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The foreign exchange market is the largest investment market in the world. Currency trading or Forex Trading has become extremely popular over the last several years and the numbers are consistently increasing. The Currency market involves countries all over the world so currency can be traded almost 24 hours a day and there is a very short weekend. The majority of currency trades are not done by people, international banks, businesses and the national banks…
Expat Finance: How Working Abroad Set Me Up for Awesome I’ll be going back to Canada in less than two months after ten years teaching English in South Korea. There are various reasons, but mostly I’m just tired of teaching and tired of living abroad. I need a change, in a serious way. What I’m going to talk about today is money, and how you can turn your time teaching abroad into some financial awesome…
A Reader Question: Ideal Retirement Plan at 65 A reader asked me what my ideal retirement plan at 65 would be. Let me start off by saying that my thinking is perhaps a little different than the normal person. I in no way envision myself working a 9-5 job for the next 30 years and then “retiring.” An Alternative Plan Instead, I hope to live a life that is characterized by non-traditional work opportunities. Perhaps…
I got a question from one of my readers about how young people can take control of their money and their lives and she wondered about what I did successfully and what I would have changed about my twenties. It’s an excellent question! My Financial 20s: What I did right Paying off Student Loans I did quite well in my 20s financially speaking because I paid off my student loan debt as quickly as possible…
I answer the question of whether or not it’s ever too late to start investing in this short video. For everything expat finance, check out Andrew Hallam’s excellent book, The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing: From Millionaire Teacher to Millionaire Expat.
A short video explaining why now (May 2015) is a terrible time to be investing in bond mutual funds or bond ETFs: For some solid advice, check out this book from Peter Lynch, one of the giants in the investing world: One Up On Wall Street: How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In
A short video about trading vs. investing and which one I recommend. For some solid advice on investing from one of the greats, check out: The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle.
In this short video, I talk about the difference between fundamental and technical analysis and which one I like. It can be quite confusing when you’re new to the investing world, but I try to break it down for you in a simple way. If you are an English teacher abroad and are trying to figure out the personal finance thing, check out this book: The Wealthy English Teacher: Teach, Travel, and Secure Your Financial…
I explain why I don’t think investing in gold and silver is the best choice in this short video, but the gist of it is that gold and silver are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. They actually have no intrinsic value of their own, unlike companies who have earnings. More personal finance for ESL teachers abroad: The Wealthy English Teacher: Teach, Travel, and Secure Your Financial Future.
I’ve recently created a series of short YouTube videos about personal finance. I hope you’ll find them helpful and if you have questions you want me to answer, or tips about how to make them better, please let me know. I’m very new to the YouTube world. Here’s the first one explaining how most people are scared of the stock market, but what they actually should be far more scared of is inflation. If you’re…
Disturbing Happenings in My Life Money Diet March opened up my eyes to just how much money I spend on drinking and eating out. It was kind of staggering, and drinking and hanging out in expat bars a lot is really not how I want to live my life. Sure, it’s fun to see all your friends and talk and get loud and happy, but waking up the next morning with a hangover, $50 lighter…
Are Offshore Brokerage Accounts Really Sketchy? A reader question: My friends wonder if I’m doing something really sketchy when I mention that I’m opening an offshore brokerage account. Is this stigma justified? Is it perpetuated by Tax Authorities to discourage people from opening them? My main two questions that I need answered are: am I doing anything illegal (if the $ is from a legal source)? If it’s such a good idea, why doesn’t everyone…
Yesterday, I gave a ride to a newbie to Korea in my car who I’d never met before. She was a friend of a friend and the first thing she said to me was, “You’re so lucky to have a car.” Now, I’m not picking on her particularly because she is a nice person but my answer to her was my standard one: “It’s not luck. Anyone can do it.” Sure, it takes a bit…
Where retirees should invest if they are going to live abroad A reader question: “I’ve heard that one needs to consider where they want to retire when purchasing investments. If someone is unsure, but knows it will likely be a nice warm developing country, how might they want to adjust their portfolio?” My Answer: Don’t Worry about it! This is indeed a good question, but it is not something that you should worry too much…
A Reader Question: How Can I Minimize my Taxes? “I’m Canadian, and I’m confused about taxes and how to optimize my investments from a tax perspective. If we’re ineligible for RRSPs, where should our investments be kept to reap tax benefits?” My Disclaimer: Please note that I not a tax expert and that the best advice I could give you is to consult with an international tax accountant who is familiar with the specifics related…
As I exercise, I listen to podcasts and once of my favorite financial ones is Suze Orman, author of The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke. She takes calls on her show from people who have serious financial problems, but are quite often in just as serious denial. Examples of the Financial Crazy 1. Someone has $60,000 in credit card debt, but they just leased a $20,000 car. 2. Another person is struggling…
If you’re new to the investing world, it can be a bit overwhelming to get started on the path towards financial freedom. There are plenty of helpful blogs out there, such as Mr. Money Mustache, Wise Bread, or The Simple Dollar but it can be difficult to get the “big picture” while you’re scrolling around from post to post at random. It’s perhaps a much better choice to read a book because you get the…
Whenever I talk to my friends, I’m almost astounded when I hear stories of the mistakes that they made in their late teens or early twenties and I find it hard to believe that they graduated from high school without knowing this stuff (I would have been clueless too, but I freakishly was interested in financial stuff from an early age and used to read books about it in my teens). Maybe it’s the responsibility…
Investing in the financial markets when you live abroad can be a bit complicated due to things like currency conversions, tax laws and just fewer options for things like brokerage accounts. But, it’s not impossible and with a bit of reading and research, almost anyone can do it. Here’s where to start: Expat Investing Resources 1. Andrew Hallam’s- The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing: From Millionaire Teacher to Millionaire Expat. One of the best (and…
Research Would Show: Mutual Funds are Terrible I was just talking to my Canadian friend this morning and she was telling me about her mom who has hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in mutual funds. With even a minimal amount of reading about investment options, you would know that mutual funds are basically a total rip-off, particularly if you’re from Canada since the fees there are the highest in the world and you’d be…
A common question that I get from my friends who are teaching English abroad is what brokerage I use to invest in the stock market. It can be quite complicated and a brokerage in your home country might not necessarily be the best choice for tax-related reasons. Andrew Hallam and Expat Brokerage Options The best information out there on this topic is from Andrew Hallam, in The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing: From Millionaire Teacher…
Money Diet March has been in full force this past week and I’ve discovered that I am not actually the queen of frugal that I thought I was. Perhaps that ship has sailed and since I’ve paid off all my debt, have a fat stack of cash in various bank accounts around the world and significant investments, I’ve gotten out of the hard-core frugal lifestyle that I lived while I still had student loans. I’m…
I’m coming up on my 10th year anniversary of living in Korea and along the way, I’ve learned a lot about myself, life and finances. I’m sure I would have learned these things, eventually while living in my home country just as a result of getting older and wiser, but I think there’s something about leaving everything familiar that can speed this process up. Top 10 Life Lesson I’ve Learned while Living Abroad 1. People…
