From Average to Awesome

Hi Scott,

I wanted to share a story with you. Two years ago our young family of five employed a money method that many other families use: everything on the credit card, big limit, and spend, spend, spend! Then pay the bill, except not in full every month, with the snowball effect equaling a biggish ($30k) bill every few years that then has to be paid by rolling it into a larger debt like the mortgage. It was not a good picture.

Then we read your book, and implemented it.

In June my husband was made redundant, with no payout and no jobkeeper! Yet we were fine. And why was that? Because of you. Because we thought to buy a book for $25 and read it and learnt. My parents taught me nothing about money other than spending it, my husband didn’t learn much either. Yet we had our mojo ready to go, and in the end, we haven’t touched it because the husband got a new job and started today.

Five months of no employment, and now it’s over. It was awful and stressful but not nearly as bad as it would have been if we had gone into it with our old plan of big, rolling credit card debt. So Scott, I salute you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for showing us the right way to manage money and saving us from what could have been a lot worse.

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

Congratulations, you win the award for the longest question I think I’ve ever published!

Your story gives everyone a great insight into how many families with huge mortgages get by: living day-to-day on credit, and then burying the big bill in their mortgage every couple of years. They go to bed each night worrying ... hoping that life could be different. Then they repent and repeat.

Yet it doesn’t have to be that way.

If there’s one gift you could give your family this Christmas, it would be to finally be in total financial control.

Most families that are conditioned to live on credit would scoff at such a suggestion.

Yet you and I know that the feeling of financial control comes before you’ve paid off even a cent of debt.

Rather, it happens when you have a proven plan – a series of steps – that you know will work.

You faced your financial fire and you were able to say “I’ve got this”.

Congratulations, and have a Merry Christmas!

Scott

Dodgy Banks, Dodgy Accounting

Hi Scott (you dirty misandrist haha!),

I am hoping to get your thoughts and advice on these dodgy banks. Years ago, I bought a home for $535,000, with a 5% deposit, initially paying ‘interest only’ on my home loan. (So a ‘loan to value ratio’, or LVR, of 95%.) Cut to today and I have brought the loan amount down to $460,000. So I thought I’d do the Barefoot thing and ask my bank for a better rate than the 3.97% I am currently being slugged with. Yet when I called them to review my loan, they said that because my house price has fallen (I live in Perth) they now consider my LVR to be 120%! I expected them to reduce my rate once my LVR was sub-80% of the original loan and house valuation. My question is: can they move the goalposts like this? It is absolutely shattering!

Steve

Hi Steve,

Better grab two Panadol and a Berocca, Steve. This one’s going to be rough.

Here’s the deal: you bought your joint when the property party was in full swing.

Your bank was feeling liquid and loose! How else can you explain that they let you buy into a new suburb with just a 5% deposit and an interest-only loan? Now it’s the morning after, and the hangover has set in.

In your case the bank has revalued your property down from your original purchase price, $535,000, to around $380,000. And that’s how you get the 120% loan to value ratio — you’re only looking at the ‘loan’ part of the ratio while the bank is looking at the ‘value’ part.

Bottom line?

You’re upside down. 

If you had to sell in a pinch, you’d be out of pocket. As would the bank (and banks hate losing money).

The situation you find yourself in is why I steadfastly recommend people save up a 20% deposit.

You’re in no position to negotiate a better rate, so there’s no hair of the dog for you, my friend.

It’s tough, but you need to ride the porcelain bus, then get cracking on paying down that loan.

Scott

Mortgage Wars

Hi Scott, 

After reading ‘Mortgage Month’ in Step 3 of your book, I apprehensively (as I avoid confrontation) called the bank and stuck to your script. Our rate was dropped from 4.03% to 2.74%, no questions asked. I shared this idea with my sister (single mum with mortgage, whose employer just announced her contract will not be renewed). Her rate dropped from 4.1% to 2.94%. A teary (because those bastards charged us so much for so long) and heartfelt thanks from both of us!

Sarah

Hey Sarah,

Sweet as! 

If there’s one thing you can do when you’re stuck at home, it’s to get a better deal on your home loan. The big four banks have all been reducing their basic variable offerings to around 2.7%. They’re really slugging it out on fixed rates -- though I’d stick with a variable rate.  I had a window-shop this week and saw three small lenders were offering deals below 2%. I have never, ever seen rates this low. Time to get the banker off your back!

