Use cash.

-Cancel any buying clubs or memberships that give you benefits the more you consume.

-Pay off your credit card(s), cancel all but one and freeze it in a block of ice. Then freeze that in another block of ice.

-Put your savings into a low cost index fund and stop pretending to be a day trader.

-Financial institutions, insurers and utility companies are all into the same business: sales. Don't be oversold and ask questions - of yourself first and them next.

-Health, home, car and liability insurance aren't optional. Costs vary and some protection is better than none and some is also better than too much.

-Enjoy what you have. Hoarding more things won't enhance your enjoyment. The simple pleasures are the only true ones.

-Enjoy more free time with your family the free way - a day at the park doesn't cost a penny and is truly priceless....

This is a political book, and you’ll have to overlook some painfully transparent Democrat propaganda (“no matter what you think about the ACA... here is what you should think”), but there is also useful financial advice in there.

The authors mostly assume that you have neither time nor skill to do active investment well, and goes to cringe-worthy lengths in order to discourage you from it, basically saying that nobody beats the market average (which is mathematically impossible), or maybe one or two billionaires do (put your tinfoil hats on, people). But the advice IS sound if you’re looking for a way to invest well passively, and advice in other sections is also good, with the notable exception of Rule #9, which is basically “vote for Democrats”.

I feel much more financially secure having read and used the advice in this book. This is a great read for newly independent adults who are just starting to save and later career folks who need to get their finances in order. I am just starting out in my first salaried job and I think this book has given me the advice necessary to set myself up for a secure financial future, buy this for every young person you know for their 23rd birthday or their college graduation!! I especially benefited from the investing and budgeting advice, and changed what my 401k is invested in based on the advice this book gave, and I am seeing better returns after 6 months.

Anecdotes, subtle humor, and the occasional graphic made financial advice readable, comprehensible, and interesting. The Index Card is a must read for anyone who doesn't work in finance and wants to feel informed when making financial decisions.

Personal finance does not have to be complicated, and that is what I like most about this book. A lot of friends and family members seem a bit lost when it comes to what to invest in (should I invest in Chinese banks? stocks? tech? buy a house?) and this simplifies it a lot. It is hard for anyone to save 20 percent of your income, I agree. But it is something to shoot for.

I disagree in part that you should keep your money in a company's 401k after leaving your job, some plans have crappy fund options, and after leaving a job I wanted to get the heck out of them and into Vanguard. I also think it's wise to have a clearly-written will and maybe living trust too even at a young age, in case you die or are incapacitated.

I’m from Brazil and I really liked the book. Of course that there are some things that doesn’t apply here (like the 401K account) but the ideia can adapted to similar services we have here. This is the first book about finances I have read that are not trying to sell finance products to you. Instead it gives you simple path to have a healthy finance life. Very recomended!

Für mich persönlich war nicht sehr viel Neues darin enthalten, weil ich mich vorher bereits in die Thematik eingelesen habe. Für Anfänger, die sich noch nicht wirklich mit ihren Finanzen beschäftigt haben ist es brauchbar. Es ist einfach aufgebaut, nimmt den Leser an die Hand und weist noch einmal auf Basics hin, die keiner wahrhaben möchte, die man allerdings braucht für stabile Finanzen.

Ein Stern Abzug, weil das Buch nicht kritisch auf die Rolle des Staates eingeht und weil ungefragt suggeriert wird, dass Steuern/ staatliche Systeme allzeit und in jeder Höhe Berechtigung hätten, solange damit Anderen geholfen wird. Das macht in den USA ein bisschen Sinn (die Steuern dort sind je nach Staat niedrig, moderat oder hoch), allerdings nicht in diversen anderen Ländern, in denen Steuern weiter über dem internationalen Niveau erhoben werden um die Bevölkerung zu kontrollieren und einzuschränken, anstatt ihr zu helfen. Der Teil war mir also etwas zu einseitig.

I was a Certified Financial Planner in a past life and like to buy one of these books every now and then. I am about 10 years from my own retirement now and thought it appropriate to update my knowledge. I have already bought one of these for my 23 year old son and his wife. Whether you are a Canadian or American, this book is applicable and where I would start. From there I would add Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam and for Canadians about prior to being 10 years from retirement, get Daryl Diamond's Your Retirement Income Blueprint. Another eye opening book which got me thinking in a different direction was "Pensionize your Next Egg" by Moshe Milevsky and Alexandra MacQueen. Again another book that works regardless of what country you live in (that has government sponsored pensions). This book and Millionaire Teacher tell you all the things you should have been taught in school. They will get your children at any age off to a great start. If you really want detailed information, I also recommend (this is a Canadian version but the bulk applies conceptually to Americans as well) "Personal Finance" by Kapoor, Dlaby,Hughes and Agmad. This gets into real details on every aspect of financial planning and is great as a reference, not something you have to read from beginning to end all at once; more so as applicable.

Getting back to The Index Card system, I am surprised I haven't seen a book like this offered before. It should have been out there a long time ago. The wisdom in this book is not ever going to be dated. This is a one size fits all book. If you have adult children, order a copy of this book for them.

"REMARKABLE"

Très simple à lire. Adapté pour des particuliers qui vivent aux états-unis. Le placement de vos sous en ETF est certainement le meilleur conseil qui soit.

Certains parties ne sont pas adaptées à la France.

J'ai nettement préféré le livre "INVESTISSEZ VOTRE ÉPARGNE !: Le livre formation en finances personnelles". Très gros et très complet.