Money Meals

Hi Scott,

I recently sent a thankyou email to your team for the amount you’ve helped my family save on our life/income/TPD insurance. We saved $132,690 up to the age of 65! So then we phoned our home insurance. We swapped providers and will save $2,286.24 per year with a better package. Then energy, a 25% discount per year. Then gas … 13% less per bottle. Yesterday we had our second Money Meal with the kids. THANK YOU from us all.

Leonie

Hey Leonie

That’s awesome — you’ve saved a lifetime’s worth of fees in a few nights. Oh, and good work on the Money Meals with the kids … with your savings it’s Magnums for dessert!

Scott.

I’m All Ears

Hi Scott,

My nine-year-old daughter started a business making earrings and hair-ties last year during lockdown. It’s grown so much she now has a few thousand dollars in her bank account! We have an agreement that she must split the money into reinvesting in her business, saving for the future, and saving for a short-term goal like an iPad (which she actually brought at the end of last year as a reward for hard work). Given the rate her business is going, I’d like to help set her up more for the future, but I’m not sure how to go about it, as I’ve never done this myself. I’m probably not the best role model for money with her. Can you provide any advice?

Tammy

Hi Tammy

Oh I LOVE THIS.

Let me tell you a little secret: you don’t need to know all the answers.

As parents we feel like we should, yet it’s usually better to work alongside your kids and help them work it out themselves. This is exactly what my next book is about. And I’d like your daughter to be a part of it!

So I’ll put my hand up to be both a customer (my wife likes earrings) and her financial coach.

I’ll be in contact next week.

Scott.

Update: ‘Rich Girl Loses it All’

Hi Scott,

We met five years ago at a book signing at Dymocks in Melbourne. I told you that I felt like Barefoot was the financial parent I never had. I admitted to you that I was extremely spoiled, always getting whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. That changed when I was 14 and my father died, and I found myself on the streets, where I had $1.92 in my bank account, and was at a crisis point … when I found you.

So let me give you an update on what I’ve been doing for the past five years: I have worked six days a week at a bookkeeping job. I have now saved up enough Mojo to cover my income for two years, which will allow me to study full time to get a Bachelor of Commerce. Never have I felt so free as I do now. Even better, my partner and I are about to buy our first home. Thank you so much!

Courtney

Hi Courtney,

I remember you!

I was wondering how you would go turning things around after experiencing so much trauma in your life.

And now I have my answer.

You Got This!

Scott.

The Scented Candle

Dear Scott,

Three years ago I bought your book when I could least afford it, with six-figure debts written on my fridge door. I took you and the book to dinner every week as I was dying inside and out.

Today I buy your book as a gift for everyone I know. It’s my standard go-to, like a scented candle, but with a brighter flame when ignited. I can see the black line fast approaching, and I answer private calls these days. The red line is in my rear vision mirror.

I just wanted to say thank you for literally saving my financial life. I didn’t go bankrupt. I made the calls. I cried with you. And screamed at you and learned from you. And formed a great relationship with my creditors. And survived. I began to live again. I educated myself and found a new kind of personal wealth. Thank you.

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine,

That’s one of the nicest emails I’ve received this year, and a fitting one to end 2021 on.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

You Got This!

Scott.

Father Warns His Son Not to Read Barefoot

Dear Scott,

I’m 17 now, and I read The Barefoot Investor for Families when I was 14. I was in Dymocks and saw your book. My dad sighed and said, “You won't like it, why don’t you pick out Harry Potter or something”. He eventually gave in and bought it for me. I’m so glad he did, because your book started my financial journey. On my 15th birthday, I opened a bank account. Since then, I’ve invested $5,000 in a diverse share portfolio (thank you, index funds!), started contributing to my super, and started a business doing data entry for medical firms. I owe you a lot.

Jed

Hi Jed

Dude, you are literally sticking it to the man … your old man!

Still, I bet he’s damn proud of what you’ve achieved: to be an investor (inside and outside of super!) and to have opened up a small business as a teenager?! Seriously, you rock.

Everyone talks about the power of compound interest, yet the truth is that almost everyone watches it pass by.

Not you.

You are setting yourself up to be a compounding machine.

Scott.

Multimillion-dollar Mortgage

Scott,

I’ve wanted to write to you for years, but have been too shy. I just wanted to say thank you. A few years ago we were on a wage of less than $80k a year — with a couple of million dollars in mortgage debt, and credit cards and personal loans up to our eyeballs. I was following advice from property investment books, so I thought we were setting ourselves up for success. How wrong I was. After reading your book, now we have no debt, one property and over $100k in Mojo. I literally never thought we would be in this position and feeling this secure. Thank you.

Ben

Hey Ben,

You were in debt of a couple million dollars on a salary of less than $80,000? In the world of financial influencers on Instagram, you’d be a success story … who was stressed out of his eyeballs and couldn’t sleep at night. Well done for treading your own path!

