Upcoming Event!How Can Mindfulness Help You Reach Financial Independence?Do you want to reduce money anxiety, but don’t know who to trust?Would you like to learn how to set up and manage your own retirement plan?Do you want to know how we create a passive income stream you can’t outlive?If yes, join us and learn how to answer the 4 critical financial independence questions:Am I on track for financial independence?What do I need to do to get on track?How do I design a mindful investing portfolio?How do I manage that portfolio and my income over time through changing markets?Learn more: https://courses.mindful.money/financial-independence-bootcampPaul 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.? Watch on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/MFHHT8oOnUsKey Takeaways00:47 – 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 himTweetable Quotes“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. But, chasing performance is just not a winning strategy.” (35:40) (Paul)“As a matter of fact, if you look