"[3] Emails and comments on his blog asked for a real index card with financial advice, so Pollack jotted down nine rules in two minutes, took a picture of it, and posted it online.

[1][7] Olen and Pollack suggest investing in diversified mutual funds, paying one's entire credit card balance each month, having a financial advisor commit to a fiduciary standard, and using Roth, SEP and 529 accounts.

[4] The book and index card also contain some "simple" advice, such as saving 10 to 20 percent of one's income, maxing out a 401(k), and not buying individual securities.

[10] Both the book and image received criticism about the last rule, a social safety net, saying that it was more political than financial.

[7] Pollack says "that the American taxpayer had my back when I had a crisis", and he "should be doing the same thing for other people",[1] referring to the time when he and his wife took care of his intellectually disabled brother-in-law.