Articles & Questions
Every week I publish a fun new article on a money topic I think you’ll find interesting. I also answer a handful of reader questions. Subscribers to my newsletter get to see everything first — but you can browse some of my past articles & questions on this page.
My Best Articles
Not sure where to start? Below I’ve handpicked a few of my favourites. And if you like what you see, don’t forget to subscribe to my free newsletter to get new issues before anyone else!
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Scamming my mother
I took a deep breath and dialled my mother.
"Mum, it's me. I need … your credit card details," I said.
I was standing in a crowded Apple Store, where I'd been for the past three hours.
Tomorrow was my son's 13th birthday, and I'd decided to get him an Apple Watch. Well, truthfully, I'd decided to buy myself a new Apple Watch, and he was getting my old hand-me-down. I was wearing his present.
It’s the end of an era for Barefoot
It’s been an emotional week.
On Thursday afternoon I opened up news.com.au and saw my noggin smiling back at me.
The headline read:
“‘Disappointing’: ING scraps wildly popular Savings Maximiser high interest savings account.”
Nosebleed in Byron Bay
I just had an out of body experience … in Byron Bay no less.
Let me explain.
My yoga-loving, vegetarian wife announced that for the school holidays she’d snagged cheap Jetstar flights and an ‘amazing’ Airbnb that’s usually booked out.
The other side of the scam
We were in the mountains of Laos.
I was at a cockfighting joint playing pétanque with our tour guide, Minh.
Think lawn bowls, except the floor is dirt, the air is full of smoke, and everyone is drinking cheap whisky from recycled bottles. K-pop blares on a distorting Temu speaker.
Dad shot the cow
I had half the under-12s basketball team in the ute, driving them home.
“What are you up to tomorrow, buddy?” I asked our point guard, riding shotgun.
“Dad shot the family cow. Tomorrow we’re cutting it up. He says I have to wear gumboots.”
The best question this year
How cool is this?
On Tuesday an eight-year-old named Molly filled out the “Ask Barefoot” form on my website:
“My parents won’t allow me to buy shares, and it makes me feel so sad. Please help me! Molly”
Cornered, cranky and ready to charge
My wife is currently in Africa filming a documentary about rhinos.
Which means I’m home alone on the farm with four kids. The wild Savannah has nothing on this.
“The teachers said Book Week is coming up”, announced my eight-year old daughter over dinner.
Albo and Chalmers don't have the guts to say this (but I will)
Here’s what Albo and Chalmers don’t have the guts to say (but I will):
House prices are falling, and that’s a good thing.
For anyone under 40 who’s given up on ever owning a home, this is the best news since your dad stopped emailing you the auction results with “food for thought” in the subject line.
Don’t save to retire
“Don’t Save to Retire”
Thundered the headline as I doomscrolled in bed on Sunday night.
“Trillionaire Elon Musk says AI will overtake human intelligence in five years, one billion robots will be doing your jobs, and money will be meaningless.”
Albo takes a swipe at our super
Can’t a man leave the country for a fortnight without the entire financial system melting down?
I’m barely off the plane and I find out the Prime Minister’s been running the skewer up our super. My inbox is jammed with Barefooters like Brad:
A Boy Worth Fighting For
We were somewhere over Malaysia, wedged into economy with four kids, when the fighting started.
It was hot. It was cramped. And the chicken satay I’d wolfed down in Singapore was staging a violent protest somewhere south of my belt buckle.
“Just shut up, the lot of you”, I thundered.
Dating an Orange Narcissist
An old mate of mine turned up to the farm with a baseball cap on.
It wasn’t sunny.
As we shook hands I noticed his head was bandaged.
“What have you done to your head, cobber?” I asked, concerned for his wellbeing.
The Billionaire versus Barefoot
“Third!” I yelled.
My eight-year-old daughter was riding shotgun. She didn’t miss a beat. She leaned over and confidently moved us into third gear. All the while grinning from ear to ear.
And why not?
Why I invested in Elon Musk's SpaceX
I just invested in the most overvalued piece of junk going around:
Elon’s latest trillion-dollar trouser-tickler, SpaceX.
I didn’t have a choice. My index fund bought it for me. Automatically.
The beast is coming for me
For the past couple of years I've been quietly checking in on a single mum I'll call Fiona.
In 2024 she wrote to me with a confession: she had bought an apartment using the Government's low income single parent deposit scheme, and she was now in deep trouble.
I wasn't surprised.
There's a fake Barefoot Investor. And he's everywhere.
My kid's teacher pulled me up at school drop-off this week
"What's he done now?" I asked, bracing myself.
Turns out I was the one in trouble.
"I saw you on the internet advising people to sell everything because of the budget," she said.
You’ll hate this
After reading this column, my editor, Wally, said:
“I’m confident this piece will generate the greatest amount of hate mail you’ve ever received.”
Let’s see if he’s right …
Do you know what the easiest thing I could have done this week was?
Barefoot’s Take on the Budget
A spinner from the Housing Minister’s office called me a couple of weeks ago:
“The Minister would like to invite you to Canberra to attend the Budget. There are a few changes we’re going to announce that, let’s just say … we think you’ll be very interested in”, he purred.
“Yeah, yeah. You blokes always say that. What’s the date again?” I asked, turning off my tractor.
A toxic mix of pain and devastation
This week I was asked to debate whether AI should be used in financial counselling.
I was on the 'yes' side.
Sitting in front of me were 1,000 financial counsellors, arms folded, all thinking the same thing:
This bloke's trying to replace me with a robot.