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Monday, September 17, 2012

Andrew Hallam, the millionnaire teacher, but that's all

I was supposed to wake up at 5 but I wake up at 6 to complete some freelance work so this post won't be proofread (like usual) and it might be short (very unusual).

I am now enjoying my weekends because I barely have nothing at all to work as a freelancer.

Anyway, I was at the Chapters on St-Catherine this weekend and I send the book The Millionnaire Teaccher of Andrew Hallam so I gave it a quick onsite read. I couldn't believe that the guy deprive himself from essential living expenses such as food and public transportation. I am a frugal babe, but I will never deprive myself from food to have more money to invest. For quite sometime, he was able to save as much as 70% of his teacher salary to invest. Nice, but the poor guy certainly never taught of the effects of such deprivation on the long run. Andrew Hallam may be a millionaire, but he's a complete maniac.

He used to barely heat his place (hey dude, in Canada, we have winter) and eat a poor diet composed of pasta and peas. Barely no vegetable. Such diet is very dangerous for the eyes and the immunitate system. I didn't saw a doctor in more than 10 years (its not a good thing to do but I am not going to even try to find a family doctor in Montreal) its because of a wealthy diet. I have a taste for sugar and junk food occasionally but these days, I am even working on it better. Just to say that you will turn very badly if you do it like Andre Hallam. When I am saying that the man is a maniac, he's really is.

His book is mostly focus on the power of saving and the value of investing, the effect of interest over time and not that much about investing. If you don't know how to save cash and spend it smartly, you have a very long way to go before you can even find money to invest. That's depressing. The book of Andrew Hallam is a very depressing book.

You don't have to have a million book to be rich. You don't need a million to be financially rich and independent. That's the very smart way of Derek Foster.

Andrew Hallam loves money, but he hates debt. Holding debt never been a problem to me. I never paid my student loan because I preferred to have those several thousands on the market and in "save" in case of need. Also, don't forget the tax credit. 

I visited Andrew Hallam blog a few times and I cannot read him, his perfect English.

I want to feel the excitement of the stock market and I don't get that kind of buzz and hot feeling with him.


Anonymous said...

With the increase we've had in the last month your portfolio should be at a record amount now. I am up 8.4% in september alone and 13.6% for the year. How have you been doing?

Anonymous said...

Hi, I am new to your blog... I know you are a fans of David Foster, but I find his investing strategy has changed a lot from what the first book he wrote. Last month he came to our city and I participated his meeting group in our library. Honestly he didn't talk a lot about investing, and he just promote his new book. I want to point out that.. he spend very little and barely money to live on. I don't know if I can say it- miser. If the living standard like that, I prefer to work 8 hours a day, and I can enjoy nice food and go traveling abroad... just sharing.
Finally, could you please talk about the stock 'Agrium Inc.(agu.To). Are you still holding this stock..thanks.

Sunny said...

Hi there,

Thanks for passing by. The reason I ADORE Derek Foster is that all of his stuff work very well for me, from his first book to his last.

I made several thousands on his stuff: PPL, ENF, ENB, CDL.A, just to name a few. The stuff of his first book is still good for today market conditions by the way he picks those stocks.

I am lucky to have many people like yourself who like to comments, send me emails and chat with me.

A reader told me that in a conference DF gave some guy went upset at Derek because his stocks didn't work well for him and there was kind of a dispute. So I guess that Derek is more careful on what he says during his conferences. NO drama please.

Stock market can be a sensitive topic because so much people loss money in it. So there's a great deal a jealousy around him.

Of course his way change a lot since his first book, but its all part of an evolution. That's why he keep writing. The Stop Working was just the beginning of a successful writing career for Derek Foster.

Now, Derek is more focus on US stocks. As far I am concern, his portfolio is exclusively made of US stocks. I began to understand the reason of this: the big cash is in the US and on the long run, chances are that the US market will do better than the US one.

