3
2
0
2
Let’s face it; financial planning can be a headache. And when you consider how dense and wordy some of the material out there is, it can also be a bore. When I lived in the U.S. I could put it off because all of my retirement money was being invested for me. I never even saw it. I selected retirement options with the help of a human resources employee on my first day of a new job, and then I never thought about it again. But moving overseas forced me to deal with it myself. My retirement money is now given to me every month in the form of a check. A check for which I am solely responsible. This could be disastrous.
Thankfully, one of the best gifts I ever received while living overseas was in the form of a book, Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam. My boyfriend is friends with the author and told me how good it was then put a copy in my hands. And once I moved to Singapore I came to know Hallam also and was fortunate enough to hear his advice in person as well as read more of it. Reading it made me a believer. It is the best financial planning book I’ve ever read, and I’ve tried many only to give up after growing more confused with each page read. But the Millionaire Teacher, written by a millionaire teacher, is straight forward and to the point. It tells you exactly what to do and why you should do it.
If you are struggling to figure out your finances I highly recommend it. If you are an expat farther along in the process of planning your retirement I also suggest Hallam’s second book, The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing: From Millionaire Teacher to Millionaire Expat. And trust me, you don’t have to be a teacher to benefit from this book. Happy reading!
It’s fantastic that you’re taking a proactive approach to saving! I wish more people your age would be as concerned and proactive on this subject. If they really understood the power of “true” compounding, they would probably pay more attention at an earlier age. The books you recommended sound pretty interesting and I do agree that if you’re playing in the Wall Street sandbox, that low-cost index funds are a little safer. Aside from the online travel business that I own, I also specialize in risk-free, tax-free retirement planning. I happened into the space purely out of a need to search for solutions for myself after working in the aviation industry for many years. I came to realize that I had been confusing Investing with Retirement. Most people think that the only avenues they have to save for their retirement is in Qualified Plans such as a 401k, IRA, etc., which all expose you to Market Risk, Fees & Commissions, and Taxes. Those can be significant wealth killers.
We’re often told by financial advisors that you have to take risk in order to have growth. Well, that’s not true. If you’re saving for retirement, it is money that you absolutely have to count on when you’re ready to do so, without fear of running out of money. Since people are living longer today, it’s a big concern. Most of the traditional financial planners won’t tell you that there are other financial tools under out tax code and outside of the Wall Street toolbox that allow people to create private retirement accounts. Those accounts can give you total control with zero risk to principal and all gains, competitive growth, liquidity (access to your money at any time without penalty or tax), lifetime income, and tax efficiency. Tony Robbins talks about this particular strategy (the strategy we help our clients create) in his new book, “Money: Master The Game.” A couple of other really good books on this topic is by Patrick Kelly called “Retirement Miracle” and Jay Beattey’s book, “Rigged: Unlearning Mainstream Financial Propaganda and Building Your Personal Fortune.”
Again, congratulations on taking action and being open to learning about this important topic. We have tons third-party information on our Resources page on our site that may interest you and be helpful in this journey. Sorry for the long post but I can tend to be fairly passionate about the subject because of my personal experience. LOL. 🙂
Thanks! I will check it out. And thanks for the book titles. Looking forward to reading them!