Part 2 of Do You Want To Retire Early? F.I.R.E. is an acronym. It stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. There's a growing movement of people who are practicing FIRE principles and retiring decades earlier than expected as a result. Smart, often middle-income earners are using a simple formula of high savings rates (50-70% of their incomes) + frugal living (minimalism) + low-cost stock index fund investing (Warren Buffett’s standard investment advice) in order to reach financial independence within short, usually around 10-year periods of time. For obvious reasons, FIRE is sometimes referred to as “the ultimate life hack.” This large and growing community has an ever-increasing cadre of 100+ high-traffic bloggers, most of whom chronicle their FIRE journeys and publish details of their methods, and report their actual personal financial information along the way. It’s a fascinating voyeuristic genre with an alluring punchline: retire early and pursue your true passions! There is more and more journalistic coverage of FIRE. Just search Google News for “early retirement” or “early financial independence” and you’ll find almost daily coverage of this fascinating phenomenon. Joining us for our discussion on Do You Want To Retire Early? is who is calling in from his Seattle Washington WA office . Paul Merriman is a nationally recognized authority on mutual funds, index investing, asset allocation and both buy-and-hold and active management strategies. Now retired from Merriman, the Seattle-based investment advisory firm he founded in 1983, he is dedicated to educating investors, young and old, through weekly articles at Marketwatch.com, and via complimentary eBooks, podcasts, articles, recommendations for mutual funds, ETFs, 401(k) plans and more, at Paulmerriman.com . He has 3 Complimentary Ebooks “First Time Investor: Grow And Protect Your Money,” “101 Investment Decision Guaranteed To Change Your Financial Future,” And “Get Smart Or Get Screwed: How To Select The Best And Get The Most From Your Financial Advisor.” WELCOME BACK TO MASTERING YOUR MONEY, PAUL MERRIMAN

Do You Want To Retire Early Part 1? F.I.R.E. is an acronym. It stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. There's a growing movement of people who are practicing FIRE principles and retiring decades earlier than expected as a result. Smart, often middle-income earners are using a simple formula of high savings rates (50-70% of their incomes) + frugal living (minimalism) + low-cost stock index fund investing (Warren Buffett’s standard investment advice) in order to reach financial independence within short, usually around 10-year periods of time. For obvious reasons, FIRE is sometimes referred to as “the ultimate life hack.” This large and growing community has an ever-increasing cadre of 100+ high-traffic bloggers, most of whom chronicle their FIRE journeys and publish details of their methods, and report their actual personal financial information along the way. It’s a fascinating voyeuristic genre with an alluring punchline: retire early and pursue your true passions! There is more and more journalistic coverage of FIRE. Just search Google News for “early retirement” or “early financial independence” and you’ll find almost daily coverage of this fascinating phenomenon. Joining us for our discussion on Do You Want To Retire Early? is who is calling in from his Seattle Washington WA office . Paul Merriman is a nationally recognized authority on mutual funds, index investing, asset allocation and both buy-and-hold and active management strategies. Now retired from Merriman, the Seattle-based investment advisory firm he founded in 1983, he is dedicated to educating investors, young and old, through weekly articles at Marketwatch.com, and via complimentary eBooks, podcasts, articles, recommendations for mutual funds, ETFs, 401(k) plans and more, at Paulmerriman.com . He has 3 Complimentary Ebooks “First Time Investor: Grow And Protect Your Money,” “101 Investment Decision Guaranteed To Change Your Financial Future,” And “Get Smart Or Get Screwed: How To Select The Best And Get The Most From Your Financial Advisor.” WELCOME BACK TO MASTERING YOUR MONEY, PAUL MERRIMAN

Achieving a financially secure retirement requires careful planning, diligence saving, and prudent investing. But are we up to the task? According an overwhelming number of media pundits and articles, very few of us are planning responsibly for our retirement, and most of us are headed for a retirement of financial struggle. ​

The Standard & Poor’s 500 has been repeatedly breaking new all-time highs amid signs of slowing economic growth. With the expansion in its eleventh year, should you worry about all this uncertainty? (See Video) For the answer, take a look at this chart showing the performance of 13 assets since July 2011. Looking at returns across this broad array of investments, what stands out is the towering performance of U.S stocks, An investment in global stocks, excluding US stocks, grew to $1.74 versus the $2.63 on America’s blue-chips. The U.S. has led the world’s economic comeback since the global financial crisis in 2008. Of course, investors in U.S. stocks in the period following the financial crisis had no idea The Great Expansion and a historic bull market was about to begin. They took a risk and it’s paid off. The economic expansion is the longest in modern U.S. history and signs of slower growth have appeared in recent data. However, a recession is not on the horizon. Uncertainty about the future is a permanent condition.

Humans are prone to the herd instinct. Investors are often no exception. When everyone is buying, investors typically buy; when everyone is selling, they sell. In 2009, during the worst of the recession, a group of investors put under contract an apartment that had been foreclosed on by the lender. It took the investors 6 months to find a lender who would finance the property. Today the property is by far one of the best investments of the group. The value has shot up dramatically and the property has become a cash cow. Are all the bargains gone in a high priced market? We don’t believe so, but finding them is certainly more challenging. Anytime can be a good time to buy. But if you go along the crowd and sit on the sidelines with them, you may miss out on the best deals. Joining us for our discussion on Starting In Commercial Real Estate Investing is Doug Marshall who is calling in from his Portland Oregon office. After nearly four decades in the commercial real estate business – including financing, property management, and as an investor, Doug Marshall decided to write a book and share his secrets. He founded Marshall Commercial Funding, Inc., a commercial mortgage brokerage firm located in Portland, Oregon in 2003. Marshall helps clients secure the best possible financing for their rental properties but is most proud when client’s return for help with their next financing request. For the last decade, Marshall has become an investor in eleven commercial real estate properties valued at over $50 million around the Portland, Oregon-area. An Oregon native, Marshall earned his MBA at the University of Oregon. His latest book is “Mastering The Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing ” Welcome to Mastering Your Money, is Doug Marshall.

In the news this week, GPS tracking devices now enable you to know every step your chicken dinner ever took. Check Our Video Blog On Real Spending Power Grew At Twice The Rate Of The Last Expansion http://masteringyourmoney.com/

Today’s topic, of course, is about the new tax rules. Check Our Video Blog On The New Tax Laws http://masteringyourmoney.com/

Our listeners may be hearing a lot about Tariffs in the news. By definition, a tariff is simply a tax on imported goods. Check Out This Interview On Tariffs and Our Economy http://masteringyourmoney.com/

Dreams and Businesses are the #1 most powerful way to amass the most wealth. Check Out This Interview On The #1 Wealth Builder http://masteringyourmoney.com/

Big Data and AI worked well for President Obama but why did Big Data not work well for Hilary Clinton against Donald Trump in 2016. Check Out This Interview On Big Data http://masteringyourmoney.com/