Scott

I Used My Mojo to Buy a $10,800 Handbag

Hi Scott,

I am a long-time Barefooter and, overall, have made money decisions I think you would be happy with: I have a good job ($110,000 a year), have paid off my bad debts, have started maxing out my super, own my car, pay extra on my mortgage, and have started a share portfolio. Most importantly, I have three months of Mojo — until yesterday, that is, when I walked into a Chanel store and bought a flap bag for $10,800 (my 38th birthday present to myself). I’m giddy with happiness and anxiety all at once. This is a classic bag I will have for life. Chanel raises their prices each year (it cost $6,000 five years ago), so I will never lose money on resale. Yet I also feel sick as it is an enormous amount of money — am I insane?

Elisha

Hi Elisha

So I learned something this week: handbags are an investment.
In fact, research from Knight Frank found that, over the last decade, handbags have more than doubled in value.

Well, not every handbag. (Liz’s is like a lucky dip to another world: you can pull out half-eaten crumbly cruskits, a hairy hairclip, a Wiggles concert ticket from 2018, but never the ringing mobile phone that she’s desperately searching for.)

Elisha, you seem to have worked hard to get your financial life in good shape. And if the bag makes you “giddy with happiness”, well, that sounds like a good purchase to me. You may as well enjoy it!

The only thing I’d say is that you raided the wrong bucket: it should have come from your ‘Smile’ bucket (the savings account for longer term purchases that will put a smile on your dial). 

Having a well-stocked Mojo bucket is not nearly as flashy as a Chanel bag, but it will give you the inner confidence to face any financial fires coming your way.

Scott

From the Depths of Despair

Hi Scott,

Not a question. I just want to say THANK YOU!

I know you receive hundreds of messages like this, probably each week if not each day, but I just wanted to share my experience of going Barefoot. At 31, having been married the year prior, I sat in my GP’s office crying my heart out, feeling suffocated by my $27,000 debt, feeling depressed like there was no way out. My GP listened to every word I said (in between sobs) and finally said, “I think we need a longer appointment”, and asked me to come back the next day.

Around that time a friend had suggested I read The Barefoot Investor. I had of course scoffed at the suggestion, but that day I decided I needed something, anything, to help. I read the book cover to cover in a day and felt so empowered that I began to draw my buckets and to have the conversation with my husband.

Two-and-a-half years on, I never did rebook that appointment! My husband and I are completely debt free! We own (outright) two cars, have had a baby, have been on a four-month holiday overseas, have saved $40,000, and are ready to buy our first home. Thank you, Scott. You will never know what your book did for our family.

Nikki

Hi Nikki

You bloody ripper!

In the sea of doom and gloom and depressing news, I’m craving good news stories, and hope — and that’s exactly what your story offers people.

You Got This! 

Scott

The people who are really getting screwed in this downturn (it's not who you think)

My editor emailed me with a request on Thursday:

“Can you do a piece on the Treasurer’s economic update to the nation?”

My answer?

Sure, and I can do it in one line:

“The Treasurer is throwing the kitchen sink at COVID like there’s no tomorrow.”

The rub, of course, is that for most voters there aren’t that too many more tomorrows left … especially those who read the newspaper!

So today I thought we’d talk about the people who are really getting screwed right now.

People like 17-year-old Louise, who sent me this question:

Hi Scott, I've been reading The Barefoot Investor as I am interested in kick-starting my financial freedom. However, I am only 17, and about to graduate, so I don't have a strong income. I am slowly working towards setting up the different bank accounts but I am having trouble with the advised percentages for each. Any advice on how to get ahead?

Yes, Louise is still a kid. She’s not old enough to vote, but she’s young enough to spend the rest of her working life paying off the multi-billion-dollar promises our politicians are making today.

Thankfully, the concept of shouldering an unfair amount of future government debt isn’t high on her priority list.

Louise is more focused on the here and now — and with good reason: her age group has been the worst hit in this crisis, with a staggering 44% of the jobs lost this year belonging to 15-to-24-year-olds.

Now, Louise, here’s the thing: our lives are shaped by our experiences, right?

My generation’s experience has been 29 years of non-stop economic growth, falling interest rates, and rising house prices.

Yours will be different. 

As you grow up and get the keys to the (err) Uber, you’ll be starting your working life at the bottom rung of the employment ladder, leaning up against the worst economic downturn in a century. 

Fact is, every generation must play the hand they’re dealt, and you just got a Joker (Donald Trump).

