The Index Card

But here it is, The Index Card.  First, at 5 x 7 and 1 inch thick, it's the perfect hand-grasping size.  Second, the simplicity is refreshing - not a prescriptive cook-book, but a voice from the past - could be your mother speaking - directing you to the simple ways to get healthy financially. The chapters, for example,  run from "Rule #1, Strive to Save 10 - 20 Percent of Your Income" - and how to do just that! to "Rule #2:  Pay Your Credit Card Balance in Full Every Month (and How to Deal with Other Forms of Debt)," illustrated by the unfortunate Harold and Veronica who learned the hard-way.  My favorite chapter, however, is "Rule #4:  Never Buy or Sell Individual Stocks" - well wait just a moment there, I've done pretty well on Apple, then Microsoft, and now Smith and Wesson.  But truth be told, these stocks are not always up, and that hurts.  So maybe Olen and Pollack have something there, she said grudgingly.

A freebie at the end of this little treasure - an actual Index Card on which the 10 rules are printed, in blue,  as a refresher.  Readers will appreciate the simple "Notes" that precede the closing Index Card - statistics to support the authors' recommendations prevail, but even these powerful background numbers are clear and uncomplicated.