The Scott Adams test: Why boring advice still wins

Summary: Scott Adams is best known for Dilbert, but he also left behind a remarkably spare framework for personal finance. This piece reflects on why good investing advice gets shorter with experience, how restraint beats activity and why boring systems often work best.

Summary: Scott Adams is best known for Dilbert, but he also left behind a remarkably spare framework for personal finance. This piece reflects on why good investing advice gets shorter with experience, how restraint beats activity and why boring systems often work best. Recently, Scott Adams passed away. Most people will remember him as the creator of Dilbert, the cartoonist who captured corporate life so accurately that it often felt uncomfortably familiar. Investors should remember him for something quieter and far more useful: an 87-word checklist on personal finance. I first encountered it nearly two decades ago, and it has stayed with me because it passed a rare test. Each time you revisit it, nothing needs to be added, and nothing can be removed. That’s usually how you know advice is sound. Adams called it Everything You Need to Know About Financial Planning. And he meant it literally. Make a will. Pay off high-cost debt. Insure risks you cannot afford. Save as much as possible for retirement. Buy a home if you want one and can afford it. K

This article was originally published on January 19, 2026.