Scott.

Escaping in the Middle of the Night

Dear Scott,

When I read your book three years ago I knew what I had to do. My husband had always had a temper, and in the back of my mind I knew I had to leave him.

With each Covid lockdown he got more depressed and more abusive towards me and my two girls. Last month we fled with just our overnight bags. It was all a blur.

This has been the toughest year of my life, but because of you I had a secret Mojo account that has allowed me to rent a tiny apartment and buy the essentials. We have financial security and personal safety. Thank you from the three of us.

Lisa

Hi Lisa

I’m so sorry for what your family has gone through.

Now we Barefooters are a big community, and I want to speak directly to the thousands of women who are reading these words and are currently living in a dangerous situation: you don’t have to wait to save up the money to cover the bare necessities, but you do need to have a support team around you before you go.

Speak to a financial counsellor (1800 007 007) about getting the basics in place. In many cases the counsellor can organise things quickly, including crisis payments, temporary accommodation, basic necessities, and dealing with your bank (they don’t advertise it, but I’ve found the banks do a bloody good job supporting women).

Family violence affects one in six women — of every age, in every wealth bracket, and in every suburb. Each year it feels like the rates of reported family violence get worse, but thankfully the help available gets better too.

Scott.

A Brighter Flame

Dear Scott,

September three years ago I bought your book, when I could least afford it. At the time I was burdened by six-figure debt (posted on the fridge door so I was aware of it every day). I did as I was directed — I took you and the book to dinner every week. I didn’t go bankrupt. I made the calls. I cried with you. And screamed at you. And learned from you. And survived.

Today I buy your book as a gift for my friends, like a scented candle but with a brighter flame when ignited. I can see the black line fast approaching — the red line is in my rear vision mirror. I answer private calls these days. I wanted to say thank you for literally saving my financial life, and please thank your darling family for loaning you to me while I was dying inside and outside a shambles.

Janine

Hi Janine,

This is probably the nicest letter I’ve ever received … and a fitting one to end on.

Thank you. You Got This!

Scott.

You Ruined My Life, Barefoot

Scott,

I read your book on a holiday at the age of 18. Now at 22 I have had full-time employment for nearly two years, am earning $45,000 a year, and have saved up $60,000 (a lot of hard work and sacrifice in that). But I feel lost. This money has brought me no happiness, just a burden in the back of my head that has stopped me living my life to the fullest while young. And it’s you who got me into this mess.

Matt

Hi Matt

I got you into this mess?

Well I plead guilty to that charge, Your Honour!

Still, steady up, cobber. You’re talking like you’re a washed-up author with four kids about to get trapped in a Winnebago for months.

Who are you comparing yourself to?

If I popped sixty thousand clams in the pocket of an average 22-year-old, they’d think they’d won the lottery.

Yet I’d argue that you’re actually luckier than any lotto winner. That’s because you’ve spent the last few years developing what I call ‘million dollar habits’. You may dismiss what you’ve achieved, but I won’t: developing a strong work ethic and a savings habit will serve you well for the rest of your very long life.
Yet what’s even more impressive is that, at your tender age, you’ve worked out something that 50-year-old coked-up lawyers haven’t:

Money doesn’t make you happy.

(Though a severe lack of it can make you very unhappy.)

So now — while you’re still just 22 — it’s time to develop a new set of habits:

Having fun!

The best things in your twenties don’t cost much: camping, sport, pashing random people at parties … and reading good books. What really helped me when I was in my twenties was reading about people who’d lived their life and worked out what was important. It’s only by studying the past that you can prepare for the future.

And trust me, Matt, your future is incredibly bright.

Scott.

The Best $5 I Ever Spent

Mr Pape,

We do not know each other, yet you are the one who has single-handedly turned my life around. Last year I was stuck in $13,000 of debt on top of a large mortgage and was living pay cheque to pay cheque. I was headed towards a financial breakdown. Then I picked up your book at an op-shop, and it was the best $5 I ever spent. Reading it kept me up all night, but finally I could see how to start changing my life. Fast forward 12 months and all debts (other than the mortgage) have been paid off and I have a modest $10,000 in Mojo. You don’t know how relieving it feels to go to bed not worrying about money!

Monica

Hey Monica,

As I was reading your story, it made me think of an interview I was doing the other day.

Journo: “What are your top five tips for saving money?”

Barefoot: “Tips are the fairy floss of finance … they look good, but they evaporate in your mouth.”

The journo was not amused.

My guess is that it wasn’t the finance tips in my book that made the difference for you. Rather it was taking the time to reframe your situation and develop a different mindset about what you could achieve.

Your story also made me think about how cool op-shops are. My three-year-old daughter loves our local one. The other day, she used her ‘Smile’ money to buy a princess dress for the bargain price of $3.

