School teachers and Investing
The number of school teachers in the country is quite a large number – surely runs into tens of millions. Is it surprising that there are no websites or books meant for teaching investing to school teachers? No. Actually it is not.
School teachers in India (on an average) are paid pretty badly and do not generate enough surplus to invest. Having said that, now I am hearing of teachers in schools earning a million rupee salary. For a country so proud of ‘Mother Saraswati’ that is some beginning. Of course if Saraswati were meant only for earning Lakshmi, then it becomes training, not pure education!
How should teachers invest? Is it really very different? No. It is not.
The basics remain the same. Let me enumerate:
1. Spend less than you earn. Save the balance in a bank account.
2. Live frugally and increase savings.
3. Do not borrow. Do not borrow.
4. Read rule no. 3 again and again.
5. Take term and health insurance.
6. Once you have 3-4 months expenses in bank fixed deposits, start a SIP in a good mutual fund.
7. Start saving and investing for your retirement.
8. Put some money away for kids education and marriage, but PLEASE remember your RETIREMENT is far, far, far more important.
9. Delay in doing all of this can hurt. And hurt badly.
10. Read www.subramoney.com EVERYDAY.
If you are a school teacher and have any doubts about investing please ask me on subramoney.rich@gmail.com I promise to reply in a weeks time….
wealthucreate
Subra Sir….
I think Teachers not earning handsome salary maight not be completely true. In metro’s or cities, thier main income is tutions.
Teachers do earn hefty money in form of tutions in addition to the salary they earn.
Somebody who has ACITE scale are getting mouth watering package.
Teacher is a common man like many of us. He would also need the same investment basics like we all do.
Investment Tips for Teacher cannot be different from a Driver or Conductor. Basics should be common for all. Hope you agree sir.
Yes I comply your Point Number 10.
param
“I am hearing of teachers in schools earning a million rupee salary.”
I have not heard such a high salary, but I know a few who make more than that in tuition. I think that is their way of extracting justice from the society!!!
subra
and what is wrong in tuition please? School fees has kept pace with inflation (except in Gov schools), donation (at least in land starved cities like Mumbai) is upwards of HALF A MILLION.
Teachers also need to buy 42″ TV sets, take vacations, buy a car…AND they do spend 10 hr days and hold full time jobs. Society does not know the price that they will pay for under paying teachers. Most of the teachers who taught us have made sure that their kids are very well educated and NONE of them (save one) has become a teacher.
Nakul Bajaj
My Father is a teacher. He has been teaching for the last 38 years. He has delivered the best results for years. His students love him to no extent (Me being one of them). My first salary was more than what he was earning. If you see the abberation you will reaslise how difficult it is for a teacher. I have seen my father give his heart and soul to his work and he struggled getting us educated. So if he takes tuition I see nothing wrong in it. His students in the 80’s have packages in $ Millions.
I do agree some segments of teachers have expolited. See a school teacher and you will realsie that the value add they provide is a lot.
My father works for respect. Not for money. But respect cannot educate your kids of make you save for retierement.
I am proud to be a son of a teacher.
Subra at the end of it, with your blog you are also a teacher. You have earned my respect.
pravin
teaching in SCHOOLS is overrated. i honestly dont think i learnt much at school at all.and i went to school in the 80s.i learnt because my mom obsessed over my studies and my father bought me books and encouraged me to read -and because my friends were a bunch of competitive/curious people too. there were probably 1 and a half teacher who might have enthused me in my entire school life.
in the future,schooling will hopefully change its nature.all that basic learning is currently available abundantly and learning methods tailored to individual needs are easily available (check out khanacademy.org -the real salman khan -my hero).
in an ideal world,schooling fees should be in free fall.ofcourse inflation and status mongering of attending big name schools will keep the fees up.if teachers cant teach one to one,it is all timepass.children are sent to school to give their parents a break.a babysitting opportunity.
Nakul Bajaj
And Wealthucreate you are also no different from a Conductor or Driver. After all we all are humans
param
“and what is wrong in tuition please?”
nothing wrong, except that it should not have existed in the first place if teachers were paid well & this is a competitive profession that people would aspire to, not just for the satisfaction, but also for the monetary benefits.
unfortunately today the tuition thing has reached an extent that teachers prefer not to teach in the class & instead insist that parents send their child to his/her tuition class instead.
perhaps the same disease affects the medical profession as well. we are reluctant to pay the fair consulting charge to a doctor, so he has to make money by prescribing irrelevant tests & medicines…
subra
Pravin
Sad u went to a bad school. I went to a great school, had fab teachers..and a great set of friends. About 90 of us are in touch and meet regularly. Most of our teachers were totally dedicated..there have been life changing events..search for ‘Sandip’ and read that story. In a free market economy teachers have a choice of where to work hard and were to be there just for visibility. All professionals do that. ‘Experts’ who come on TV DO NOT GET PAID FOR COMING on TV. They hope the ‘publicity’ helps them in getting more biz.
Sadly, we set toooooo toooo high a standard for teachers. That is stupid. They need to be compensated better. Far, far, far better than what they are getting now.
Sneha
The problems with teachers is not just lack of money, but also their attitude towards money. They think of money as something inferior and only ‘smaller’ people who are not so intellectual oriented ‘chase’ money. This means children of teachers live through a ‘socialistic’ kinda lifestyle. Not sure how much of this is by choice and how much by force. Me and my sister earn very well and our parents CONTINUE to live very frugally. So somewhere it is money, somwhere it is the ‘Gandhian’ philosophy.
prabee
Since this is about teachers and now tution.i wanna say recent story
My cousin is going to a tution where a single teacher handles classes from morning 5 am to 8 am and then evening from 5pm to 10 pm for various classes for students from various schools.
Based on the tution fee i calculated on a rough figure and it turned out here tution fee alone will fetch here about 2,00,000/month. She might not be earning even 20% of it as her salary ,i guess.But she will not quit the job cause that is what bring her more students.I just couldn’t believe the figure until i went there and saw for myself.
I am neither saying its bad or its right.just giving a interesting story.
Sukumaran
Teachers are largely limited by the fact that they have to be personally present where they are needed. Now if a teacher can post his/ her tutorials on Youtube that will create awareness and brand image for him. Then they can make CDs, run a chain of coaching classes, publish books, do one-to-one counselling, create groups (and charge accordingly), do a Train The teachers program….and really do it like a factory. Then that person is NO LONGER A teacher, but a businessman / woman.
Like why Dr. Reddy of Apollo hospital is the highest earning doc! the ability and willingess to LEVERAGE – money and talent.
pravin
subra,
yes,probably my lack of much gain from ‘schooling’ makes me value teachers less. i dont believe teachers need to be compensated any more than they are today.if at all,their compensation should be decreasing dramatically .
clearly MOST teachers in schools today are stop gap -waiting till their husbands get a transfer or they are married .
i dont even understand why anyone needs to go to a school to get primary education.even secondary education. all the stuff you learn there is available for free today and in awesome forms.it is only the board system that makes home schoolers feel discriminated against.sitting in a classroom where 40 students -each having different capabilities of studying or absorbing the material is cruel to the students.
pravin
sukumaran.. er, why are people who teach one to one bad?
why are those who confine you in a classroom any better? why have a sadistic attitude towards students?indian schooling is usually a penal system – a mini jail.
they are probably responsible for making our students pliable ,slavish and unquestioning.