In 2009, my friend Patrick Green said I should start a blog. We were at a party in Singapore. He loves the occasional beer, but that night, he was a little tipsy.

The next day, Patrick phoned me. “Andrew, remember what I was saying about that blog? You really need to start one.” I didn't think he would remember.

I half‐heartedly mentioned it to another friend, David Dixon, later that afternoon. David's a tech wiz. “I'll manage the blog,” he said, “you just write the stories.” So that's what I started to do at www.andrewhallam.com.

I also continued to write articles for finance magazines. In 2011, I wrote an international best‐selling book, Millionaire Teacher. That brought a whole new group of readers to my blog. Many of them were expats. They asked, “How do I build a portfolio of index funds while I live overseas?”

I had been using Singapore's DBS Vickers brokerage since 2003. But I didn't know, for example, how a British engineer in Kuwait could invest in a portfolio of index funds. To help these people, I did a lot of digging. I asked a lot of questions.

My readers introduced me to offshore pension products, such as those created by firms like Friends Provident and Zurich International. I had no idea that they were so prolifically sold. I wanted to do what I could to keep people away from them. I asked readers questions. I dug into their prospectuses and continued to research. I helped other readers. But they also taught me too.

Thanks to Patrick Green and David Dixon, the blog at www.andrewhallam.com soon became the world's most comprehensive site for expatriate investors. It was the genesis for this book's first edition, The Global Expatriate's Guide to Investing (Wiley, 2015).

That's why Patrick Green, David Dixon, and my many readers deserve my heartfelt thanks.

I would also like to acknowledge investment writers Ian McGugan and Scott Burns. They're the best personal finance writers I know. Scott retired in 2017, but he continues to guide my writing.

If this book is easy to understand, with a dash of humor, it's largely thanks to Ian and Scott.

The expats profiled within these pages also deserve my heartfelt thanks. You let me pry into the good, bad, and ugly aspects of your personal financial lives. And this book is far more instructive (and, I hope, entertaining) because of your generosity.

Saintly financial advisor Tony Noto also helped greatly with my section on American individual retirement accounts (IRAs). I'm not sure if your clients know, Tony, how fortunate they truly are.

My agent, Sam Fleishman (the man who appears never to sleep), worked tirelessly to ensure I was given a strong publishing contract. We haven't met in person. But based on his tenacity, I wouldn't recommend fighting Sam in a no‐holds‐barred cage match.

I would also like to thank my publishing team at John Wiley & Sons and Andrew Chacko, for his editing wisdom.

Finally, to my lovely wife, Pele, you tolerated my mission, working as my editor and time manager. I look forward to the rest of life's journey with you.