8 rules of thumb on saving and retirement

Financial rules of thumb are useful to many Americans who can't or won't make time for complete and in-depth financial planning.

But while they're useful as rough guidelines for day-to-day financial decisions on saving, investing, and retirement, rules of thumb often oversimplify complex issues in ways that can harm long-term financial prospects. Here's a look at some financial rules of thumb from Bankrate.com, and how you can can use and analyze them.