It's easy to complicate things; it's hard to simplify them.

"Earn money. Spend less than you earn. Save and invest the difference. Rinse and repeat."

This is the advice an old boss would give when asked to distill financial planning into its simplest parts. It's excellent advice. When I first heard him deploy the words that would become a well-worn mantra in my mind, it was the moment I realized how easy it is to complicate things and how hard it is to simplify them.