Good stuff! (Oh, and there’s nothing modest about having 10 grand in Mojo.)

Scott.

Thanks From Spider-Man

Hi Scott,

Here is a pic of my five-year-old, who started the Jam Jars last year and saved up enough to replace his broken Garmin band (he accidentally cut it with scissors at school last week) with a Spider-Man band. He received a double-edged lesson in saving AND in looking after his things.

I read both The Barefoot Investor and The Barefoot Investor for Families a year after becoming a single mum. You revolutionised the way I conceptualise saving and I’ve since gone on to buy a house and build up my Mojo. “Don’t spend more than you earn.” It’s such a simple lesson, yet it’s not a lesson I was ever taught growing up.

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

What a little champion! This is the reason I came up with the Money Movement — I want this for every Aussie kid. You made my day.

Scott.

Call the Cops

Hi Scott, 

After reading your book, I called the police, locked my abusive ex-partner out of the house, and got out of massive debt (more than $350,000!). Now I have over $100,000 in savings, and a new lease on life. I have even had credit card cutting-up parties at my house for friends I have guided out of financial pickles. Now I would like to help other people like me who may be thinking there is nothing left to live for. It is a horribly dark place to find yourself in. What should I do to help? Should I go and study finance? Can I volunteer for you?

Thanks, Ella

Hi Ella

You have what we call in the game ‘lived experience’: you’ve stared down an abusive partner, dealt with the cops, and not only begun again, but thrived. You’ll not only have empathy for people that find themselves in that situation, but you’ll be an inspiration to them as well.

So what are your options?

Well, you could quit your job and study a Diploma of Financial Counselling full time. Though there’s a chance you might end up regretting doing that. It’s a big commitment to take a year off work and invest $6,000+ in a course. And after all that you may struggle to get a job immediately.

Reason being that over the past few years there have been more graduate financial counsellors than there have been jobs. However with adequate, sustainable funding I expect this will all level out eventually. 

In the meantime, you may want to keep your job, and volunteer at a local community organisation, or better yet, apply for paid positions with them!

Well done. You Got This!

Scott.

Thanks, Mum

Hi Scott

I will be forever grateful to you for removing the noose around the neck of both me and my mum. A couple of years ago I read your book and was hooked — I set up my buckets and paid down my credit cards. Then I realised I could also help my mum. She had just hit 70, was desperate to stop working, had little super, had credit card debt, still had a mortgage, and was being crippled by strata and council rates. On New Year’s Day of 2018 I sat her down and suggested she read your book, which she did in a couple of hours. Before we knew it, her credit cards were gone and her dreaded bills were covered. Most amazingly, she sold her place, paid off the mortgage, and retired to the country. Honestly, the best gift you could give your mum is to rid her of money stress. (P.S. I’ve just purchased my own first home — something I thought would never happen.)

Thanks, Jess

Hi Jess,

What a fantastic story!

Let’s repeat that last line so everybody gets it: “The best gift you could give your mum is to rid her of money stress.”

Not flowers. Not chocolates. Not Apple gear.

You know who would love this idea?

Anna Jarvis.

Anna is none other than the Mother of Mother’s Day.

She created the first Mother’s Day in 1908, to honour her late mother … and all mothers.

Yet, just like Coca-Cola hijacked Christmas (ever wondered why Santa’s dressed in Coke’s corporate colours?), it didn’t take long for corporations to cash in and commercialise Mother’s Day.

But she wasn’t one to stand down; instead she fought them every step of the way.
Newsweek reported that she once had as many as 33 simultaneous Mother’s Day lawsuits on the go!

She devoted the rest of her life — and every cent of her savings — to fighting to keep Mother’s Day pure.

In a day and age where you can buy anything for your mum and have it gift-wrapped and delivered, spending time with them, and maybe even helping them out, is what Anna Jarvis envisaged all those years ago.

You Got This!

Scott.

All I Wanted To Be Was A ‘Good Mum’

Dear Scott,

My husband bailed on me when my son was just 18 months old, leaving me with the most beautiful boy in the wide world but nothing much else. He grew into a teenager but by then things were not going well. One night, I was on the floor gasping from the weight of uncertainty and crushing fear, thinking I might not be able to provide for him, or even to keep our home. All I ever really wanted to be was ‘a good mum’ but I was flattened.

Thankfully, some dear friends gave me your book, and I read the whole thing in a day. I bawled for a good hour at ‘You got this’, then went back to page one and worked through it step by step. Since that time, I have set up my buckets, taken control of the mortgage, paid off my car loan (five years early) and negotiated two payrises. Although our Splurge and Smile buckets are small, we save up for special times together and life is good. So, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. Your books and advice have changed my life and my son’s life.

