The Millionaire Teacher Review
The Millionaire Teacher is back! Okay, he technically didn’t go anywhere, but author Andrew Hallam has just released the second edition of his book The Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School. Let’s be clear, if you’re looking to learn about personal finance and investing, this is a must-buy book!
One of my first blog posts I ever read was the top personal finance books in Canada where I had featured The Millionaire Teacher, so when Andrew reached out to have me review his second book, I jumped at the opportunity. This is one of the first personal finance books I ever read and it really shaped the way I view my finances. Read my The Millionaire Teacher review now to see why you need to pick up this book.
What’s Changed in the Millionaire Teacher second edition
I want to start my Millionaire Teacher book review on the changes since this is an updated version as opposed to a sequel. One of the biggest complaints about the first version is that it was outdated even though the original version was released in 2011.
This isn’t the author’s fault. A lot of things have changed in the financial services industrysince 2011. Robo-advisors were introduced and new ETFs and online brokers became available, making investing easier for investors.
The second edition features all these new options and teaches you on how to use them. Want to learn how to use TD e-Series funds? Hallam, will walk you through it. Did you know that you can buy ETFs for free at Questtrade? The book explains how.
Not only did a lot of new things happen in the financial services industry, but things also happened around the world. Hallam has included many new pop culture references, including why Trump’s wealth isn’t nearly as impressive as it should be. Plus, he’s also added new personal experiences and stories to keep things grounded.
Millionaire Teacher second edition book review
Okay, so what makes this book so good? As the name implies, Hallam is here to teach you about the nine rules of wealth you should have learned in school. Yes, Andrew is actually a teacher. He started his career in Canada before moving to Singapore. He’s travelled the world since then teaching and giving speeches about money. Let’s take a look at the nine rules.
- Spend like you want to grow rich
- Use the greatest investment ally you have
- Small fees pack big punches
- Conquer the enemy in the mirror
- Build mountains of money with a responsible portfolio
- Sample a “Round-the-world” ticket to indexing
- No, you don’t have to invest on your own
- Peek inside a Pilferer’s playbook
- Avoid seduction
If you’re saying to yourself these rules seem pretty simple, it’s because they are. If everyone followed these basic rules, their finances would be in great shape. However, the reality is that for the majority of Canadians, we don’t even understand a single one of these rules.
Hallam will educate you on how to index invest, more commonly known as the Couch Potato Strategy. Investing, of course, is the “easy” part. Keeping our emotions in check is arguably the hardest part so Hallam explains how people can screw up their portfolios. I personally follow the couch potato strategy so I know it works.
What makes the Millionaire Teacher different?
I personally recommend this book because every one of the rules is explained in plain English. You’ll never be intimidated by language. Trust me, you won’t find any financial terms that will make you want to put the book down. When there is a fancy term that comes up, Hallam breaks it down with a practical example so it’s easy to understand.
What I also love is how Hallam manages to teach people living in different countries how to index. If you live in Canada, the U.S.A, U.K, Australia, or Singapore, he has you covered. The couch potato strategy is so simple, it can be adopted by people all around the world.
Finally, I enjoyed how Hallam put in a lot of hard research to back up his points. He examined tons of data and looked at the returns of mutual funds compared to index funds. Not everyone is convinced about index funds, but the data does support it.
The final word
The Millionaire Teacher second edition is a worthy update that is even more impressive than the original version. Andrew Hallam is one of the most respected Canadian personal finance authors out there. I encourage you to pick up this book now if you want to learn how to save money and invest.
So glad you liked the 2nd Edition, I actually contacted Andrew about how I felt empowered after reading his book (thanks to your recommendation), but also told him I had to be honest and also told him that it left me feeling like I don’t know what to do next. I understood the why, but how exactly do I set his/your principles in motion, “exactly”.
I was honest with him and told him I already had a Questrade account, and he clearly indicates in his 1st ed. book which index ETF to get, but the book just left me feeling not-confident. Surprisingly, he replied back to me and told me about his 2nd edition, which I had no idea was in the works, but so glad there was one because I couldn’t put his first book down when I started it. Around this time, I had been an indigo chapters points collector and they had a sale, so I took advantage and bought his book.
I just finished reading Preet’s book (I enjoyed his read) and now I am about to start the 2nd ed. of Andrew’s book and your review also mentions Questrade! I had originally planned on reading (and still do) “The value of simple” because I know you had recommend him if you wanted a step by step approach on “how” to do this, which is exactly at the point I am now. So, I’m hoping after reading the 2nd ed and The value of simple I will feel more confident.
I want to learn about re-balancing better (I know there are spreadsheets, but needed an explanation) and just more tangible specifics on the HOW.
Thanks again for the review Barry!
Hey Vito,
I think once you actually start doing things, then it’ll be much easier than you realize. Just recently I started to use Noerbert’s Gambit which on paper really intimidated me, but once I actually did it, it was so easy.
Great review! I enjoyed his first book so I’ll be interested in reading his second and compare what I have been doing on Questrade with etfs to his suggestions. I am a teacher as well and although we are not paid to become millionaires easily, I remember reading that he said since teachers are lifelong learners we can easily learn to build wealth.
As an aside, I came across this link about can teachers become teachers and there was nowhere to share a comment so I thought I would indulge here… Basically he says the average US teacher earns $60G and then he goes on to do all the math about contributions of 27% of salary with compound interest… The biggest mistake: he assumed the teacher earns $60G a year for life when it takes 10+ years and additional qualifications to make it to the top of the grid. I found that amusing. 🙂