Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School

RULE 6

Sample a “Round-the-World” Ticket to Indexing

Contrary to what some investment books have inadvertently led you to conclude, index funds have boarded ships and airplanes to find happy homes outside of the United States. In this section, I'll give you examples of how to build an indexed account whether you live in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, or Australia. Feel free to check out the section relating to your geographic area, or read with interest how our international brothers and sisters can create indexed accounts. Even if you live in a country not mentioned here, as long as you have the ability to open a brokerage account in your home country, you can build a portfolio of indexes.

The people I'm profiling below are real. These are their real names—and their real stories.

Indexing in the United States—An American Father of Triplets

When Kris Olson's wife, Erica, had triplets in 2006, she singlehandedly gave birth to a quarter of a soccer team. Suddenly, there were three more mouths to feed, a minivan to buy, and three college educations to save for.

I'm not suggesting that anyone would hold a charitable benefit with accompanying violin music for a well-paid specialist in pediatrics and internal medicine. But if you're American, and suddenly more aware of your own financial obligations, Kris' story of opening an indexed investing account could provide some direction.

The 40-year-old doctor realized that investing money was similar, in many ways, to the global health work ...