most people get hacked because they use the same password in more than one place. Part of the problem is that people tend to have lazy minds and do not want to have to remember hundreds of different passwords. Here is a trick that will help you a LOT.

Pick 6 random alpha numeric characters, mixed case, like nU73zK. Now, pick a place to do a 2 character insertion, say in this case, between the 7 and the 3. From then on, just customize the password to match the site you are on with a 2-character symbol. For instance, google mail can become nU7gM3zK. FF14, since you use a SquareEnix account, can become nU7sE3zK. Your uberporn site becomes nU7uP3zK. You get the idea. Vastly more secure than using leetspeek, dictionary words, or writing things down... and definitely better than using the same password everywhere.