The Millionaire Teacher

Nope, I am not talking about myself.

I consider myself a teacher but I am definitely not a millionaire yet. (Although I do reckon our $380,000 portfolio should have a good chance of hitting that million mark in 10 years’ time.)

The person I am referring to is Andrew Hallam, who wrote a best-selling book titled “Millionaire Teacher” five years ago. He’s back with the second edition of the book and I was really honoured when he contacted me about a month ago.

A snippet of the message:

“I would like the publisher to send you a paperback copy, for possible review, or to use as a doorstop, if you would prefer.” – Andrew Hallam to My15HWW

Unfortunately, the book isn’t thick or heavy enough to act as a door-stopper. So the only other alternative I had was to do a review of it. #perksofafinancialblogger

Who is Andrew Hallam?

Andrew Hallam built a debt-free, million dollar portfolio on a middle-class salary before he was forty years old.

The above was taken from the book. From what I know and read, he worked as a private school teacher for the bulk of his working life and interestingly he actually worked and stayed in Singapore for more than a decade.

I reckon a private school teacher’s remuneration is probably higher than the median income in Singapore but it doesn’t diminish his impressive achievement of accumulating a million bucks before he turned 40.

Right now, his wife and him often couple their global adventures with talks around the world, inspiring others to effectively manage their money.

Who Is This Book For?

Mrs 15HWW often reminds me that I have a terrible blindspot, that my writing is not exactly catered for the layman or the beginning investor. Stuff like “saving >50% of your income” or “XIRR” isn’t very palatable to new readers stumbling onto personal finance or investing.

Maybe, just maybe, in the future, I would do a series of posts that are more helpful to beginners.

But before that, beginners or someone below 20 should read the “Millionaire Teacher”.

And don’t take it from me. Because recommendations and praise don’t come stronger than this.

“The newbie investor will not find a better guide than Millionaire Teacher.” – Burton G. Malkiel, author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street

Why You Should Read This Book

I might not have provided a lot of information about this book until now but trust me, over the last 3 days, I read the book from page to page and enjoyed it. (This is how I always show my appreciation to authors who send books to me.)

Admittedly, many of the “nine rules of wealth” that Andrew believes all of us should have learned in school should not be new to regular readers of this blog.

Stuff like “being careful with your spending”, “the magic of compound interest” and “beware of fees” can be found in many other investment books. But the examples he used were definitely refreshing.

Like how Trump could have saved the hassle of building his businesses by just investing in index funds the moment he received his inheritance to Andrew’s belief that it’s usually best to invest as soon as you have the money as compared to dollar cost averaging.

Also, not forgetting how he uses the analogy of dogs on leashes to help readers understand the relationship of stock prices and their earnings. And then of course, the stuff he did/did not do to become a millionaire was both sobering and funny to me.

But more importantly for the reader residing in Singapore, Andrew devoted a section on “Indexing in Singapore” and “Intelligent Investment Firms in Singapore”. As a fellow advocate of indexing/ETFs, I found myself nodding while reading his advice.

If you already own the first edition or have read it before (like me), maybe, just maybe, you can go to the bookstore and browse through to see if the updates are extensive enough for you to purchase another book.

Otherwise, do grab a copy of this fresh and updated second edition for yourself or for your friends who are beginners in their personal finance/investing journey.