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I highly recommend Dave Ramsey’s approach. He recommends four good performing growth stock mutual funds invested in for the long term (and real estate purchased with cash only). Let the professional mutual fund managers watch the markets all day. That way, the only way you get hurt riding the roller coaster of the market is if you jump off....

I got to listening to him as the market turned down in late 2008 and 2009. While I was never “over my head” with debt, I had made the mistake of believing there was such a thing as “good debt” used to buy assets. But when those assets stopped producing as much income, it got uncomfortable... and my wife and I made some changes. We are now pretty much debt-free except for the house and can easily get by on my military retirement. — anything we earn is extra....And we are doing decently with our investments

Anyway, it works for us. V/R Bill

Thanks for the advice. I have been a landlord. That is not my idea of retirement. Also, if you just started investing in 2009, well then whatever you did you could probably recommend. It has been a good few years, and I have enough now if I lock it into a safe investment and get 6%, I can kick back and retire. I think Ramsey's advice on shedding high interest rate debt is good; eat beans and pay it off as fast as you can. I would even support eating beans and hoarding all the cash you can. But eating beans to pay off a 3.5% 30 year fixed mortgage? I think that is not all that smart. It is only good advice for the people who think in black and white and whom I believe are his core fans. To be frank, I do not trust anyone who would tell you to build up your emergency fund and then star in a paid ad telling you how to spend it. My $0.02.