The Canadian market is small. At this point, I find it more and more difficult to add up some quality stuff in. I could explore the US market in a close future.

Frugal living has been a Derek Foster mantra like forever. He's pretty grounded on the one penny save is one penny made or something like that.

I guess he lives on an annual 40k salary, not bad. In his case, 5 kids - or 6 now - I never can remember how many children he has, just too many for me lol - raising those bunch of kids is a full-time job on itself so its great that he can afford not working, even on a minimum needed salary.

Life is not made to spend it on luxuries, it was made so you can live it. Myself, I will be working for the next couple years but among the way, I am trying to build a portfolio so that if something happen, I can afford living by myself. Also, I am a New Brunswicker so at a point if I have enough of Quebeckers, I will kiss them good-bye.

That's the point between me and Derek Foster, so alike but SO F different at the same time.

I LOVE the guy. He can make you learn a lot, you'll see. If not just living with the minimum, adding the minimum to your actual salary. Wouldn't be nice?

Get ready for a very wild ride.

Sunny said...

Hi, well, when the market goes up, my portfolio goes up too. I don't care about how great it is doing because it is always doing great :)

AGU is a killer stock. I made several hundreds on it and I plan to keep it as a safe bullet protection for my margin account.

2 said...

you should present examples how he goes to frugal extreme. Perhaps, as many canadian frugalists, putting on a warm fleece and two layers of socks are good ways to turn down the heat during winters and consequently substantially reduce electricity bills.
You are stating that slashing food expenses can be harmful to your health. Again it would be more interesting to know what he does and let your readers judge if that millionaire teacher is indeed harming his health. You might be right, but you provide no quotes to back up your judmental view again. Besides you aren't doing yourself a favor when you state right after this that you are not even looking for a family doctor because you have the perfect diet. Family doctors have NOTHING to do with having the best diets; thus, enabling you to avoid one.

Ruth said...

watched business news and a woman called in and said she bought a 1000 Agrium stocks at 67 bucks....nice profit , another anlyst said that agrium is a seasonal stock and to buy it within these few months..I would love CNR in my has slipped today , might be a buy. i would like Crescent point and missed the 39 dollar entry point , it went up so fast...

Sunny said...

Hi Ruth,

You might be late for Crescent at $39, but this may be the perfect timing to buy some CNR stocks.

Go read the book Foubrak, you'll see for yourself. Only my own perspective count. I do not write this blog thinking of the opinion my readers and oh what are they are going to think and blablabla.

I write for myself first.

While living frugally, Andrew made himself some cheap meal with barely nothing, pasta and other cheap items that contain no vitamins.

Also, his father has to stay in the hotel once visiting him because he didn't heat his place. Is that normal? No. The man is a fucking freak. Or use to be one. I don't like that guy. I just have that idea of him as the biggest maniac of all. I really hate my reading of his book. I could visualize him going though all those stupidity just to save more money. He's crazy.

If I want to save more money, I am going to get a second job, I am not going to deprive myself the way he did. I am not that extreme. Not having Internet or TV cable at home are good ways to save money - it is reasonable deprivation.

I got the Internet at home this morning. Its all set up and working very well. Going to have more time to blog from home. Going to be nice :)

Anonymous said...

Ask most young generation if they would rather cut back on internet or food, they are more than likely to choose food.

As far as poor diet, lots of people will live on bread, rice, pasta, etc.
I figure you could eat a lot worse eating frozen dinners, take out, drinking energy drink and so on.

Funny you should judge someone being frugal when most would think that you are just as frugal.

I won't cut on the things are enjoy to build up a million dollar only to see a market crash take it away from me.

Sunny said...

I am frugal, but not excessively.
And Andrew frugality was not only around food. Don't expect to live very long on eating pasta, and worst, drinking energy drink.

For quite sometime, he rode his bike to go to work while living quite far from work, that's another crazy thing. No heating during winter. No place of his own (he used to stay on some people place as guardian or whatever while people were away)...