Contrast this to your parents and grandparents, who’ve enjoyed the greatest economic boom in history.

Lucky buggers, right?

Well, maybe. However, the irony is that this long boom has softened people up. It’s allowed them (well, many of them) to paper over their financial mistakes. And, as a result, many older Aussies have never had to learn much about managing their money.

You will, though.

You won’t have a choice.

Yet thankfully you’re two steps ahead of most people — you’re asking the right questions while you’re still a teenager. So don’t fret about the percentages; you’re already on the right track by setting up your savings buckets. What that tells me is that they’re going to fill up. It’s only a matter of time — and you’ve got plenty of that.

And if all this doom and gloom is getting you down, know this: the last generation that encountered genuinely tough times was that of your great-grandparents, who lived through the Depression. The tough times hardened them into one of the greatest generations in history.

Tread Your Own Path!

From $500 to $15,000

Scott

I do not have a question, I just want to say thank you. Two years ago I walked out of an abusive relationship with $500 to my name and debts that should never have belonged to me. My sister and brother-in-law gave me your book and I quickly decided this was how I would take control again. After two years of hard work and sacrifice, I have paid off all my debts and saved almost $15,000, and I am hoping to buy my first home at the end of 2020. I keep all of your columns in a folder called “YOU CAN DO IT” — and I did! 

Rachel

Hi Rachel,

I love celebrating the wins of the Barefoot community.

Yet I love it even more that right now, hundreds (if not thousands) of people in abusive relationships are reading your story and getting a little inspiration and motivation from hearing about someone who’s done it.

You Got This!

Scott

My Financial Planner Hates You

Scott,

We’ve just come back from seeing our financial planner, and I am a little rattled! Our super fund is competitive in terms of earnings but its fees are 2% pa. When I questioned the fees (our pension balance is $1.1 million, so around $22,000 each year), he said that what matters is returns, not fees. And when I mentioned that I had read your book, he got quite angry and dismissive. He said that it is not so hard to beat the averages (because index funds hold lots of dud stocks). He waved away my concerns and said there were numerous errors in your book. He got a little worked up, so we did not want to push things with him. Just wanted to let you know! 

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I totally understand his reaction.See, I wrote the second best-selling book ever in Australia (the first was Fifty Shades of Grey). And my book also delved into bondage, dominance, and sadism — of the financial fees variety. I showed the masses how the game is played (and how they’re played).

Here’s the rough sum: a balanced portfolio will provide an income of around 4% per annum. That means, in your case (paying 2% in fees), you’re losing around half your potential investment income each year.

And remember, you’re taking all the risk.Also remember that actively managed funds (like the ones your advisor is hawking) fail to match simple low-cost index funds over the long term after fees, according to every study that’s ever been done on the subject.S

o it’s not surprising he’s being defensive: remember, the fees you pay are his income.

Look, I’m not anti-advisor. In fact, I say repeatedly in the book to seek out a financial advisor who’ll give you personal advice tailored to your situation.

My motivation for writing the book was to empower my readers to ask the right questions (which you did). And the truth is, the best advisors want their clients to be educated and informed.Maybe it’s time you found one.

Scott

A Hole in My Heart

Hi Scott,

Last March I came across your book in a store in New Zealand. Since then, it has completely changed how my husband and I use our money. We have paid off $8,000 on a credit card, and this year our loan will get hammered using our ‘Fire Extinguisher’ account. But the biggest help was earlier this year. My cousin’s two-year-old daughter relapsed with leukaemia, with no more options left for treatment. My cousin and I are very close but he lives far away, in Ireland. With our Mojo, we were able to drop everything and be there for his daughter’s final weeks. I was able to support my cousin and his wife through the hardest time of their lives. With tears in my eyes and a huge a hole in my heart, I thank you for giving me that gift. 

Mandy

Hi Mandy,

That is a beautifully written, emotional response -- and it shows exactly why people should get things together. None of us know what’s going to happen next. And to be in the position where you could do what you did is one of life’s great gifts. The events that have already happened this year — fires, floods and pandemics — have taught me that right now is a really good time to have a Mojo buffer. You never know when you’ll need it.

Thank you for reading,

Scott

If We Are Heading into a Depression, Do This

Hi Scott,

I have been reading people saying that all this stimulus (especially in the US, where the Federal Reserve is printing trillions of dollars) will soon lead to massive inflation, and then recession. Even the world’s biggest hedge fund manager, Ray Dalio, says we are heading for a depression. And I have to say I agree. I am a long-time reader and have heard you say before that your advice does not change. But surely it must now, given this unprecedented moment in economic history?

