“The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect.”

— Warren Buffett

In This Edition

▸ Pull Up a Chair — We’ve Been Busy
▸ Bill Bernstein on the History of Markets — Tuesday, April 28
▸ Latest Episode: Christine Benz on Retirement Planning
▸ A Free Book, Four Years, and a Million Dollars

Announcement

Pull Up a Chair — We’ve Been Busy

After months of work behind the scenes, the redesigned paulmerriman.com goes live this coming Monday, April 27. If you’ve been with us for a while, you know our site has grown organically over 14 years — and it was time to bring everything together under one clean, modern roof.

Here’s what’s new:

A fresh, modern design — easier to read, easier on the eyes, and built to work beautifully on your phone, tablet, or laptop.
Simpler navigation — the things you reach for most (free books, Boot Camp, podcast episodes, data tables) are now never more than one click away.
A complete podcast archive — every Sound Investing episode, searchable and organized in one place.
The full 2026 Boot Camp series — Boot Camp #8 debuts with the new site. Two more to come very soon.
Our new “Truth Tellers” section — a growing list of educators and writers whose work we trust and recommend, each with their own page.
Ask Paul — a new chatbot trained on our published work. Ask it a question, get an answer rooted in the principles we’ve taught for decades. It’s already live on the current site — try it out.

Everything you depend on is still there — the free books, the research, the articles, the portfolios. Just faster to find and easier to use.

And a sincere thank you to everyone who’s been part of this journey. Your questions, feedback, and support are what shaped it.

Take a look on Monday. Click around. And as always, let us know what you think.

Bainbridge Financial Literacy Series — Final Speaker

Learning from the History of Markets

Dr. Bill Bernstein

Tuesday, April 28 · 4:30–6:00 PM Pacific · via Zoom

RSVP Here →

Dr. Bill Bernstein is a retired neurologist, retired financial advisor, and historian — and he brings a rare long-term perspective to the conversation about investing. His landmark book, The Four Pillars of Investing, has helped thousands of investors understand that successful investing rests on four foundations: theory, history, psychology, and business.

Bill has a remarkable ability to step back and ask the bigger questions. What have markets taught us over centuries? Why do investors repeatedly make the same mistakes? And what simple principles have consistently led to long-term success?

His perspective reminds us that markets change, but human behavior often does not.

A Preview of What We’ll Cover

Paul and Bill will work through these possible questions, along with any the attendees want to ask live:

The Social Security fix: cap distributions, raise FICA, cut payments?
The meaning of historical returns — what return should we use in our financial plan?
The impact the gambling industry and cryptocurrency have on the stock market
The difference between business returns and speculative returns
Do-it-yourself glide path recommendations
The difference between traditional and non-traditional index funds
Which is it? The longer we invest, the higher the likelihood of a market crash — or the higher the probability of success?
Regular mutual funds or ETFs? Taxable vs. tax-deferred vs. tax-free
Adding alternative investments to 401(k) offerings — crypto, private equity, private real estate
The Bessembinder study: still a very few companies driving the returns. 3% and 14%. Where else can we look backwards and have a chance to grow at 14%?
Small Cap Value: how much for a first-time investor and how much for a retiree?
The importance of automation for investors
What would you do for a grandchild?

Latest Sound Investing Episode

Christine Benz: Practical Retirement Planning from Morningstar’s Top Expert

Christine Benz of Morningstar joins Paul for a wide-ranging conversation on retirement planning — withdrawal rates, tax strategies, and the practical decisions every retiree needs to think through.

Listen Now →

Watch Video →

From a Reader

Building wealth through long-term investing

The following is a portion of one of the most inspirational testimonials we have ever received. I wish Rich Buck, a dear friend and co-author of all our articles and books for over 30 years, had lived to enjoy this appreciation of our work.

A Free Book, Four Years, and a Million Dollars: Philip’s Story

By Paul Merriman

Every so often, a reader sends me a note that stops me in my tracks.

Recently, a young investor named Philip gave me permission to share his story. It doesn’t begin where you might expect — not with a financial advisor, not with a windfall, not with a hot tip from a coworker.

