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Western Washington University alumnus Paul Merriman, founder of the Merriman investment firm in Seattle, will speak on personal-finance strategies at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, May 20 at the Academic Instructional Center West 210 on ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s campus.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

During his presentation, which is sponsored by the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Financial Management Association, Merriman will cover many areas of personal finance, including:

• Whether to pay off your student loan as soon as possible or as slowly as possible
• Four books every first-time investor should read
• How investing really works
• How to avoid the most common mistakes first-time investors make
• Where you can find investing information you can trust
• How to get the most out of a 401(k)
• How to retire at age 55 in three easy steps

Merriman has been widely quoted in many national publications, including Money Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, USA Today, Barron’s, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, and Forbes. He has been a special guest on national television shows including “Wall Street Week” with Louis Rukeyser, PBS’ “Nightly Business News” with Paul Kanagas, and many other financial talk shows on CBS, CNBC, and CNN. His firm manages more than $1 billion in investments for clients across the country.

Merriman has also written several books on personal finance, including his most recent book, “Live it Up Without Outliving Your Money!”

“[Merriman] has a true passion for educating people about managing their personal finances,” Jonathan Dunning, president of ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s student-run Financial Management Association, said. “I would encourage anyone with an interest in personal finance to attend.”

Merriman graduated from ²ÝÁñÉçÇø in 1966 with a degree in Finance and recently received a distinguished alumni award from ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s College of Business and Economics.

For more information, contact Dunning at (425) 417-1093 or dunninj@students.wwu.edu.