Leaving a Cult

Hi Scott,
 
I’ve known about the Barefoot Investor for years, but I couldn’t buy your book as I was being severely controlled physically and financially by my parents, who raised my siblings and me in a religious cult that considered living in poverty as absolute for being a devoted follower.
 
My parents literally took every cent I earned for over a decade and coerced us into paying off their five personal investment properties. Last year, after getting a good legal team and a Supreme Court hearing – and breaking free of the cult I was born into – I purchased your book as a birthday present to myself (celebrating birthdays was forbidden in the cult).
 
My husband and I are now working through the Barefoot Steps together and I have purchased your book for my siblings and their partners, as well as the few close friends who haven’t shunned me after I escaped the cult. I’m truly happy for the first time in my life and have control over my own finances. Thank you.
 
Rebecca

Hi Rebecca,
 
There are no winners in this situation … but a couple of sinners. 
 
Your parents applied a religious lens to justify their behaviour, but they were really motivated by greed, power and control. (Though you don’t need to be in a cult to practise monetary manipulation. I meet plenty of women in abusive relationships who have been forced to take out car loans … but don’t have a licence.) 
 
Standing on your own two feet financially will be part of your recovery, and it’ll help rebuild your self-confidence. Welcome to the … Barefoot ‘cult’!

Scott.

The Financial Dominatrix

Dear Scott,

Your column gave me an idea for a novel! Do you remember the question you answered yonks ago from the lady who said: “I’m a financial dominatrix. Do I have to pay tax?” I just had to find out what a financial dominatrix was! I found it so fascinating (a fetish where someone wants to be cursed and dominated financially), I just had to write a novel about it. My novel is called My Human ATM and it can be found on Amazon. It’s about Liza, who goes from financial doom to financial dominatrix. So thank you for the inspiration! Your column helps and enlightens in so many ways.
 
Rowena
 
Hi Rowena
 
Well, that was unexpected.
 
So this morning I downloaded your book and gave it a read. It’s like fifty shades of finance!
 
As a middle-aged house-husband, the closest I come to romance these days is looking longingly at the nuts on my trees. Your book was the spiciest stuff I’d read in … well, ever.  
 
It didn’t exactly poke my goat, but then again I don’t think I’m the target market!

Scott

You Have Been Warned

Hi Scott,
 
Over the last few months, in the face of rising interest rates and inflation, I've noticed a pretty significant increase in anger from your readers. So my question to you is, why do you think so many Australians have put themselves in these difficult financial situations thinking that the good times would never end? After all, you've been telling the Australian public this for years!
 
Thanks to you, I have a nice little nest egg, I'm comfortable with my mortgage payments if rates continue to rise, and I’ll be sure that, no matter what, I keep treading my own path. I’m sure I speak for many when I say you’ve helped prepare us financially for the good times and for the bad times that inevitably follow. I owe you a beer.
 
Dan
 
Hi Dan,
 
The truth is it’s been hard to cut through.
 
Most people’s lived experience is interest rates going down and house prices going up.
 
Remember, less than a year ago our government was campaigning to ‘help’ low-income single parents buy a home with just a 2% deposit!

Good on you for battening down the hatches. I hope you enjoy a few frothies on me from your Splurge account!

Scott

Merry Christmas

Scott,

Your advice has literally saved my life. After 11 years of losing everything in a violent relationship that led to multiple hospitalisations, I am now on an upward trajectory and have a safe place to live. I had no reason to stay alive except your advice and the personal stories of others who had been marginalised. Your book gave me strength. Although I have severe PTSD, I know that I can overcome this too. Your books are always my go-to gift. Merry Christmas!

Helen
 
Hi Helen
 
Your message of strength and resilience is what we all need to hear at this time of the year.
 
Here’s to you finding your safe space.
 
Merry Christmas to you, Helen, and to all the Barefooters out there.
 
I’m taking school holidays off (as always!) and will be back in February 2023.

Scott.

