The Lifelong Process of Financial Education with Paul Merriman
Channel: Paul Merriman
Date: 2023-10-07

Paul Merriman is a nationally recognized authority on mutual funds, index investing, and asset allocation. He founded Merriman Wealth Management in 1983, retired from the firm in 2012, and created the Merriman Financial Education Foundation. Everything he does is dedicated to providing investors of all ages with information and tools to make informed decisions for their own best interests. 

Today, Paul joins the show to reflect on early financial lessons he learned, discuss the current state of financial education, and share the top three decisions everyone must make in their financial lives.

TAKEAWAYS
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00:47 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Paul Merriman, who joins the show to share his background in finance and the scarcity mindset he developed while growing up 
07:15 – Paul reflects on early experiences that shaped his money story 
11:25 – Paul’s career journey 
17:22 – The state of financial education today 
22:08 – How to make others understand that financial education is a lifelong process 
27:46 – The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement and other financial advice 
31:25 – Indicators of misleading financial advice 
33:46 – A life changing experience 
39:39 – The top three decisions everyone must make in their financial lives 
45:38 – Paul’s thoughts on the 1% advisor fee 
54:30 – One place Paul has visited that had a profound impact on him and the one question Paul would want to know the answer to 
58:50 – Jonathan thanks Paul for joining the show and lets listeners know where to connect with him

QUOTES
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“I don’t know why, but I started selling when I was eleven years old. And I kept selling from selling Christmas cards at eleven to selling in the record shop when I was in high school, selling in the clothing store. I have always enjoyed facing the public and I feel like I’ve always had something worthwhile to sell. And so, while others may see selling as a lowly profession, I’ve always found it to be wonderful because really it’s just another form of teaching as far as I’m concerned.” (03:54) (Paul)

“It’s amazing how much great information is being laid at the feet of young people. And there’s a lot more of that great information coming. On the other hand, there is an abundance of really bad advice that is available for free. The price is not what it costs to get the education. The price is gonna come when you get the education and those amazing investments don’t work out.” (17:39) (Paul)

“We all say that the best strategy is the one that you will use for the rest of your life. Now, you want it to be a good strategy. We don’t want you to be in cryptocurrency for the rest of your life...” (35:40) (Paul) 

ABOUT MINDFUL MONEY
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Do you struggle with money? You’re not alone.
Money is a means, not an end. It’s a necessity of life for sure, but more money does not always guarantee a “good life”. Money enables many aspects of modern life, but as a dominant consideration it becomes destructive. 
The paradox is that more time and energy spent on personal finance does NOT create better outcomes. Unlike many other parts of life, we can’t create better outcomes by being smarter, spending more time, or putting in more effort.
Join Mindful Money author and experienced 40-year investor Jonathan DeYoe as he shares stories from artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other advisors about how they mindfully minimize their need to think about money and get more out of life.
If you aren’t happy with your finances, feel like money takes more time that it should, or want to place your financial decisions into the broader context of your life, this show is for you. 
Each episode will draw the line between the “enough” activities that the academics tell us are additive to family outcomes, and those “little bit more” efforts that take time and sap energy, but do NOT improve outcomes.


GUEST RESOURCES
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Paul’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmerri...
Paul’s Website: https://paulmerriman.com/
Paul’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Paul’s Email: info@paulmerriman.com
Paul’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulAMerriman
Paul’s YouTube Channel:   

 / @paulmerrimansoundinvesting  
Paul’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SavvyInvestorPM

MINDFUL MONEY RESOURCES
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Monthly Coaching Membership:  https://courses.mindful.money/mindful...
Jonathan’s Book – https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Money-...
Website - https://mindful.money/
Jonathan DeYoe on LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/jonathandeyoe
Mindful Money on Twitter - https://twitter.com/MindfulMoney_Ed
Mindful Money on Facebook - http://facebook.com/MindfulMoneyPlan
Mindful Money on Instagram - http://instagram.com/mindfulmoneyplan
Mindful Money on YouTube -   

 / mindfulmoney🎙️  
Podcast Production by FullCast: https://fullcast.co/sn