Rosie

Hi Rosie,

You did it! You are a good mum!

You may not realise it but, to quote Paul Simon, you’ve got diamonds on the souls of your shoes.

Your struggle is a family legend that has the potential to influence your son’s life for the better.

So, over a Sunday dinner, talk about gasping on the floor, feeling totally defeated … and, importantly, how you rose up. Refer to the struggle and the triumph over and over again.

The subtext to the story is: “We get knocked down, but we get back up again, and we win.”

That’s the stuff your son is made of … and it’s part of his story too.

Scott.

When It Rains It Pours

Good evening Scott,

A year ago I was in debt and had just had a marriage breakdown. Then I read your book. Since then, the debt has been paid off, I have an emergency fund, I have buckets! Which is a good thing, because I have just lost everything in the Port Macquarie floods. I was not covered for flooding, but I will survive. So thank you, you have really helped!

Angie

P.S. If you want to send me another book, feel free. My old one is out at sea.

Hi Angie

My book is all about getting yourself in the financial position where you’re able to face your financial fire — or flood!

You Got This!

(A brand-new book is in the post.)

Scott.

Barefoot, the Fire Starter

Scott,

Because of you, we started a fire in our neighbour’s yard! We dominoed our debts (18 months ahead of schedule) and burnt our loan statements just like you advised ... which flew over the fence into our neighbour’s yard and started burning. Anyway, thanks to you, we can now put an extra $2,000 a month into our home loan and continue working our way to being debt free. (Side note: our neighbours have now started their Barefoot journey.)

Bec

Hi Bec,

So you did the bill-burning ceremony, congratulations!

We all need to celebrate these achievements (even if it occasionally leads to an arson charge).

A lot of unhappiness comes from trying to keep up with the Joneses … yet not in this case.

Your neighbours are on fire!

Scott.

The HSBC Chicken

Hi Scott,

Your book arrived out of the blue on my doorstep one day. Reading it, it was painful to realise how bad I was at managing money. So I took action. Just last week I paid off my third and final credit card! For my job as a set designer I needed to make a papier-mâché roast chicken, so I used all my old HSBC bank statements. As I glued each painful piece into the shape of a chicken, the weight of 24 years of debt fell away, and before my eyes the HSBC Chicken was born! Thank you so much — you have helped me turn my life around.

Rose

Hi Rose,

Congratulations! I usually encourage parents to blend their credit cards in front of their kids (a dramatic way of teaching them not to use them). Yet your idea is much more creative.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Scott.

Good for My Soul

Hey Scott,

You copped some flak about your boys’ camping weekend, but I just wanted to say how much that story meant to me. In fact, I cried reading it. The great sadness of screens and possessions is that, too often these days, dads are not around. Hearing your stories of financial freedom and the life you’ve chosen to build is so good for my soul!

Simone

Hey Simone,

I once read, “If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money”.

That sounds about right to me.

Scott.

Scooting Away

Hi Scott

I would like to thank you for your Barefoot Investor for Families guide. I have two girls — almost four and almost six — and we have implemented your ‘3 jam jars, 3 jobs, 3 minutes’ regime. It is amazing how much can be achieved with a spray bottle and cloth. My eldest daughter just bought her first scooter with her saved money. Her pride in her achievement is priceless.

Regards, Maxine

Hi Maxine,

You nailed it:

It’s amazing how much can be achieved with a spray bottle and cloth.

Here’s the thing: every parent tries pocket money at least once, and it generally fizzles out after a while.

Yet if you’re reading this, just have a look at Maxine’s daughter’s eyes … and tell me it’s not worth an hour of your time on a Sunday to wrangle your kids to get them to do their jobs.

Something amazing happens to a kid when they work hard, save up, and buy something on their own.

Congratulations, and tell your daughter that’s the coolest scooter I’ve seen in a long while!

Scott.

Barefoot Valentine’s Day

Hello Scott,

Our relationship began in an online Barefoot group about two years ago — and we just got married last month! We are hard-working teachers who enjoy being thrifty. We have an ETF share portfolio and an investment property, and we are enjoying the financial freedom of following the Barefoot Steps.

To be together we have had to contend with personal tragedy, extended border restrictions that separated us for months, and a two-week quarantine. We have also had some unexpected medical expenses in this bizarre year. But the whole time we repeated “We’ve got this!” Our wedding was small, uncomplicated and focused, with the same happiness observed as at weddings that cost 10 times what we spent.

Thanks again, Simon and Michelle

Hi guys,

You made my day.

When I started writing this column, I had no idea it would turn into a community.

Yet, over the past 17 years, thousands of Barefooters from all around the country have read along with the questions in these pages each week. Sometimes they thump the table … shake their head … and ask “how the hell did they get themselves into this mess?”

But every now and again a question pops up that has everybody cheering. And, today, yours is it.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Scott.