We Thought Our Daughter Had a Learning Disability

Hi Scott,

I want to say thank you for writing one of the most incredible books for kids. My eight-year-old daughter has a tendency to read the first chapter of a book then get bored. At first we thought she had a learning disability, until I purchased your book. She was obsessed! Couldn’t put it down and read it twice in three days! She was so into it that she put her headphones on when reading so no one could distract her. She kept reading it even to and from school. So thank you for helping us start one of the most essential conversations with our kids – about finances – and for validating that she doesn’t have a learning disability. I was just making the wrong book selections!
 
Lina
 
Hi Lina,
 
What a little legend!  
 
ou know it’s awesome that kids are reading this book, but what’s even better is that they’re using it to become Barefoot Bosses and teach their parents a thing or two about making money.
 Oh, and now that she’s reading, I’ve got another recommendation for her: my kids are loving Nazeem Hussain’s book Hy-Larious Hyena.

Scott.

We Got This!

Hi Scott!

I’m sure you must get 20 million of these emails, but I just wanted to say thank you! Barefoot works, your buckets work, and my little four-year-old even has her Jam Jars set up. Our little cottage (built in 1914) may not look like much, but it has a beautiful renovation on the back, big sheds, and 2.5 acres with a round yard perfect for our two ponies. When I left an unhappy relationship a few years ago with very little savings, I never dreamt I could not only pay off my debts (including a car) but save enough for a home deposit. Yet here we are, with a SOLD sticker to prove it. I even have enough in my Smile and Splurge accounts to have fun on weekends and plan a holiday. Life is good!

Rhea and Clancy

Hi guys,

Your home is the spitting image of my favourite home in the world: my grandparents’ house in Ouyen. It had three bedrooms … it raised six kids … and it was like Disneyland for me. That place has so many happy memories. Here’s to you making some of your own. You Got This!

Scott.

My Deep Black Hole

Dear Barefoot,

Five years ago (at age 50), I walked away from an abusive marriage, with my two kids. As I was sinking into a black hole, a friend gave me your book. Through using your strategies, I've managed to rebuild my wealth, grow my superannuation to over $500,000, and buy a house for myself and my children to live. Better still, I paid that house off earlier this year - I own it lock, stock and barrel, and it's MY name on the title.

I have close to $50K in the bank and a savings strategy to enable me to retire early at the end of 2024, which will let me be free to spend those precious years with my kids when they need me most. No amount of money can buy that time. Tread your own path? Right on! Here's to you and your buckets, Barefoot. You’re a bloody legend. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Claire

Hi Claire

Seriously, I have the best job in the world. Claire, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re an inspiration to every single parent out there living in a dangerous situation.

You Got This!

Scott.

You Have No Backbone, Barefoot

Hi Scott,

This is the third or fourth time I have written. I appreciate your principles are sound, however every column has a feel-good news story and none of them explain the backbone of how they made something happen. I have written to you on several occasions asking about this. If someone doesn't have a spare penny to feed their kids and is living hand to mouth.....how can they suddenly start "doing the barefoot" with different accounts? I am not thick, but I am struggling to find the obviously missing piece?

Linda

Hi Linda,

Ah, the missing piece of the puzzle.

Here’s a clue: in almost every single feel good news story they start off saying something like:

“I read your book, followed the Barefoot Steps, and then things slowly turned around for me”.

The starting point of the Barefoot Steps is to go on a date night, set up your buckets, and get $2,000 in a Mojo account as soon as possible, even if it means selling your kidneys on eBay.

Scott.

UPDATE: The $32,000 Couch

Hi Scott!

Remember me? I wrote to you a while back and you shared my story "$32,000 couch." I wanted to update you. Not only did your advice see me lose ALL my debt but following your advice and doing the Barefoot Steps I am now getting closer and closer to buying my first house. As I write this with tears in my eyes, from the bottom of my heart I thank you! This single mum feels so capable and so excited about what more is to come. You are truly a star in my eyes.

Lisa

Hi Lisa

I remember you!

You took out a $4,000 living room package (couch, TV, coffee table) at hardly normal, via a GEM Visa card. And over the next decade it ended up costing you $32,000!

