The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated (edition 2016)

by Helaine Olen (Author)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
250	5	106,721	(3.93)	5
Business. Finance. Nonfiction. Economics. TV analysts and money managers would have you believe your finances are enormously complicated, and if you don't follow their guidance, you'll end up in the poorhouse. They're wrong. When University of Chicago professor Harold Pollack interviewed Helaine Olen, an award-winning financial journalist and the author of the bestselling Pound Foolish, he made an offhand suggestion: everything you need to know about managing your money could fit on an index card. To prove his point, he grabbed a 4" x 6" card, scribbled down a list of rules, and posted a picture of the card online. The post went viral. Now, Pollack teams up with Olen to explain why the ten simple rules of the index card outperform more complicated financial strategies. Inside is an easy-to-follow action plan that works in good times and bad, giving you the tools, knowledge, and confidence to seize control of your financial lif… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	Trismegistus
Title:	The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
Authors:	Helaine Olen (Author)
Info:	Portfolio (2016), Edition: 1, 256 pages
Collections:	Read but unowned
Rating:
Tags:	rdo, money, 2016, how-to

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The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated by Helaine Olen

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I’m hitting the fascinated part of this money research journey in that I’m having a difficult time comprehending why there are so many money books out there when the majority all say the same stuff with a few tweaks. This was written forever ago in today terms yet has good clarifying info that’s been presented in everything else I’ve been reading this year. It must be the tweaks and the social media getting all the new slew of books on the market too. (

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spinsterrevival | Mar 11, 2024 |

Personal financial advice that is simple, direct and uncomplicated. Nobody would go wrong by following the 10 simple rules that will fit on an index card. Not a get rich quick scheme here, though they do point out that those don't often work and more often backfire and lead to loss instead of gain.

I only took exception to one of the ten points. Rule #4 Never buy or sell individual stocks. There are good reasons to include individual stocks in a personal portfolio. Unlike mutual funds individual stocks do not have a mutual fund company taking their fee and many stocks can be purchased without a brokers fee. But that is from another book.

If you are not sure how to manage your long term financial goals please read this little book, or at least read the ten points on the index card. (

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MMc009 | Jan 30, 2022 |

Just what it promises to be: easy to read, easy to understand. Good practical advise. I'll read it again. (

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MikeMonje | Jul 29, 2018 |

Simple, practical, and accessible. The idea behind this personal finance book is that in spite of experts attempting to overcomplicate money management, the best financial advice can be contained on a single index card and everyone is capable of doing it.

Starting with budgeting and debt management, and heading into home ownership, investing, and long-term planning, the book contains numerous personal anecdotes that help bring advice to life. (

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angiestahl | Mar 1, 2018 |

Some great helpful information. Some was a bit too basic for me, but it's good to hear it reinforced. I liked the simple presentation with actual take away tasks. (

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bookworm12 | Sep 5, 2017 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Olen, Helaine	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Pollack, Harold	—	main author	all editions	confirmed

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Canonical title

The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated

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2016-01-05

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To Veronica, Rebecca, Hannah, and Vincent
--Harold

To Matt, Jake, and Luke
--Helaine

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A few years ago, Sam received an inheritance after his dad died.

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English

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▾Book descriptions

Business. Finance. Nonfiction. Economics. TV analysts and money managers would have you believe your finances are enormously complicated, and if you don't follow their guidance, you'll end up in the poorhouse. They're wrong. When University of Chicago professor Harold Pollack interviewed Helaine Olen, an award-winning financial journalist and the author of the bestselling Pound Foolish, he made an offhand suggestion: everything you need to know about managing your money could fit on an index card. To prove his point, he grabbed a 4" x 6" card, scribbled down a list of rules, and posted a picture of the card online. The post went viral. Now, Pollack teams up with Olen to explain why the ten simple rules of the index card outperform more complicated financial strategies. Inside is an easy-to-follow action plan that works in good times and bad, giving you the tools, knowledge, and confidence to seize control of your financial lif

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