bleh

the 9-point plan to financial success, according to 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