Is it possible to become a millionaire, on a teacher’s salary? Teacher and author Andrew Hallam seems to think so, and he shares his lessons in his upcoming book “Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School“.
I have always enjoyed reading Andrew’s personal finance and investing advice on his site, andrewhallam.com, and he is also one of Invest It Wisely’s earliest commentators and visitors! Andrew has a remarkable ability to take a complex subject and break it down into the most important points, in a way which anyone can understand and learn from; he is a natural teacher.
His new book has already received positive feedback from well-known voices in personal finance and investing:
Do you spend too much and save too little? Do you wonder why your investments always seem to roll behind the eight ball? In clear, compelling, and highly entertaining prose Andrew Hallam will explain to you exactly why, and what to do about it. And if you’re a non-US resident, there’s an added bonus: strategies for long-suffering Canadian, Australian, and Singaporean investors that can easily be applied to other nationalities as well.
– William Bernstein, author of “The Investor’s Manifesto”
Andrew Hallam has distilled the timeless lessons for investing into nine easy to understand and easy to follow rules. The newbie investor will not find a better guide than Millionaire Teacher.
– Burton Malkiel, author of “A Random Walk Down Wall Street”
If you’d like to learn more about Andrew, visit his site at andrewhallam.com. We also have an exclusive interview where he shares his wisdom on investing and on life.
The book is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com at 30% off
As a special bonus to my readers, I will pre-order one gift copy to be given away! Let me know about your financial dreams and goals in the comments section below, and you’ll be automatically entered to win. The giveaway closes on June 26th, 2011.
Sounds like a great book, and I want to WIN!
My financial dreams and goals, hmmm…..
I want to have the freedom to get up and visit my kids on a whim if they live far enough away that require air travel. I want to be able to pay for my medical bills without having a heart attack just thinking about them. I want to be able to help out my mom more and make sure she doesn’t have to worry so much about money. I would love to be able to stop by those spaghetti dinners that people have when someone is sick and just give them a check for a thousand dollars.
In essence, I want freedom. I don’t care about having ‘things’. My house will be paid off in a few years, so our expenses will be pretty low. I want to be able to share what I have and just enjoy a somewhat simple life. (With the occasional nice trip thrown in.)
That sounds similar to my own goals as well… the ideal of financial freedom is what I would like to achieve. I do care somewhat about things, but I care more about having the ability to provide for myself and others without having to worry about the bills or payments due! OR how about being able to travel somewhere and not feel guilty about having spent that money? That is a great freedom to have…
My current goal is to get my MBA without taking on any student loan debt. My dream is to become financially independent and to be able to choose work and projects without paying attention to pay or prestige.
That is a good challenging goal to aspire for, especially the debt-free MBA! They are not the cheapest degrees to pursue…
I’m with Everyday Tips. I’d like freedom to work a normal number of hours in the day without worrying about making the bills, paying for my healthcare and being in debt. That’s probably not very original. I guess that’s what everyone wants.
Thanks for the tip on what looks to be a great read. If I don’t win, I think I’ll be ordering my own copy anyway.
Danielle
It’s such a great result it’s no surprise that people want to work toward there. Not doing nothing, but having the freedom to act on passion and not just on necessity! Thankfully with my current job I get to do somewhat of both at the moment, but I would also like to have the independence so that I know that if the company ever goes down or whatever else happens I’ll still be secure.
I achieved my dream a long time ago when I retired (financially independent) at 38 years old. I went back to work because I enjoy it, but I have a different perspective on life now. I will probably retire (again) in 6 years (maybe), although I love (teacher)what I do!
38 years old? That is an awesome age to achieve that goal. That’s not so far away for me anymore!
I visit Andrew’s blog now and then, and never fail to be impressed and inspired. I’m very excited to read his book.
You and me both! 🙂
Sounds impressive! I want to read that book! Hope I win it. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to be financially free and retire before the age of 40. I want to spend my time with my family and friends without me worrying about the unpaid bills.
I think before 40 is an awesome age to shoot for. I don’t mind working past that age at all so long as I’ve already reached my financial independence and know that I can not chained.
my financial dreams / goals are ever evolving. that said, i am very happy to be where i am in life and truly feel fortunate for it. my focus is now to increase charity / philantrophy with the abundance i’ve been blessed with
That is a great goal to have. Your success is definitely an inspiration, and a push to the rest of us on our way!
When I think back to high school, I realize that I hardly had any financial education at all. In fact, the only thing I remember any of my teacher’s saying is my science teacher who told us all to put away 10% of our paycheck from the day we start working so that we can be millionaires when we retire. What great advice!
Financial Goals and Dreams: financial independence and freedom to do what I please, and enough money set aside to be able to take sabbaticals (I am not a teacher, but I can take up to six months off from work…without pay ofcourse).
I had absolutely zero financial foundation in school until the university level. I can’t take sabbaticals, but when I hit financial independence then the idea would be I wouldn’t have to worry about that as I would no longer require the job in the same way I require one today. That is the dream! 🙂
Hmm my financial dreams and aspirations- I want to be able to work because I WANT to not because I HAVE to. I want to be able to live comfortably on passive income and travel the world 😉
How’s that for lofty? 🙂
Haha, definitely lofty. 😉 You know in the end we all pretty much choose to work cause we want to, but what we’re really saying is that we also expect a certain quality of life instead of living in a sardine apartment or something. For me a middle class lifestyle is definitely comfortable, so as long as I don’t let lifestyle creep hit me then hopefully should be well on the way!