The business model of these bankers is basically to take advantage of people who don’t understand the complex contracts they’ve signed up to.

I told you that it was time to stand up to the bullies, and you sound like you have. Congratulations on following the Barefoot Steps, and proving them all wrong.

You Got This!

Scott

Where Are They Now?

Hi Scott

I sent you an email over 5 years ago; after my husband left me pregnant with our 3rd child. I was a terrified mess. I'm writing to give you an update and to say thank you.

My children are now 10, 7 and about to turn 5. We are still in our family home and my name is the only one on our mortgage. I have paid off my credit card and cut it up, I have renovated our bathroom with cash, and we are about to go on an overseas holiday. Best of all, I’ve got $30,000 in the bank, offsetting my mortgage. Your book has changed mine and my children’s lives. I’m teaching them everything I know and they're going to have the best start to life financially once they start working.

Tara

Hi Tara

I love a happily ever after – thanks for the update! Now let me break this to you: the book I’ve just written is even better than The Barefoot Investor, and it’s written directly for kids like yours. It’s out in a few weeks, and if your kids are anything like you, they’re going to absolutely love it.

Scott.

Mexican Wins the Lottery … Twice!

Scott,

I know you may get millions of emails every day, but I hope your team can forward this one to you. I’m Mexican and I came to Australia in 2018 and became a permanent resident. I came here carrying a 10-year debt from back home. But then I stumbled upon your book, and with the advice you gave I finally paid off my debt and no longer owe a single dollar (or Mexican peso). Thank you! You taught me something that I will carry for the rest of my life, and I cannot wait to start building a better future.

Gerardo

Hi Gerardo,

What I love about your story is that you won the lottery by making it to Australia … and best of all you know it. That’s given you a perspective that a lot of people born here simply don’t have. This country truly is the land of opportunity, and now that you’ve got your money sorted there’s no telling how far you’ll go. You Got This!

Scott.

The Hard Road

Hi Scott,

Five years ago my brother died of cancer, then a month later my fiancé of six years left me – after he had finished spending the last of my savings (he was a drug addict and terrible with money). I was a 29-year-old woman making a starting wage of $16 an hour, struggling to get back on my feet. Then a year later a workmate recommended your book, and it changed my life.

Fast forward to today and I have paid off all my debts and have a combined $50,000 in shares and cash. I come from a very poor family that always struggled financially, so I feel like a millionaire in comparison to my previous life. Words can’t convey how grateful I am. Thank you for changing my life!

Tanya

Hi Tanya

You’ve walked a hard, lonely road: death, debt, heartbreak and betrayal … but you’ve made it.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: you probably feel better than most millionaires, because research has found that money only gives you a short-term sugar hit. It doesn’t make you happier over the long term (even though we all think it does). Yet what you’ve achieved on your own has built your self-confidence and transformed the way you look at the world – and that is truly life-changing.

You Got This!

Scott.

We Retired on the Amount You Suggested …

Hi Scott

I read your ‘How much you really need for your retirement?’ column a few weeks ago, and I cut the article out and pinned it on my office wall at home. It made me feel amazing, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My husband and I retired with around the amount you mentioned in your column. Now, three years on, we are going well. We have been on a road trip to Darwin, and we enjoy the simple things like catching up with family and friends. Our cup is full. It’s not about what you have, but about who you have in your life. Thank you.

Lara

Hi Lara,

No, thank you! You’re living proof that the ‘million dollar myth’ is just that.

I got smashed with negative responses, but this one from Divya, a pre-retiree, made it all worthwhile:

“I am an immigrant from a poor background, and I used to feel paralysed and ashamed that I ‘have not made it’. That shame translated into me not taking productive action about my wealth. Yet I now realise that I’m actually doing well financially, maybe even very well, and that it’s worth respecting the efforts I’ve put in over the past 10 years, and taking care of what I’ve got! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Here’s to everyone working hard, saving hard, and nailing their realistic retirement number!

Scott.

