About The Book
In this guide to a healthier financial lifestyle, Andrew Hallam shows us how to live a well balanced and fulfilling life. Balance is not just a book about investing. It is more about living with purpose as well as spending and investing for happiness, health and wealth.
In this page-turner, Andrew highlights that living a successful life is about striking a balance between wealth, health, relationships and a sense of purpose. The book is filled with inspiring stories from real people the author actually met in his travels around the world.
About The Author
Andrew Hallam, the best selling author of Millionaire Teacher and Millionaire Expat, is a personal finance journalist and speaker. He’s a former high-school teacher who became a millionaire in his mid 30s on a teacher’s salary. After he quit his job as a teacher a few years ago, he became a true global nomad.
Whenever he’s not cycling up a mountain hill in Europe or camping in a tropical country with his wife Pele, he gives personal finance talks around the globe. He also publishes articles for The Globe and Mail, AssetBuilder, and Swissquote.
Book Summary
Balance is an easy and relatively quick read that is broken down into twelve digestible chapters.
The first chapter starts by asking about what we truly value most: is it our belongings or our life experiences? It also presents some research about how to spend for better satisfaction and happiness. It then addresses how people often buy stuff they don’t need, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t really care about.
Chapter 2 tackles the relationship between income and happiness. Does a higher income really make us happier? Is it worth sacrificing convenience for a higher paying job?
In chapter 3, human social relationships are tackled with their impact on our happiness, life satisfaction and longevity. You also learn that being kind, generous and caring could actually boost our health.
Chapter 4 emphasizes the importance of modeling the correct financial lifestyle. It also shows how maintaining a gratitude ritual positively could strengthen your physical and mental health.
Chapter 5 is mainly about opportunity cost. It explains that for every purchasing decision you make, there is a tradeoff between your current and future self. You also learn the importance of tracking your household expenses like you do for a business. Once you understand your true values, you could choose to spend on what best aligns with them. You then mercilessly cut-back on anything that doesn’t add to your life satisfaction.
An investment primer is presented in chapter 6: Andrew explains how you could make money while you sleep by becoming a shareholder in the world’s economy. These are the simple rules of wealth everyone should have learned in school. Stocks, bonds, dividends, and the power of compound interest are all defined in layman’s terms. He also explains how investing regularly without worrying about market fluctuations is the key to building wealth for the long term.
In chapter 7, the reader is warned about how most financial advisors do a disservice to their clients by selling them expensive actively managed funds. The high fees associated with these funds erode returns over an investment lifetime. Andrew then explains how low-cost index funds provide a simpler, better, and more profitable alternative. Some practical tips are also provided to help you avoid some of the most common investment pitfalls.
Chapter 8 describes how a hands-off investment approach has the potential of boosting happiness and long-term returns. It includes some tips on choosing a suitable advisor should you need one and goes on to recommending a few trusted fee-only advisors and robo-advisors. DIY investors will also find valuable tables with a bunch of recommended index funds or ETFs for different nationalities.
In chapter 9, Andrew addresses the “enemy in the mirror”. He explains that many overestimate their risk tolerance which then makes them vulnerable to their emotions when stocks hit the skids. He also advises retirees to ignore stock market forecasts and to simply stick to their withdrawal plan.
Chapter 10 explores Socially Responsible Investing, namely in environmentally sustainable funds and how our spending habits could affect the environment and our planet. It then discusses how recycling and reducing our consumption in general will help in giving our mother Earth a break.
If you have kids, chapter 11 provides some guidelines on how you could help your little ones in becoming more successful. It also discusses how to plant the seed of financial literacy at a younger age by encouraging them to earn, save/invest and donate.
Finally, chapter 12 focuses on how to boost well-being, longevity and happiness in your golden years. It explains the benefits of working part time in retirement, namely in improving mental and physical health. It also includes some handy tips for boosting your standard of living in retirement while slashing your retirement costs.
Conclusion
Balance is much more than just a personal finance book. In fact, out of its 11 chapters, only 3 are about investing. It is more about how to live a fulfilling happy life by balancing health, wealth, relationships, and purpose.
Andrew often combines humorous anecdotes with research and behavioral science to drive his message home. The stories he included from all corners of the world add to the book’s authenticity.
What I liked the most about Balance is the fact that Andrew is writing from personal experience. He talks the talk, walks the walk and definitely practices what he preaches. The fact that he’s been investing for more than three decades also means that he has seen it all: corrections, recessions, bear markets, recoveries; you name it!
I particularly liked the summary section at the end of each chapter highlighting the key chapter takeaways.
In short, I would recommend Balance to anyone who seeks to live an authentic and happy life by adopting a healthy financial lifestyle.