?Here is the "cheat sheet" or "high-yield" points of personal finance! If you have all of this taken care of, you are 90% done and ahead of the game compared to most people.

?Understanding investing, and how compound interest and index funds work is very important. However, don't forget your "defense." A small accidental disability can prevent you from working and wipe out your investments if not insured properly.

?Say for example you are a surgeon and you get into a minor car crash. You are overall fine, just some pain, no big deal. But let's say that pain was a hurt right pinky (5th digit) and you can't use it anymore. Now, it's really hard to perform procedures with precision as a surgeon and you will need to either hope/pray with therapy that you can continue working but in many cases, you will need to find an alternate career because you can't perform surgical procedures anymore. This is why having proper "defense" set in place is so important. Statistically, more people get disabled than die (which is why disability insurance is so expensive compared to term life insurance) but it is very important in many careers. Defense finance is a way to protect your finances.

?Keep in mind I said term life insurance, not whole/variable life insurance which is never a good idea?

?The "offense" is also important, and something you have to proactively do. It's a way to GROW wealth, not a way to PROTECT your wealth. So as in football, both sides are very important to a successful game or a Super Bowl win??.

?Stick to what has worked for thousands of people in helping them retire comfortably - and that is growing wealth slowing with broad-based index funds, and protecting your assets while doing so.