I mean, there's a point you shouldn't exceed. Money is not everything in life.

Andrew Hallam said...

Thank you for your comments about my book.

I certainly did live frugally. But my diet was very healthy. I ate plenty of raw, fresh vegetables, never ate fast food or processed foods. The book says nothing about giving up vegetables. I didn't drink Coca Cola or any other pop, alcohol, or coffee, preferring water instead. It was cheaper to do so, and healthier. TO this day, my favorite drinks are organic green tea and hot water with lemon or fresh ginger. Pop and alcohol aren't healthy, and to be honest, I've never enjoyed them. For breakfast, I had oatmeal and I continue to do so. I was saddened to hear your judgements because I did actually get cancer, despite my impeccable diet. Despite being an active competitive runner and cyclist, the same awful disease hit me that hits so many other people. I am now fine, and continue to eat very well. Please be conscious that your comments about people are real. And be careful not too judge too harshly. Of course, we have all judged people in the past. None of us are perfect. But I just wanted to remind you not to hurt people on the internet.



Sunny said...

I didn't like your book at all. The whole way you did to get your millions sound so crazy to me. You decided to go public with your story, you have to live with the fact that the people who have a head on their shoulders will just feel like me, totally attack by your book. Stop acting like the King of the Hill because you are a millionaire because you are nothing to me. An author shouldn't response directly to critics, but i guess you are not a real author, you are just as arrogant as Gordon Pape, feeling free to put your shit on my blog. You have no rights over me. But now at least, retail investors know that both of you are just of the super arrogant class, trying to have the last words on everything.

While reading you, I was so disgusted, so irritated. And you can trust me on this, my feelings are never wrong. And see, there's a reason behind all this, by the way I felt while reading you: you got cancer. This is a direct cause of what you been through to get in the millionaire zone. You push it too hard and paid the price, your body reacted to years to deprivation, mental and health deprivations.

What you described in your book is not a healthy diet. I will go back at Chapter and write down your own to make you remember what you ate back in the days. A 3$ meal. and it wasn't vegetables.

Its not all about food.

You have spend many winters at not heating the place you were living in. And once, your father visited you and decided to stay at a hotel room because you place was cold. and your father didn't have too much money, you know that better than me right. That kind of deprivation has a direct effect on health.

Once at a gas station while you where working on the tired of your bikes, one of your female colleagues stop by and said that they could organized a collect at school for you.

Over excising and be as fatal as no exercising. You overwork yourself and you paid the price. Your story is a very sad one, but that's what happen when someone save 70% of its salary over investment. You have a choice between living a happy healthy life or become millionaire. You sacrifice too much over a stupid money goal. You went to the extreme. And now, you want me to be gentle with you? Get off here.

Anonymous said...

Quote from Amanda Todd Stop Bullying Facebook Page.

If people are trying to bring you down it only means you that you are above them!

Sunny said...

You are acting like a child. Be a man. This is not bullying, its a review of your book. I am not judging, I am critic. Don't expect everyone to like your book and to like the way you build your million.

Its like you want everyone to really love it, and enjoy it. Its not my case. People will common sense will just bring up the same comments I did.

Anonymous said...

From where I stand, I much rather take advise from Gordon or Andrew than you or Sprott. You rather follow people that have you invest in Timminco, BNT, SII, silver, etc. go right ahead.

What Andrew did to accomplish his million dollar is not any different than what you do. Except obviously he knew a lot more about investing than you. At least he made money, you've been investing for over 5 years and your portfolio still doesn't have a market value over book value. You don't know how to calculate your rates or return, you get fired from job to job and let's not forget you're single and for good reason. Who would want to be with someone lacking empathy or any social skill.

You sit here and judge them while you're just as worst. What's so excitement in your life. You walk to work, you cut internet to save money, you have no car, no house, hell you where even living with your parents at 30.