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

I agree, it does look like we’re heading into a very deep recession.

Yet will that lead to a full-blown economic depression?

Honestly, I have no idea.That’s because the global economy is far too complex for black-and-white economic predictions.Personally, I cringe when I hear the word ‘depression’ bandied about.

Why?

Because it’s a very emotive, click-baity word that’s not particularly useful.

After all, if you’re a small business owner who was already struggling to stay afloat before we went into lockdown, the next few years could feel like a depression to you. On the other hand, if you’re cashed up and ready to buy, a market downturn can be a life-changing experience.

And that’s the rub: it’s your financial situation that matters most, not some arbitrary classification that an economic historian may, years from now, use to describe this economic period.

So what’s my advice?

Back yourself, son! You seem convinced that we are heading into depression, so start preparing for it immediately. Begin to aggressively pay off your debts, squirrel away a sizable savings buffer, and start looking for extra ways to earn dough.  Or, in other words, start following and applying the Barefoot Steps.

Scott

Pilot Gets Grounded

Hey Scott,

Last time I emailed you, I had a well-paying job as an international pilot, the share market was at a record high, my super was doing brilliantly, I was investing every month and we were planning a holiday to Greece. I wrote to thank you for changing our lives. Now the share market has plummeted, my super has been smashed and, thanks to COVID-19, I have no job. Now I am writing to REALLY thank you. Healthy Mojo, no credit cards and low-fee banking have prepared us well. More importantly, this is an opportunity to show our three young adult boys a real-life example of living within your means, and that the world does not end when hard times hit!

William

Hi William,

Dude, you’re facing your own financial fire with all the Alpaca attitude you can muster!(Non-Barefooters won’t have a clue what I’m talking about, but you will.)

You may be down, but you’re not out.

The thing I’ve learnt as a parent is that kids don’t always listen but they always watch:

And they’re watching you rise to a challenge.You Got This!

Scott

The true story of two alpacas

I picked a tough time to change careers:

Last year I went back to study so I could become a community-based financial counsellor.

In January I was sent off to help survivors on the bushfire frontlines. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Then came corona.

Right now I find myself on the financial frontlines as a counsellor.

Let me tell you a couple of things I’ve learned from sitting across the table from people who are financially broken:

The first hour of the meeting is often a write-off. 

The client will tentatively sit down … and then verbally vomit at me. Nothing makes sense.

That’s because they’re consumed by fear. They’re ashamed about their situation. They feel out of control.

Understand this: no one makes good financial decisions when they’re in a state of fear.

No one.

And, right now, a lot of people are consumed by fear. I can see it in the thousands of emails I’m getting each week.

They stay up late ‘doom scrolling’, which makes them worry about getting sick … and dying.

Or they worry that the economy is going into a recession ... or a depression.

Will we be shut down till June? Or Christmas?

Fear is debilitating. It freezes you up, and shuts you down.

So what’s the antidote?

You need to take action ... alpaca style.

Let me explain (it’s kind of weird):

A few years ago we inherited two alpacas, whose job it is to protect our lambs from foxes.

They’re surly buggers … they’re basically camels without humps, and as aggro as Alan Jones.

When the bushfire came through our farm and burnt most of their flock, a ranger turned up the next day with a gun to finish off the wounded sheep.

The alpacas were wounded themselves. Their burnt hoofs made it hard for them to stand.

But they did.

They shielded their sheep. They stared down the barrel of a gun … and charged at the freaked out ranger.

No one was messing with their flock!

And in a time of crisis, when you’ve lost your income, you need to do the same.

Every dollar you get should go first into protecting your flock:

You put food on the table.

You keep the lights, heating and internet on.

And you keep a roof over your head.

These are non-negotiables. 

If you have money left over you can make repayments on other debts, but these are your priorities.

Here’s how you do it:

First, work out how much your basic needs (above) realistically cost each week. Write down the figure.

Second, go through your bank statements and cancel your direct debits and other non-essential payments.

Third, email your creditors, explain your situation, and request a payment extension.

You won’t solve everything quickly, and you shouldn’t expect to. That’ll come later.

Right now, your only job is to protect your flock.

Tread Your Own Path!