I Have Tears in My Eyes

Hi Scott,

Six years ago we were in deep trouble. I hadn’t worked for years as I’d been looking after our young daughter, who had cancer. We’d been living on one income and had car loans, credit cards, store credit, unpaid phone bills, erratic repayment history, and a mortgage. Having enough money to cover everything seemed like a mysterious process that was only for rich people.

Well, the most incredible thing happened to us yesterday. Six years after buying your book, we have paid off our home loan and have no debt at all. It’s the most secure, calm feeling, and I am so damn proud of us.

We now have Mojo, holiday savings, shares and enough money to cover our daily expenses while still having dinners out. We’ve taught our children some massive lessons about money, and now the eldest will have her house paid off in five years.

Scott, it’s been life-changing and I write this with tears in my eyes. I’m so grateful for your book. We are ordinary people and you spoke to us in a way we could understand. The daughter who had cancer is now healthy and will soon be going for her L’s – she is busting to reach an age where she can work too! ‘Thank you’ isn’t enough but I wanted you to know it’s the best freedom I’ve ever felt and I wouldn’t have known how to get here if you hadn’t shown us the way.

Linda

Hi Linda,

Wow. Just wow. You did great!

It’s kind of amazing to me that almost seven years after I wrote my book there are still people like you coming back and telling me about their journey.

For anyone else out there who’s still working through the Barefoot Steps, I hope Linda’s story gives you some motivation. Your story is next.

Scott.

From Homeless to Hero

Hi Scott,

I’m a single woman in my fifties. Not long ago I was homeless and in debt. Then I came across your book, read that apparently “I’ve Got This”, and was determined to get myself out of the hole I had dug for myself. And I did. A couple of years on I have paid off my credit card debt, triumphantly (quietly) phoned my bank to close that account, signed a lease for a very beautiful home, bought $10,000 in ETFs, and saved $15,000 in Mojo (which gives me a huge sense of peace and freedom while I am between jobs and have no income). A big, warm thank-you for giving me and so many others such strength and hope, without shame and guilt for being in a financial mess.

Now I am wondering what people like me, who don’t have enough life left to accomplish ‘Step 4: Buy Your Home’, should do. Or have I got this too?

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Before I get into your question, let me address the elephant in the room.

Some people would be reading your story and be shocked that you could be homeless.

However, you and I know that it’s actually pretty normal. In fact, around 400,000 women over the age of 45 are at risk of homelessness, according to a report from Social Ventures Australia.

Why?

Because older women who don’t own a home and have very little savings often end up falling through the cracks, and don’t even have access to social housing.

So should you consider taking up the Government’s Help to Buy scheme and buy with just a 2% deposit?

Heck, no!

By all means keep saving like a woman possessed. And who knows — when the time is right, you may be able to afford to comfortably buy your own home. Understand that you have already achieved financial security against all the odds … so never trade it away.

Finally, it’s human nature to forget how far you’ve come.

You went from being homeless to being debt free, owning shares and having an emergency fund behind you. Stop for a moment and celebrate it. You, Sarah, are incredible!

Keep going, you got this!

Scott.

Out of the Cesspool

Hi Scott

Two years ago, my wife and I had five credit cards topping $70,000 and seemingly no way out. After following the Barefoot Steps we have not only paid this cesspool completely off, we now have $100,000 in the bank. Right now we are on a Gold Coast holiday for five nights with the kids and are pinching ourselves that we got here!

So it’s time for the next step. I’m a builder and my wife and I want to buy land and then build in 12 months’ time. I pay my wife a wage for her work in the business, but not me. We are not sure how to approach a bank. Any suggestions?

Nick

Hi Nick,

You went from seventy grand in the hole to a hundred bones in the bank in just two years?

Congratulations, you two are on fire!

As far as getting a home loan is concerned, it’s worth chatting to your accountant to make sure your business and personal finances are sorted and clearly separated. Once that’s done, it’s time to go see a bank. The big thing a bank is looking for is that you have the ability to build your savings and pay down your debts – and you have been doing both.