Lots of people train hard either being athletes or to keep in shape. For you to blame that on his cancer on his lifestyle shows how ignorant you really are. Someone that tells another persons that he deserved to get cancer tells me a lot about that person. Lots of women have breast cancer, I suppose they deserved it.

Someone must of forgot to show you affection when you where young for you to display such arrogance and lack of empathy for other persons; all you do is complain and blame all your problems on others. You need to get some help!!!

PS: I don't see the Globe asking you to take part in their experiment.

Sunny said...

Why are you reading me than, if you prefer Andrew or Gordo?

No one was behind my pick of TIM, BNT, SII and silver, just me. When I get a pick from a reader or from another blog, I always say it, but for those mentions, they were all mine. When silver goes up again - and it will - same thing with SII - you'll say it, the hot chitta have it all right. My vision of investment is that I invest now and in 20 years from now, we'll figure out if I was that good or that bad of an investor.

Don't forget about my CU, AGU, CNR and a bunch of others on which I made so much of money. Like Gordo and Andro? Well, got for it.

You are such a bad reader, you have to stop reading me now because your not even able to recognize how great this blog is. I am not the kind of extra arrogant like those Andrew Hallem and Gordon Pape. I am not looking for recognition. I am not expected to be love and live by everyone.

I used to have a car in New Brunswick - you know that. Driving a car in Montreal can be so dangerous.

Walking to work is my ONLY daily exercise. I don't have a boyfriend because I am not looking for one.

I did not say that he deserves to have cancer, and you know that. You are just a poor guy who probably has no money in the bank.

I always write about my portfolio, who its going and stuff. I am a personal financial blogger, not an arrogant investor.

I don't blame my problems on other at all! You are so f up. What are you talking about, complaint? I have a 80k+ worth net, a 160k+ portfolio, I always had worked full time, I am a freelancer, I don't have any problems, but you do.

I don't care about the Globe, I care about myself, my portfolio. My life is exciting because I write about it and you like it. You all like it.

Anonymous said...

People fall into this site because of the dividend title, but stay because this is more of a circus than anything else. I fail to see what information you bring to readers accept showing how uneducated you are.

Anyone can pick winning stocks, but what good does it do if you lose all those gains on loser stocks that lose more than 50% of their value. Over 5 years of what you call investing and no gains.

You don't even realize that a 50% loss on a 2$ stock is the same as a 50% loss on a 50% stock. How the hell can you know your rate of return, your just guessing everything. Come on, get an education; it would be money well spent, even though you think it's a waste of money.

Yeah, you drove a car that your mother had to give to you. And lots of people drive everyday to work in Montreal.

You are a lot more arrogant than Andrew that responded to your critic. He didn't attack you and was very polite in his respond. The same can't be sad for you. You need to look yourself in the mirror, believe me, I'm never wrong about this.

Complain about BMO firing you, complain about TD increasing your interest rate, complain about Quebec, complain about your employer in NB laying you off, complain about tuition fees and the list goes on. You are always negative.

Get over your little net worth of 80k, most make more than that in a year; they might spend it and enjoy life, but why not, they will make another 80k next year. You're too afraid to spend because you know your earning capacity is limited because of your lack of education.

Keep telling yourself your life is exciting and you might start believing it.

I'll tell you what I like reading about this blog. I like reading how pathetic some people can be. Don't kid yourself, that's the only thing most people get out of this blog. A good laugh

Anonymous said...

You said he brought cancer by the choice he made; that pretty much says he deserved it. That shows are ignorant you are about cancer, just like you're ignorant about investment and just about everything else. I have never seen such a narrow minded person.

Anonymous said...

Oh and the entertainment goes on. I can't believe a man I admired even flirted with her for a fleeting second. So much for HIS taste in women.

Anonymous said...

What a horrible woman you are. Andrew Hallam is a class act, deserves all his success and is no way accountable for his health issues in the past. However, you, "The Dividend Girl", are a mean spirited, nasty excuse for a human being, who sadly has to live with yourself.


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