I calculated that investing US$800 a month in the SP500 starting in 1980, you would have become a millionaire in 20 years using only $200 000. But
(1) this is far more than $100 a month,
(2) this was an exceptional bull market,
(3) ten years later you would have fallen to half as much.
So there is something fallacious in mentioning $100/month and millionaire together…
Mathieu is right. It would take 53 years at 8 percent per year to amass a million dollars on just $100 a month.
When I started investing with just $100 a month, I was just a kid. But I had to start somewhere, and I was lucky to have a great mentor who started me on the investment path. Every year, I increased that amount significantly.
From Kevin’s interview last year:
“So twenty years ago, I started investing a minimum of $100 a month. And every year I increased that. To this day, I still increase the monthly amount I invest, every year.”
Becoming a millionaire on just $100 a month would only work if you had a very very long time to wait. Mathieu is definitely right.
I guess if you’re only making $1000 a month or so, then going for $100 a month can be a good goal to start out with, with the idea of working toward building that up as you acquire the ability to do so. It’s when you’re at the bottom of the curve that climbing your way up looks very difficult.
Looks like an interesting book and concept. I guess anyone who is smart with their cash and situation can come out alright on the other end.
Wonder if we’ll ever go back toward a culture of more savings and less debt. Will we do it rationally or will it take our governments imploding and the economies stagnating? Individuals in collectives move things a lot, and at the same time, institutions can affect us as individuals. I’ve been seeing a bit of a shift in recent times with the wide availability of information so maybe something good can come out of this, and a lot more of us can make it through instead of repeating the mistakes that get us into trouble…
Thanks for the suggestion! I agree that big moves can be made on smaller salaries, its just a matter of proper planning and living below your means. As for my financial hopes and dreams, I like to think that one day I will not have to worry about my own savings but be able to freely give to a community or movement where the benefits resonate through more than one individual. Increasing health in the youth, promoting reading in under developed areas of our own back yards, and improving the quality of life beyond what can be seen by my own eyes.
That’s an interesting perspective to take! Earlier is definitely better than later, and I also like your ideas of giving back. This is definitely a noble goal to pursue and I’d personally like to travel the world more and see more of what is really out there.
First of all, I think it’s incredible that Andrew has rave reviews from such esteemed financial authors… I can’t wait to read it, and if it’s anything as good as everyone is saying, then it will be excellent!
As for my dreams… Some of them are small, like taking a cruise – doesn’t really matter where, as long as it is warm and the skies are sunny. I work on ships, so I want to go to sea and be pampered dagnabbit!
But other than that, I don’t have anything spectacular in mind… I’m not terribly focused on much other than preparing myself for full retirement by 60. I’ll be leaving this career in 4 years with a full pension, but still 15 to go before actual retirement, and I just don’t know yet what I will want to do then, or where I will be physically, emotionally or spiritually…
How do you plan for the unknown? Well, I save as much as I can while remaining balanced and living for today.
Definitely agree with the last comment. There’s a line between proper preparation and over-preparation, but that is what savings and insurance are for! I’ve been on one cruise, and it was actually a pretty inexpensive way to vacation! Depending on when you go, it can be a steal…
My financial goals are:
1) find (take) the time to become financially literate … thats my toughest goal for sure
2) make it through my PhD debt free (going well so far)
3) Teach my future children how to be financially smart at an early stage.
and be generally not overwhelmed or intimidated by money matters.
Kudos to you if you can get through the degree debt-free… and teaching our children is the most important thing we can do IMO, and the best way being by example of course. 🙂
I am a fan of Andrew and would love to read his book.
I am financially very disorganized at the moment, and have been learning a lot from these blogs.
Keep on reading, lots of great links on the side and over at the Yakezie as well. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your stories and for all of the great comments, everyone! I’ll pick a random entry using random.org and will then contact the winner directly.
Thanks,
Andrew is certainly an inspiration. I can’t wait to read his book. It’s like Christmas only I know what I’m getting 😉
Like Y&T, I want to eventually work because I WANT to, not because I HAVE to. I look forward to financial independence to offer me choice and freedom.
Continued success with your own journey Kevin, and excellent work on your blog!
Cheers,
Mark
Thanks, Mark, I’m definitely looking forward to the book as well. Andrew must be nervous with our expectations, but I know I won’t be disappointed. 😉
I have heard about this guy somewhere.. the story rocks.
I also think we should be taught more about saving and investing in school. It looks to me like it is neglected (perhaps on purpose).
Well, the main goal of school sometimes seems like it’s about authority and being a good citizen to society, and financial independence seems to run against that somewhat. Some schools are better than others, and some private schools are probably pretty good, but if you went to a run of the mill public school like me, you didn’t learn a single thing about finance. 😉
I think with the way information flows today this matters less and less. People have multiple channels of information now, and this is really helping people to discover alternative viewpoints and learn about things they might not have otherwise.
Forgot to mention it, but the winner was picked and the book pre-ordered! Thanks for participating, everyone.
I’m well into my retirement years, but I am giving copies of Millionaire Teacher to my grandsons. I hope they can take Andrew Hallam’s savey financial tips, soak them up and make good use of them.
Thanks for being a great grandfather; they will appreciate it someday. 🙂