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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Hairy Maclary and the Fat Cat Funds
I copped an elbow to the head. “Your turn”, grumbled my sleep-deprived wife.
The next big thing
I like to think of myself as a ‘young mover and shaker’. Truthfully, though, the only thing about me that still moves and shakes these days is my belly (damn you ‘dad bod’!
The Ultimate Father’s Day Present
Every Mother’s Day, my wife and her girlfriends have a tradition: They book a fancy restaurant and get all dressed up, looking a million bucks … And then? They offload the kids onto their husbands and spend the rest of the day drinking champers together!
RIP Tim Fischer
Hi Scott, Thank you for sharing your memories last week about Tim Fischer. That can’t have been an easy thing for you to do.
My Baby Sent Me Broke
Hi Scott, Over the last two-and-a-half years we have had two babies and a wedding. Our first baby came earlier than planned so it wasn’t covered by private health, and we made the silly choice to pay for it out of pocket.
I Owe MyBudget $1,250
Hey Barefoot, I signed up with a money managing agency MyBudget because I felt that some financial structure and discipline would be good, and also to make my parents happy. Unfortunately, the model did not work for me.
This week I lost a mentor
It was 2pm when I arrived at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. I’d been going since 5am, driving in from the farm, then having back-to-back meetings … and back-to-back coffees.
Cancer Can’t Beat Me
Dear Scott, One minute I was living the high life at a business awards night in Cairns – two weeks later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I heard the big ‘C word’ and felt the walls come crashing in around me.
$2 Shares?
Hi Barefoot You have been sitting on my bedside table for a full 12 months! Yet, after a year of my fiancée threatening to not turn up to our wedding unless I read your book, I have read it and am raring to start investing.
I am FURIOUS
Hi Scott, I am FURIOUS. I study full time (business at UTS) and work round the clock in real estate to support myself, while all my uni friends bludge off the Government.
Why is Nike targeting my kids?
Did you know that Nike is launching a Netflix-style monthly subscription for kids’ sneakers? It’s called the ‘Nike Adventure Club’, it’s aimed at two-year-olds to 10-year-olds, and it kicked off in the US last week.
The Stock Market is Freaking Me Out
Scott, The ABC reported the other day that “ASX tumbles $60 billion on US recession, China slowdown fears”. I know you are a big supporter of buying shares, but how is an ordinary person like me (age 25, medium income) supposed to follow your lead when the market can lose $60 BILLION in one day?
Pass me a bucket
I saw the door of my study creep open, ever so slightly. I heard heavy breathing.
A Bong With Barefoot
Hi Scott, I’ve been interested in the ‘marijuana boom’, and I’ve seen plenty of advertising from share trading companies about it. I wanted to ask your professional opinion about it and what companies might be of interest out of the many that are now out there.
He Threatened to Kill Me
Hi Scott, I read your column on scams and wanted to share my story. I got a call a couple of years ago and knew straight away that it was a scam due to the guy’s funny accent, but I decided to play along for fun.
Motivational Misfire
Hi Scott, I went to a Tony Robbins motivational seminar. What I didn’t know what that prior to the main show, there was a great deal of, let’s say, warm-up speakers, talking about fluff about how to get rich.
The Double Rip
Hi Scott,I need you to look into a company for me.I was on the phone talking with a "Financial advisor" from a company called TradeMote.
The Day My Dad Got a Viral STD
Hi Scott, Recently I noticed my elderly father had gone downhill, was very quiet and was looking a bit depressed. When I asked him, he told me that he was on a website he ‘probably shouldn’t have been’ on when the screen started to flash “YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN INFECTED WITH A VIRUS — DO NOT SHUT DOWN AS YOU WILL DAMAGE YOUR COMPUTER PERMANENTLY”.
3 ways to spend your tax refund that’ll change your life
Did you know that the average Aussie gets a tax refund of $2,574? Even better, this year the ‘Lamington’ (Low And Middle Income Offset) of up to $1,080 kicks in.
My Stealth Campervan
Barefoot I am 48 and on a low wage. Do you know of any way I can get my super (about $30,000) out of the hands of my ‘park-and-pray’ financial advisor?