The Barefoot Investor: The Only Money Guide You'll Ever Need

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Look, I'm not great with money. I have managed to save some when I've needed to, but usually I'm the kind of person that wants to spend, spend spend. As I found myself unemployed, borrowing money to pay for rent and food and feeling bad about life, I also found Scott's book. This book motivated me to take control of my finances more so than I ever have before. It showed me the mistakes I've made in the past with money and how to correct them. It taught me how to structure my bank accounts and how to be smart with my income so I'm able to handle financial fires when they happen (like not having a job). It taught me the importance of superannuation, allowed me to weigh up the benefits and negatives of property and introduced me to the world of investing.

Personally for me there was too much self-help happy motivational jargon throughout the book, and some pretty unhelpful advice. I don't have the book in front of me now but recall that he talks about just working more if you need more money. A great help to the thousands of under-employed people across the country, no doubt. This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third-party sources. ( October 2018) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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Well, the Government just released a (long, confusing, boring) report card on your super fund card - it’s called the APRA External Report ( www.apra.gov.au), and the worst super funds are hoping that you never read the report. stars for the financial advice, 1 star for tone, which is probably best described as 'patronising Aussie bloke'. God knows there are enough of those around already. I think this is great news for every Australian – regardless of whether you switch to Vanguard or not. His weekly finance column, syndicated in News Corp papers, and his newsletter (sent to clients in his financial advisory firm) helped with book sales, but Pape’s approach to publishing has been novel from the start. He put his current book out to tender, paying publishers to print and distribute it, but he retained ownership of all the rights. This is in contrast with a typical publishing deal, where authors get an advance on royalties but a much smaller cut of any profits.

Or maybe he said compounding was one of the greatest wonders of the world. Either way he was a fan. Here’s why. Freelance and earn money through others stream, if it's your passion that you're working on or the opportunity arises to let go of your current job in favour of the freelance work, go for it, but at the right time. Working for yourself is favourable to working with a boss, so when your side hustles get to the points that they can match your 9-5, let go of the 9-5 and double down on your hustles. Mojo. A place for long-term savings in case of a bigger financial rough patch. Should ideally be 3 months of expenses. They’re actually higher than you state: you left off the investment fee (0.116%) and indirect fees (0.09%).He's big on people freelancing and giving up massive amounts of their time to try and pull in some extra money and very dismissive of the criticisms that not everybody can or should freelance. I work in healthcare, I can't exactly start running a clinic out of my garage now can I? and why would I want to? Money is awesome and all but honestly, living within your means and having free time to spend with friends and family is more awesome. Don't not buy a house for fear of a crash, just do it. Buy within your means and make predictions about what costs you're going to have through the life of the mortgage (kids, new car, etc). Don't start with an investment property if you want a family home and don't forget to save while renting, make it work. I say ‘almost’ because most of the current funds have their target date set at age 65, when you retire. (If I was a cynic I’d say it’s set at that age so you go see a financial planner.) Well, you won't be overwhelmed with a bunch of 'tips' … or a strict budget (that you won't follow). Splurge. Set up an automatic transaction so that 10% of your salary goes here, this money is for short term use (think a night out with your partner, a round of drinks for your friends or a small luxury item/service).

Just understand a couple of things: first, the term ‘ethical’ is about as loose as an over-28s nightclub, so you need to dig in and see what they’re actually investing in, and whether it fits with your worldview. My hubby was a fan of Scott Pape's newspaper column, though I've never read it. He tells me that used to have a nice line of humour in it too. I think this book was OK. If all you were going to do to try and sort out your personal finances was to read one book, you could do much worse than this. Scott is a straight shooter and will give it to you bluntly, but his writing is also full of compassion and understanding. Chapters and paragraphs are dedicated to the positive effect controlling your finances gives to your life, and how these bad habits are not attached to us forever.

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Now, no one can predict the future, yet you should internalise the real message your old man is giving you: In 2018, Pape released a financial book aimed at children's finance titled The Barefoot Investor for Families. [4]

As with any holy text, the book is based on a few core tenets. Readers are instructed to embark on monthly date nights, replete with garlic bread and wine, to discuss their finances and put the Barefoot theology into practice. Perhaps it’s safe to assume that financial structures will be similar for the next decade or two, so the advice about investing in super etc is good for anyone retiring in that time, but I’m 32, and frankly am not confident that we won’t see the collapse of global financial systems between now and my retirement, which makes planning more difficult. In 40 years, superannuation could collapse and governments may not have the money to bail everyone out - it’s riskier for us youngens.Yet for the generations of Australians such as myself who were offered credit cards as soon as we left school, who start to snooze as soon as someone mentions superannuation, and who have never really been debt-free, a lot of what Pape espouses seems revolutionary.