I Lost My Job This Week, But I Got This

Hi Scott,

I wanted to get in touch with you to say thank you. I lost my job this week. Previously this would have been a devastating blow for our finances. However, thanks to reading your book three years ago, my husband and I are now in a very strong financial position. We have paid our mortgage down by half, and we have a good amount of Mojo in the bank. Now we are able to focus on our kids in this scary time. Thank you!

Jill

Hi Jill,

What a strong position you’ve put yourself in. Congratulations!

You’ve also made a really important point about focusing on your kids.

Don’t think your kids aren’t watching you very closely.

Generational attitudes to money are being forged around the family dinner table right now.

So let them know you’re in a decent financial situation because you sacrificed in the good times.Drill it into them.

You’re sorted, Jill, but what about all the parents reading this now who are really stressed about their financial situation. What should they do?

Well, some parents will try to shelter their kids from the financial reality of this situation.

Yet kids are smart: they pick up on what’s going on.It’s okay to be worried. Just channel that fear into something that will serve your kids, like saying to yourself: “Things may be tough now, but we’ll get through it. And never again will this family be financially vulnerable. It starts today.”

You got this!

Scott

Honouring My Friend

Dear Scott,

I recently lost a dear friend due to a sudden cardiac arrest at the age of just 29. She was financially independent and had learnt to be smart with her money.She put me onto your book, and since reading it I have been financially better off and have started saving for a 20% house deposit with my partner. I wanted to say thanks to you, and also I wanted to say I am so proud of my friend. Keep on educating, Scott!

Rachel

Hi Rachel,

I am sorry for your loss.

But what a great gift your friend left you with: a more confident financial life.

When I went to Brazil recently to look at financial education in poor areas, they spoke about it as being a multiplier:

You learn it, then you share it, and it quickly has a cascading effect across the entire community.

So, honour your friend by passing on the lessons you’ve learnt to someone else you love.

That’s a legacy I’m sure she would have been proud of.

Scott

Dirtbag Roommate

Hi Scott, 

My housemate and I are both on the lease and we split the rent 50/50, paying separately. I am always on time, but my housemate is lousy at keeping up regular rental payments. So, every eight weeks or so, we get an email from the estate agent reminding us to pay. It is not fair. I am fastidiously going through my “Barefoot Steps” — saving to pay off my car loan and build up a house deposit. But I worry what damage my housemate’s bad rental history will do to my ability to get a home loan in the next couple of years. What do you think?

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Well that sucks.

But it’s also a rite of passage: we’ve all had a dirtbag roommate at one time or another (or been the dirtbag!).

Will being late on your rent affect your ability to get a home loan? Unlikely.

For that to happen, your rental manager will have to be registered with a credit reporting agency, and they’re generally not.

Will it affect your mental health to live with someone who doesn’t share the same values as you? Absolutely.

So, in the first instance, I’d suggest looking into bill-splitting apps like easyshare or Splitr, and let the tech do the money-crunching and send gentle reminders. I’d also look at creating written rules around bill payments and household chores … and (if all else fails) moving out!

Scott

I Spent $2,000 on Powerball Last Night

Hi Scott,

I spent $2,000 on Powerball last night and apparently did not even win my tickets back. I feel pathetic.

On my way to work this morning, I began to listen to your book (for the second time) on Audible and decided to write to you — and be honest with you (and myself). My husband and I are both 33. Not young, not old. We have three home loans and a car loan, and plan to have a baby soon. I also have a hard copy of your book on my desk and feel I am on my way to financial freedom, but it seems a long way to go.

Bridget

Hi Bridget,

I’ve answered thousands of questions, but I have never had someone tell me they spent two grand on a lottery.

Powerball? Is that even still a thing? I remember it looking like some tricked-up vacuum-cleaner spitting out coloured balls. The odds of winning Division 1 Powerball (according to their own website) are 134 million to 1.Here’s you: “Yeah, but you gotta be in it to win it, right?”

Here’s me: “Yeah, but if you think that way, make sure you steer clear of vending machines.”

(Statistically, you’re more likely to be killed by a vending machine falling on you — 112 million to 1.)

Okay, enough of the gags: there’s something deeper going on here.

You’re either an addicted gambler, in which case you should get professional help, because it’s an illness that won’t go away untreated (call Gamblers Help on 1800 858 858), or you’ve got a feeling of hopelessness about your situation.

Either way, there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.

Yet know this: you don’t have to hit the jackpot to feel good about yourself or your financial situation.

