by Scott Adams

• Make a will.
• Pay off your credit cards.
• Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.
• Fund your 401k to the maximum.
• Fund your IRA to the maximum.
• Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it.
• Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account.
• 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 retirement.
• 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 portfolio.