You Got This!

Scott.

Bullying the Banks

Hi Scott,

With more equity in the house this year, I built up the courage to contact our bank, CBA, and request a better deal. With little hassle they dropped their rate by 0.15%. I mentioned a much more appealing rate at a rival with a $4,000 cashback offer, yet the best they could do was a further 0.02%.

So we started the refinancing route. After we’d filled out a multitude of forms through a broker, our friends from the CBA were in contact asking why we wanted to discharge our loan. I politely indicated we made them aware of this before deciding to pursue the better offer. The CBA has now offered to reduce our rate below the rival rate and thrown in $2,000 in cash to reward us for being a loyal customer. Thank you for everything you do!

John and Suzie

Hey guys,

Oh, I love, love, love this. You bullied the banks!

And it doesn’t stop there. Putting that $2,000 against your loan is going to have a compounding effect over the years, slashing the time it takes you to become debt-free.

Having said that, I’d be tempted to take at least a few hundred bucks and have a fancy-pants dinner. You deserve it!

Scott.

Mojo, Baby

Hi Scott

Last Friday night I was driving home with a niggling feeling in my stomach about how I was going to pay our kids’ latest medical bills. You see, they have both been diagnosed with extremely rare cancers and their outpatient scans are not covered by a Medicare subsidy – we pay full price. Then, like a bolt out of the blue, it hit me – we have Mojo!

Many years ago, when I first read your book, I set up an ING Mojo account – and then clean forgot about it! I’ve even been adding $50 a fortnight to it without noticing. Life was easy back then. Fast forward several years and both of our teenagers received dastardly diagnoses, and our business has been slammed first by Covid and now the floods. So my message to readers is that life can turn on a dime. Set yourself up in the good times because the challenges will inevitably arrive. Thanks for your down-to-earth, sensible advice.

Lisa

---

Hi Lisa,

That is every parent’s worst nightmare.

Every so often I have a financial expert suggest that it doesn’t make sense to save money with interest rates being so low. Technically, they’re correct. However, I’ve always viewed savings as a psychological backstop, a safety blanket for times when life comes at you way too fast.

I’m so sorry for your situation, and I hope your kids are okay. Remember, if you need help from a caring financial counsellor you can call the Small Business Debt Helpline on 1800 413 828 or sbdh.org.au.

Scott.

Revenge of the Maths Nerd

Hi Barefoot,

Following the steps of the Barefoot Investor, I have turned a crippling financial anxiety into a point of personal strength. I was a pure mathematics undergraduate who could integrate the most obscure of orthogonal projections, but I seemingly couldn’t change the trajectory of a $12,000 credit card debt. You made me realise that CommBank’s ‘present’ of a credit card on my 18th birthday was the worst thing I could have received. It’s now blended! In all seriousness, thank you.

Simon

Hi Simon,

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Often when I’m talking to educators about getting money taught in schools, I get cornered by the ‘Maths Mafia’ who assure me that financial literacy is their bag.

And when they do, my heart sinks a little.

That’s because I firmly believe that managing your money successfully is more about literacy than it is about numeracy. Money is a language, and if you don’t know how to speak it you won’t understand it … and you’ll be manipulated by fast-talking behavioural marketers who do.

Your story proves it.

Scott.

My Husband Took a Secret to His Grave

Hi Scott,

When my husband died in 2007 I was left with nothing, because he had gambled everything away secretly. Since then I’ve managed to raise our three children and keep a roof over our heads, even though I’ve had to rent. I don’t expect you to reply, but just know this: I have always classed myself as a moron with money, but you made me feel like a superhero. That’s the most important thing I got out of your book. It was simple and you made me feel confident and happy.

Tracey

Hi Tracey,

It’s way past bedtime at the Pape household and I’m sitting here at the end of my daughter’s bed, reading your question on my laptop. My daughter sat upright in bed and asked me why I looked so sad. I explained that I was actually happy, because I’d just read a lovely letter from an amazing woman. Thank you for sharing.

You Got This, Tracey.

Scott.