It looks like the Obama administration's regulatory initiative to require financial institutions to offer consumers simple low-cost mortgages, plain-vanilla credit cards and other simple financial products is dead. Opponents argued that the rule -- as well as the proposed Consumer Financial Product Agency -- would cut back on the availability of credit and discourage innovation.

I disagree.

The new requirement would demand financial institutions offer consumers the choice of simple products. That doesn't mean banks can't sell as many liar loans and option ARMs as their hearts desire. What's the problem with offering simple products that are understandable and make for easy comparison shopping? The regulation would have made the market more -- not less -- competitive.

Still, there's nothing to prevent you from embracing simplicity in your everyday financial decisions and investments. Simplicity is an under-appreciated virtue with money. The risks and rewards of simple investments are easy to grasp and monitor. The expenses associated with such plain vanilla offering are low. And it's too easy to get into money trouble by buying investments and strategies we don't really understand.

There's another reason to keep it simple: We're all very busy today. In theory, we can analyze more complex products, break down risks and rewards and decide whether the product is for us. But most of us don't have the time to become a financial specialist. Many of don't want to spend hours managing our money. Here's our reality: We work hard for our money. Employers demand a lot of effort on our part. We not only work, we raise families, spend time with friends, volunteer in the community, run marathons and go to the movies. Our expectations of what it means to live a good life have gone up, too. "The definition of a good life has become extremely full," says Ronald Jepperson, professor of sociology at Tulsa University.

In other words, financial simplicity means knowing yourself and being realistic about time. A favorite story illustrates the importance of knowing yourself: A man was in a panic after putting all his money into the stock market. He wanted to be rich, but if the stock market crashed he was financially ruined. He couldn't sleep. One day, he sees the imposing figure of J.P. Morgan, the great 19th century financier, on a street. He summoned up his courage, and asked, "Mr. Morgan, I've invested all my money in the stock market and I can't sleep. I'm a wreck. What should I do?"

Morgan replied, "Sell down to the sleeping point."

You want to control your money. You don't want your money to control you. Stick to what is safe and simple. You'll be better off financially and you'll have more time for the more important things in life.

Chris Farrell is economics editor for American Public Media's "Marketplace Money." Send questions to cfarrell@mpr.org.