Most of us who have gone through public or private educational systems, graduate with the ability to read, write, do some math and have some general ideas and understandings of history, politics and science. However, how many of us graduate from high school or college with even a basic understanding of how to take care of our money? Andrew Hallam’s book on personal finances, Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School, is a book that I wish I had read while I was still in school. Or, for that matter, even twenty some years ago when I took my first overseas teaching assignment and started to have a little extra money to invest.
I consider myself a fairly smart guy; I have a Ph.D. in an esoteric field (OK, maybe I’m not that smart after all), and I concluded a relatively successful career as an international teacher and administrator a few years ago. I have a few bucks in the bank (certainly not as many bucks as I would like to have), and I live on a tropical island with a wonderful family. But, after reading Andrew’s witty and insightful book, I had more than a few moments of “how could I have been so dumb to have done that with my money,” even though I did what many of my friends did – invest in actively managed mutual funds. Andrew methodically (and humorously) explains why this is not the way to achieving the best results with your money.
But wait, who is this guy Andrew Hallam? And why should you listen to him? Andrew is a high school English teacher in an international school in Singapore who managed to become a millionaire in his 30s on a teacher’s salary. That’s right on a teacher’s salary. In addition to teaching English, Andrew teaches a class on finances for high school students, runs workshops on investing for fellow teachers and writes articles on finance for magazines like MoneySense.
So, just what is it that Andrew has done to get to a comfortable financial position while he’s still so young?
The short answer – nothing that any of the rest of us couldn’t have done or couldn’t start doing now. In his book, Andrew lays out a fundamental, conservative, common sense approach to investing and living that resulted in his financial success. Rule 1 of how to get started on the road to financial security is, “Spend Like You Want to Grow Rich.” Simple enough advice there, but how many of us really follow it?
I’m not going to give you all nine of Andrew’s rules – you can buy his book and discover the rest. But, among the financial matters that Andrew explains are:
- how the stock market works
- why gold is not an investment
- why investing in actively managed mutual funds is a bad financial move
- what hedge funds are and what they do
- what an indexed account is and why you should have one
- how to build a balanced portfolio
- what bonds are, how they work and why your portfolio should have some
- how to make your money grow without using a financial adviser
Andrew’s book is not just for Americans; he explains how Australians, Canadians, Singaporeans and folks from other countries can develop a balanced portfolio of indexed funds and bonds. And he concludes his book with a chapter on picking stocks for those folks who just have to play the market. He advises would be investing wizards to keep their buying of individual stocks down to 10% of their overall portfolio.
Whether you’re just starting out in your career or getting close to those retirement years, Andrew’s book can help put you on the path to safe, sane and profitable investing. This book is ideal for international teachers who usually have a fair amount of discretionary income for investing. You won’t get rich overnight, but if you’re looking for what to do in the long run, Millionaire Teacher is a book that will give you a solid financial plan in easy to understand language that is spiced throughout with Andrew’s quirky sense of humor.
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