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

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In fact, according to Super Consumers, that ASFA figure is only achievable for the top 20% of retirees. And that also explains why the government’s independent Productivity Commission advised policymakers to simply ignore it! Still, that’s how most of our biggest super funds roll: they throw everyone – young and old – into a one-size-fits-all investment pot. Mojo. An account with a separate bank, where all extra cash goes, for example from overtime hours or a garage sale. This is, admittedly, a little higher than my Don Bradman figure, but that’s mainly because I encourage retirees to keep working at least a day a fortnight to supplement their income.)

Smile. Send 10% of your salary into this savings account with the high interest. This is for long term saving on something that'll make you smile. Think travel, some high end experience or perhaps a more expensive luxury item/service.So the beginning of this was a bit 'rah rah' motivational for me... with lots about the author's personal scenarios on his farm (there was a fire) and more to do with alpacas and planting trees. Once we got past the metaphorical though, this book got extremely useful, very practical, and it got there fast. My husband and I have been with Christian Super Fund for the past 20 years. Today they sent us a letter saying that they’ve been underperforming and that we should change funds. My husband is 61 and I’m 59. We don’t have much super. Should we be worried about this? Also, he continually brings up how he had a fire and lost his house and had to start from scratch. But at one point he says he had insurance for all that and was handed a very large payout. So honestly he never had to use his "fire extinguisher" and start again with nothing. That's rubbish.

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.) That’s because I worry that all this money-printing will at some stage lead to inflation: if inflation averages just 2.5% per year, then after 15 years a third of your purchasing power is gone. After 30 years, more than half the real value is gone.Neil, a suburban accountant, wrote to me saying: “You’re nothing but a government stooge for promoting their tools. You should be ashamed of yourself. You disgust me.” 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) Scott Pape is pretty funny and entertaining :P Richard Branson was right that he makes finance fun lol BUT... this whole book is based on Australian rules, government rules, finance rules, culture, housing marking, etc which is completely useless to me and the majority of the world lol =/

For a finance book, his message is refreshingly anti-materialistic: do you need a BMW when a Holden will do? Why are you wasting your money on a business-class flight when you could build a buffer for old age? But also: don’t be a tight-arse. You should still go to the pub, take holidays and give to charity. Some of the principles set out in Barefoot Investor are curiously – almost depression-era – old-fashioned. There’s an emphasis on saving, not living beyond your means and having a manageable mortgage. Depressingly, Treasury figures show that almost half a million people under the age of 30 have accessed their super. Now I understand the motivation to own a home, but I don’t really like raiding your super to do it. In this case, if you’ve satisfied the requirement for early release, it also means you need to work on boosting your income so you can get a loan. These super funds invest based on your age. In simple terms, they automatically reduce the amount of riskier assets, like shares, in your portfolio as you get older and closer to retirement.I think this is great news for every Australian – regardless of whether you switch to Vanguard or not.

Some of his advice is a bit questionable. Does one really need 6 bank accounts? probably not. Is it wise to put all your money in joint bank accounts with your partner? Definitely not. Private health insurance is a rip off, I’d rather pay the Medicare levy surcharge because putting my money into the public health system is a better investment than private health funds which are profit based and further fleece me when I try to use them.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Second, the people who calculate the ASFA figure are … the super fund lobby. It’s a bit like asking old Dr Kellogg, “What’s the most important meal of the day?” (Breakfast, of course!) It's about this point that I start to understand why he encourages the reader to drink so much. You need a glass or two under your belt just to get past all the bullshit. In 2018, Pape released a financial book aimed at children's finance titled The Barefoot Investor for Families. [4]