Instead, when you see a path out of despair (and hopefully my book can help you with this), each step you take will build your confidence.

From there, it’s just a matter of time: you’re already free. 

Scott

The Triple Ms

Hi Scott,

I need to give you a massive thanks: we stuck to the advice in your book and it’s changed our lives. We saved $160,000 in three years — and that included a year of maternity leave, a wedding, and a baby girl! And, after all that, we’ve just managed to buy a modest home close enough to the Sydney CBD with a 20% deposit. No family guarantor, just us working and saving. To be honest, it wasn't that hard — we stuck to the buckets! So, from someone who was formerly blowing $100 a week on eggs for brekkie in North Bondi, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Sam

Hey Sam,

You’re in the thick of the Triple M’s: Marriage, Mortgage, and Midgets!

There are plenty of young couples who throw their hands in the air and say it’s all too hard. Yet you and your husband have stuck at it for the past three years, and that’s why you’re kicking goals.

Scott

Pass Me a Bucket

I glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw that my six-year-old had crossed arms and a cross face.

“What’s wrong, cobber?”

He screwed up his little face and pointed his finger at a billboard that we were whizzing past.

“Banking Buckets!” the billboard said.

My son had cottoned on to the fact that BankWest has been ripping off the ‘Bucket Strategy’ from my book.

(My Bucket Strategy uses zero-fee transaction accounts and linked online savings accounts.)

He was not impressed.

“They should get their own ideas, Dad”, he said.

“Agreed!” I said proudly.

Then, not long after, ME Bank sent a marketing email showing people how to set up their ‘Splurge’ bucket.

I forwarded it to ME Bank’s head of marketing with the subject: “WTF?”

So while I’m as dark as my son at banks shamelessly piggybacking off my book … there’s also a part of me that’s proud of having made saving something worth ripping off.

The bucket strategy -- which is so simple it can be scrawled on the back of a serviette -- has probably helped well over a million Aussies gain control of their money.

In fact, I’ve created an entire high school money program around them: it’s called ‘The Bucket List’.

I get the teachers to bring large plastic buckets into the classroom. I even had one in Perth who drilled a hole in a bucket in front of his class to illustrate the idea of credit cards putting ‘a hole in your bucket’.

Kids inherently ‘get’ something as visual as buckets. And in the program I tell them that I don’t care who they choose to bank with, so long as they go ahead and set their buckets up. The key is to create a lifelong habit of saving, which of course is the number one rule of creating wealth.

And if you, or your kids, have set up your buckets and started saving, well … as Holden says in their more recent television ads: ‘You Got This!’

Tread Your Own Path!

The Good Reverend

Hi Scott,

I’m just following up on your question last week, ‘Does Jesus Despise the Barefoot Investor?’

As an Anglican priest I love your books -- they are against debt, they are about living within your means, and they are about being generous. Yes, perhaps I would add a few Bible quotes to back up your principles, but it has been a book I’m happy to recommend. And, yes, there is a danger in making an idol out of money, but in this age our culture makes a bigger idol out of keeping up Instagram photos of so-called success.Blessings,

Rev. Stephen Bloor

Thank you, Reverend

I’ve actually had a lot of Christians write to me echoing your sentiments this week.

(Okay, and the odd religious nut who said I was going to hell. Seriously they did, claiming I run a cult!)

Thanks for recommending my book, I love hearing from people who've used it to get themselves out of debt and back on their feet.

Scott

The Kind Landlord

Hi Scott,

I would like to tell you about one of our tenants.She was an excellent tenant for four years, but fell behind during the last year and was not able to claw her way back. So I gave her a copy of your book ‒ and in the last eight weeks she has paid her arrears in full, and even started saving for a house deposit.

But what made me cry was what she told me next. Her son’s marriage break-up had left him in serious home loan arrears, with the bank threatening foreclosure – and he also lost custody of his children. He had attempted suicide twice in a week, and his survival could only be described as fate. He rang his mum to ask whether she could stay with him for the weekend. Armed with knowledge from your book, she worked with him through his finances. He has now been able to pay all his arrears and overdue bills, and can focus on repairing himself emotionally.

Your book has helped millions of people with their money. But in this case I think the effect has been rather more profound – with two households at risk of losing everything being able to stay in their homes.Yours,

Jane

Hi Jane,

As the election gets into full swing, it feels like landlords are being unfairly demonised as the enemy of the renter.

Not you.

Thanks for sharing.

Scott