If a salesperson shows you a gee-whiz but complicated financial product, you can be sure of two things: You don't need it and it's overpriced. You can get the same result with something easier, wiser and lower-cost.

If you're going to be Johnny-come-lately into this deal... well, gee whiz, you don't have to try and steal stuff from us.

He's a real nice, hardworking guy. We don't begrudge him anything. But, gee whiz, we can't just ignore this. We're not doing our job if we do.

You normally don't get a margin call unless your securities, minus the debt, are worth 30% or less of their nominal market value.

You'll almost certainly spend all the rest of your pay, but your daily expenses will adjust themselves, magically, to the amount of money in your account. You will budget mentally, without having to write everything down.

The rule on staying alive as a forecaster is to give 'em a number or give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once.