74% of Americans with an advisor feel ready to retire — here's the boring 3-step plan that starts there

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Much of the investing advice you see online or on social media is designed to grab attention. But if you're serious about securing a comfortable retirement, buying Dogecoin or a risky bet on prediction markets probably isn't what you need.

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You'd probably be better off with an investment strategy that was as boring and mundane as grocery shopping — just as legendary investor Warren Buffett once suggested, per CNBC (1). And just like your grocery list, your investment plan could prove most successful if you simply focus on what's predictable, cheap and, most importantly, necessary.

With that in mind, here's a relatively boring three-step strategy to improve your chances of having a stable financial position in retirement.

You can probably summarize most retirement planning with this simple statement: It's an attempt to create passive and reliable cash flows that match your basic necessities. So, if you have stable income that covers the bare essentials, you're probably on track for a comfortable retirement.

This means that the first step is probably doing arithmetic, not investing. It might be as simple as adding up your non-negotiable monthly expenses, subtracting what Social Security and any pension will pay, and working with the difference.

That number is your gap — and everything else in your plan exists to fill it.

But guaranteeing your needs also means guaranteeing them if you're not around. For example, if someone else depends on your income, the cheapest way to make sure your death doesn't blow up their retirement as well might be to get term life insurance.

If you want to ensure your family isn't hit with unexpected costs after your death, consider signing up for term life insurance from Ethos .

Ethos is rated "Excellent" on Trustpilot and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The platform offers simple and affordable coverage for a set period of time — typically between 10 and 30 years.

As a licensed third-party insurance administrator, Ethos has joined forces with some of the industry's top insurance carriers, such as Banner Life, TruStage Financial and Ameritas Life Insurance.

Ethos gives you the flexibility to select coverage amounts ranging from $2,000 to $100,000. Premiums start at just $9.80 a month and are guaranteed throughout the term.

You can get coverage in just 10 minutes online or by phone , with no medical exams or blood tests required.

Read More: Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here's where their money is actually going