It begins with a free book he found on Twitter.

Here’s what Philip wrote:

“Shortly after purchasing my home in December of 2021, I stumbled upon a link to We’re Talking Millions! on Twitter of all places… My wife and I had always been very frugal and good at saving money, but most of our savings had just gone to cash. Your simple steps… were so easy to understand and I immediately started feeling more confident in my investing decisions.”

Think about that for a moment.

Philip and his wife were already doing one of the hardest things right — they were saving. But like millions of Americans, they hadn’t yet connected saving with investing in a way that could change their future.

A free book changed that.

Philip continues:

“This groundwork… allowed me to be more open when a friend described the concept of FIRE… From there I finally had a mission for my money and started aggressively saving for early retirement.”

That phrase — a mission for my money — may be the most important sentence in his letter.

Because until your money has a mission, it’s just sitting there.

Once it has a mission, it goes to work for you.

Philip didn’t stop at reading. He acted:

“Every step of the way you and your team gave me the confidence to be a ‘do it yourself investor’… utilizing best-in-class ETFs and portfolios that fit me best.”

And then comes the part that will get your attention:

“Now just four years later, I am turning 33… with over $1 million net worth… My wife has the confidence to leave her full-time job… and I have the flexibility to be ‘work optional’ as we prepare to raise our son.”

Four years.

Now — before you jump to conclusions — let me be clear about what this story is and isn’t.

This is not a promise. It’s not typical. And it didn’t happen by accident.

Philip and his wife were already disciplined savers. They had good incomes. They made sacrifices. And they made a series of very good decisions — and avoided some very costly ones.

That’s the lesson.

The Real Story Isn’t the Million Dollars

It’s tempting to focus on the number — $1 million by age 33.

But that’s not the real story.

The real story is that Philip:

Learned to spend less than he earned
Moved from cash to owning pieces of the world’s great businesses through index funds
Built a diversified portfolio
Stayed the course
And most importantly, gained the confidence to act

That last point matters more than anything else on the list.

Because knowledge without action doesn’t change lives.

Why a Free Book Matters

Philip’s journey started with a free download of We’re Talking Millions!

No sales pitch. No commissions. No product on the back end.

Just simple, evidence-based ideas:

Start early
Save consistently
Invest in low-cost, broadly diversified funds
Stay the course

These aren’t complicated ideas.

But they are powerful.

As Warren Buffett has said, “To be a success, you only have to do a very few things right… as long as you don’t do too many things wrong.”

Philip did a few things right.

And he avoided many of the mistakes that cost ordinary investors hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions — over a lifetime.

The Fork in the Road

If you’re reading this, you’re standing at a fork in the road.

One path is crowded, loud, and expensive:

High-cost products
Frequent trading
Hot tips
Speculation
And advice that too often benefits the seller more than the investor

The other path is quieter:

Discipline
Low costs
Broad diversification
Patience
And long-term ownership of the world’s best businesses

Philip chose the quieter path.

What Happens Next Is Up to You

I don’t know your age. I don’t know your income. I don’t know where you’re starting.

But I do know this:

The decisions you make in the next few years can profoundly shape the rest of your life — and the lives of the people you love.

Philip’s story isn’t about getting lucky.

It’s about getting educated — and then taking action.

A Simple First Step

If you’d like to understand the steps Philip followed, you can download a free copy of We’re Talking Millions! at paulmerriman.com/free-books.

It’s the same book he found on Twitter.

It won’t make promises. It won’t try to sell you anything.

But it may help you:

See what’s possible
Understand the decisions that matter most
And begin building a plan for your own financial future

Because as Philip’s story shows, sometimes the smallest step — a free book downloaded on your phone — can be the beginning of something much bigger.

One Closing Thought

You don’t have to be rich to invest.

But you do have to invest — wisely and consistently — to become rich.

The opportunity is there.

The only question is whether you’ll take the first step.

— Paul Merriman

Start Here

Download We’re Talking Millions! — Free

The same book Philip found. No email required. No strings attached.

Get the Free Book →

From Paul Merriman

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Pull Up a Chair — We've Been Busy