How to Survive (and Perhaps Thrive) on a Teacher's Salary [Paperback]

Danny Kofke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 2007

According to a 2006 study done by the National Education Association, 50% of teachers leave the profession within five years because of poor working conditions and low salaries. Yet, according to the 2006 General Social Survey, teaching ranks among the Top 10 most gratifying jobs with 69% of teachers reporting they were very satisfied with their jobs. A low salary should not be the reason stop molding young minds and influencing lives for the betterment of our society. Learn to: Retire with a sizeable nest egg Teach in a foreign country Own all of your possessions including your cars and house Invest in Roth IRAs and 403bs Establish a weekly 'budget' Live a financially secure life on a teacher s salary! Use author Danny Kofke's easy-to-use tips to equip you and your family to not only survive, but live happily within your means, multiply your funds and invest in your future.

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises (October 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598869027
• ISBN-13: 978-1598869026
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Danny Kofke is currently a special education teacher in Georgia. He has also taught pre-k, kndergarten, first grade and second grade. Danny's love of teaching and helping others led him to write two books - "How To Survive (and perhaps thrive) On A Teacher's Salary" (Tate Publishing Co. OCT 2007) and
A Simple Book Of Financial Wisdom: Teach Yourself (and your kids) How To Live Wealthy With Little Money" (Wyatt-MacKenzie SEP 2011).

Danny has appeared on various media outlets including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, AOL.com, Yahoo Finance and The Wall Street Journal .

Many people feel that financial matters is difficult to figure out and hard to understand. Danny wants to show others if this school teacher can do it they can too.

To learn more about Danny please visit www.dannykofke.blogspot.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 119 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Ten Bucks March 17, 2008

By Daniel O. Mangrum

Format:Paperback

Don't buy this book for the simple reason that the author doesn't "survive on a teacher's salary", according to his own narrative.

Most of the time period covered in this short book, the author "survives" on two teachers' salaries because his wife also works. In addition to their two-teacher income, they earn money on the side by tutoring and working for relatives. In a few brief periods when one of them was not teaching full-time, they received money for teaching part time, keeping someone's child in their home and collecting disability. There are loans from grandma and a home improvement loan to supplement their income. The fact of the matter is that Danny and his wife are rarely without additional streams of income. At one point, Danny leaves teaching altogether for a more lucrative job selling flooring. At the end of the book, Danny goes back to teaching.

So what does Danny teach us about surviving on a teacher's salary? Never rely on a teacher's salary. Have two...and then tutor on the side. Work for relatives and friends as well. Sell a house. Borrow money from grandma. Collect disability. Work part-time. Publish and sell a book. This is how Danny does it.

To end on a slightly more favorable note, Danny does some smart things with his money which are worth emulating but you don't have to buy his book to learn how to do them. Danny suggests his readers check out books by David Bach. I would add that you look to Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware! January 30, 2010

By Benjamin Easley

Format:Kindle Edition

Despite my initial reservations, I chose to purchase this quick read in pursuit of practical advice to achieve my personal goals of supporting my future family on a teacher's salary.

Unfortunately, I must admit that Mr. Mangrum is spot-on is his assessment of this ten-dollar waste.

Over the course of eighty-four pages, Mr. Kofke writes with poor precision, abandons his own commitment to "survive (and perhaps thrive)" on such a salary, and offers the occasional money-saving suggestion of an ethically questionable nature:

In one such example, the author and his wife manipulate their disability insurance to escape $2,293.33 of a $2,318.50 hospital bill following the birth of their first daughter.

The book's greatest worth lies in the author's references to financial literature by David Bach. Personally, I would recommend investing $9.99 in Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness ($17.99 on this site). Dave offers direct, biblical, effective, "proven" (as the book states) financial advice that would serve a working man well in any profession.

For the record, I do appreciate Mr. Kofke's contribution to the understaffed field of special education...

...but I beg you to refrain from adding his book to your cart. Tate Publishing should be ashamed for endorsing such literature.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed March 27, 2010

By Old Teacher

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was not worth the money I spent on it. It was a narrative of the author's experience. It was misleading. There were times when it was about 2 teacher's salaries and 3 times his grandma lent him money. I think he will do well in sales because of the title but will disappoint many buyers. The author will add to his savings but poor teachers will be conned out of $13.00 for a book that has no practical use for them.