The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated by Helaine OlenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
For a short audiobook on simplifying personal finance, this does the job. Do I agree with all the rules and all the additional detail that is contained within this book. Not totally, but I can easily see this being a go-to book for those otherwise uninterested in personal finance and saving/investing for retirement. If you have no background, this would be a good introduction. What might I quibble with? Only things that many more personal-finance-aware folks already understand and possibly do differently. For instance, the black and white insistence here to never buy individual stocks would preclude employee purchase plan stock buying and the realization of the discounts that can apply. Might this kind of investing be hurtful? It might. Have many people done well with this kind of investing? Yes, but it's no sure thing. There is also a leaning toward getting professional help with investing which I cringe when I read, thinking back on my impressionable youth and how following this advice would likely have lowered my returns. YMMV. I was pleasantly surprised by the final tip provided by the authors, to lobby for social security. I've only seen a couple of books that acknowledged the role of changing laws and regulations on retirement and government benefits. While one can argue the specifics of the policies and their impact on one's retirement, the regulations and the changes that come about on a regular basis are worth understanding. A slight wording change on a bill relating to, say, IRAs, or Medicare might have a bigger impact on your personal finances than the best investment advice you can buy. Broaden that to include everyone impacted and you can imagine altruistically lobbying for or against some changes. Reasonable big-picture advice.
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