author of Millionaire Teacher & The Global Expatriate’s Guide To Investing
I sat in the passenger seat as we swept around a corner. My friend, Pat, was driving. I was 20 years old. Pat was 31. But he was more like a giant kid with a grown-up’s income, credit cards and a taste for fast cars. He drove a black Porsche...
International Teachers: How To Best Use Raymond James Raymond James is a publicly traded company. Their international financial advisors aren’t fiduciaries. Advisors who hold to a fiduciary standard put their clients’ interests ahead of their personal interest. As such, they aren’t supposed to select high-cost mutual funds that...
A couple of months ago, my wife and I began a cycling tour around Europe. Most of the time, we click along at about 20 kilometers an hour. We battle our GPS. Sometimes, it sends us up goat paths. We get lost in every city. Sometimes...
Saving for retirement in the U.S. means navigating a potential minefield of high fees and bad advice. John Oliver recently (hilariously) ripped apart the financial services industry. He explained (in a way that only he could do) that we pay far too much money in investment fees. Such fees, he...
It’s a common question. Does it matter what currency my ETF is listed in? The short answer is no. But people get fooled by this. Here’s an example. Investors might look at two ETFs. Assume that each ETF tracks the U.S. stock market. But one of the...
Each week, millions of expatriates build small backyard fires. They pull out matches. They take $10 bills out of their pockets. Then they burn them. Every week. Every month. Every year. That’s what it’s like when you pick the wrong kind of financial advisor. Before hiring anyone, ask...
To find out if you’re saving enough money, use my free, 13 minute seminar below: If you’re an international school teacher, you’re metaphorically swimming in a warm sea, surrounded by beautiful bodies. Cultural eye candy meets your every glance. There are exotic jungles to explore, equatorial mountains to climb, colorful...
I want to profile (and encourage business for) financial advisors acting as true fiduciaries to their clients. It’s extremely profitable for advisors to sell variable annuity products or actively managed mutual funds with sales commissions or deferred sales loads. But the good men and women who act as true financial...
It was a scene I’ll never forget. Gary Sinese played a double-amputee in the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump.Lieutenant Dan, played by Sinese, hollered into the wind of a storm. He was bouncing around in the crow’s nest of a shrimp boat that he ran with Forrest Gump. “Me, I was scared,” said Tom...
Many people pay for everything they can with a credit card in pursuit of air miles points. While that sounds pretty savvy, such payment methods might cost more than they are worth. What do you think? I’ve written a story about it here. I’m interested to hear your opinion as...
“I don’t want to invest money,” said the young, bearded schoolteacher. “Do you have a trust fund?” I asked. He said no. “Have you married a wealthy spouse, or perhaps someone who’s going to be eligible for a defined benefit pension?” He smiled and said no. It was a weird...
Suzanne Locke, at The National, wrote a great story about the horrific investment schemes that many expats fall victim to. I spent from January to June speaking about these products in 11 different countries. Image by Pixabay Suzanne tells the story here http://www.thenational.ae/business/personal-finance/a-man-on-a-financial-mission-against-predatory-investment-schemes#page3
Bitcoin is kicking sand in the face of traditional investments. Between July 1, 2013 and June 13, 2017, it gained 3,130 percent. To put that in perspective, it took Vanguard’s S&P 500 thirty years (from its 1976 inception) to make investors that much money. Bitcoin, for now, isn’t slowing down....
We pulled our rental car into my mother-in-law’s driveway. It was 11:30pm. I still remember the lights casting their beams across the neighbor’s grass. The sign on the edge of the lawn read, “Trump, Pence: Make America Great Again!” Two weeks later, Trump shocked the world when he won the...
It’s easy to create an attention-grabbing headline. “How To Grow Wealthy” does the trick. But true wealth has nothing to do with money. We live one life on Earth. As our hourglass drains, we wonder how much sand is left. We should enhance that experience, giving purpose to the time...
Between January and May, I visited 39 schools in 11 different countries. I gave talks about saving and investing. I met wealthy teaching couples with kids. I also met two school superintendents in their 60s who made a dark confession. They had earned a lot of money. They...
Martha isn’t comfortable investing. She stuffs her savings into a bank account instead. John gives his money to his broker. He’s too busy to think about investing and he really trusts the guy. Lisa follows stock market news. She watches mutual fund lists and buys top-rated funds. Plenty of people...
I have plenty of online friends. You probably do too. These are people I’ve never met. Some of my notables–because I think they’re really cool–include Dan Bortolotti, Paula Pant, Kerry Taylor, Robert Wasilewski, Avrom Digance, Mark Seed, Mark Zoril and Kyle Prevost. Another one of my online buddies is...
“The stock market index isn’t supposed to rise over the next few years. That’s why it’s a stock picker’s market.” I hear that a lot. In fact, I’ve been hearing that every year for as far back as I can remember. Image by Pixabay Here’s why you should invest...
In 2006, Anne Hathaway made People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People list. That year, the actress had starred in the film, The Devil Wears Prada. Nine years later, the now 34 year-old beauty reported that she’s already starting to lose roles to younger actresses. It’s a sad Hollywood truth. Time...
Many people aren't comfortable talking about money. It's not usually a conversational dinner-time topic, and its principles are rarely taught in schools. My goal is to have a "conversation" about it here, on this blog. If you read something you find intriguing, please comment or ask your questions! I am also the author of the books: Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned at School & The Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing. If you'd like to find out more about my investing philosophy, read my "Nine Laws to Financial Freedom." Sign up for it and a bonus Investing Strategy below. Free!
Hi! Welcome to my blog. My wife and I have recently visited the Middle East, Africa and SE Asia talking to different schools and businesses about investing. Would you like me to speak to your school or business?
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