ALT-7 What you need to know before you become a Teacher
Teaching is one of the noblest professions on this earth. They are some of the most patient, understanding, and caring people that God has created. They spend their lives educating our children and helping them grow. Are they rewarded for their efforts? For whatever reason, teachers are paid consistently less than other professional fields. Most educators make a huge financial sacrifice when committing to be a teacher. They could have much better paying jobs in the private sector, but they chose to teach. Fortunately if you are a teacher, you can still retire wealthy.
There was recently a story in the LA times about a former teacher who left a fortune to her school district. Edna Diehl spent 29 years a teacher and a counselor, and after all of that hard work and sacrifice, she left $1.3 million dollars to her school district. The money she left behind will be able to fund five full-time scholarships for students of the district. We could all learn a lot from Ms. Diehl's story of generosity. It was an amazing fit, but perhaps the most amazing thing about this story is that she was able to amass that much money on a teacher's salary.
A lot of teachers don't think they can attain financial success because they have relatively low starting salaries. Nothing is further from the truth. Since teachers are forced to be frugal when they first start out, they can use the money saving techniques they learn during this time throughout all their lives. Eventually their salary will go up, and if they can keep their expenses relatively flat, they will do very well off.
Most teachers get a retirement plan from the state, but they will need more than that in order to retire wealthy. They'll be able to keep up a decent living upon retirement, but won't have the ability to bless others with their wealth and live as they please. In order to do this, teachers must do some prudent investing.
Fortunately a small amount of money invested over a long period of time will become a lot of money. Invest a couple hundred dollars a month into a quality mutual fund from when you first start off teaching until retirement, you'll easily retire a millionaire. You'll be able to travel, help those in need, and do all of those things that you've always wanted to do, but never have had the time or the money.
Being a teacher isn't a financial death sentence. It's not the easiest profession to become wealthy in, but it most certainly can be done. Follow the path of Ms. Edna Diehl, and you'll be able to retire with more than just your dignity.
