Paul B. Farrell of Market Watch thinks that a great injustice has been perpetrated by not awarding Scott Adams the Nobel Prize in Economics this year.
This year, we were rooting for Adams. His simple formula reminds us of how, after being awarded the Nobel Prize, Albert Einstein spent his entire life searching for the “Unified Theory of Everything.” It eluded him. Adams, on the other hand, did discover a “Unified Theory of Everything Financial,” which deserves a prize.
Here is Scott’s formula.
Fortunately for America’s 95 million investors, Adams’ secret nine-point formula was finally revealed in “Dilbert and the Way of the Weasels.” Notice its simple brilliance in the exact reproduction of his formula:
- 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 retirement
- 9. 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
Adams boldly states that this is “everything you need to know about personal investing.” In just 129 words, nine simple points, one page you have the unabridged “Unified Theory of Everything Financial.” That’s it. Everything!
It appears to be sound advice.