What Nobody Tells You About Living Through a Bushfire

Here’s what no one tells you about living through a bushfire.

First, nobody thinks it’s going to happen to them.

On the day the fires hit my area, I sat at the kitchen table of my farm thinking everything was fine. (I was a member of the local CFA, and my pager hadn’t gone off — yet.)

What I didn’t know was that the areas surrounding me were already being evacuated.

As I jumped in my ute, the ABC radio announcer said of my area: “It’s too late to leave. You must take shelter now to protect yourself.” And in that instant, my entire world turned upside down.

The second thing nobody tells you is that the road back from losing everything in a bushfire is a long one.

The harsh reality is it takes years for people to get back on their feet, and for communities to rebuild.

As I write this, I’m looking out to the paddocks on my farm and I can still see blackened trees staring back at me.

Which brings me to the third thing nobody tells you:

Everybody moves on, quicker than you think … and the survivors are left trying to put the pieces back together.

Yet right now people haven’t moved on. It’s still the biggest story in the country, and we need to harness that.

There are plenty of amazing organisations with their sleeves rolled up helping people who need it most, like the Australian Red Cross, who are supporting communities affected by fires in NSW, QLD and SA.

Empty out the Give Jar.

Tread Your Own Path!

From Zero to Five Kids

Hi Scott,

My wife and I — who have had an ongoing struggle with infertility — foster three children. And it has been awesome. However, we have just been given news that has floored us. Last week our doctor called to say we’re pregnant … with twins! Having just picked myself up off the floor, I am trying to figure out how to fast-track our savings to raise five kids. You have helped us wipe out $55,000 worth of debt and save $40,000 for a deposit thus far. We would appreciate any extra advice you can give us now.

John

Hi John,

Now there’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming. I have three children under the age of six, and the most common greeting I get from people is “You look tired”. But you two have gone from a comfy Kia to Toyota Tarago territory in just one phone call!

If we’re looking ‘glass half full’, remember that you’ve already paid off $55,000 in debt and saved up a solid deposit in the bank.

Yet the truth is that one of you will have to take time off work, and, with twins, probably for quite a while.

My advice?

Well, I wouldn’t be rushing to buy a house anytime soon. Instead, the money you’ve saved up should stand as your financial buffer, at least until you’ve worked out the lay of the land. The last thing you need right now is mortgage stress. You’re already going to have sleepless nights — no need to add to them.

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

The Best Present

Hi Scott,

Many years ago, when I was five, we lost my father to an accident, and my siblings and I always wish we had more memories of him. Just this year we lost our mother to cancer. Before she passed away I asked her your questions (from the Father’s Day column) and videoed it. The answers were surprising and showed a side of Mum I had not seen. When she passed, I shared it with my family as a parting gift from her. Out of all the money lessons I have learnt from you, this is by far the greatest. Thank you for sharing, it’s such a great idea.

Sarah

I’m sorry for your loss.

Lots of readers wrote to me this week telling me they followed my advice last week and did the Father’s Day video with their dad. It’s funny how something that costs nothing but time, and the courage to ask the questions, can be worth so much — arguably as personally valuable as anything worldly they could have left behind.

Scott

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!

So for Father’s Day this year, I figured “if it’s good for the ewes, it’s good for the rams”.

I started a brand-new tradition: me and the other husbands decided that for Father’s Day we’d put on our cleanest jeans, offload the kids, and head to a local joint for a brew or two (or three).

Nice one.

Yet there’s another Father’s Day tradition that I’ve been doing with my readers for years, and I’d like to share it with you.

See, it’s a bit of a cliche that every dad gets a mug … or a keyring … or a block of chocolate … or a tie.

But what I want to share with you today is a present that you and your dad will treasure.

And even better?

It won’t cost you a thing.

Let me explain …

You see, my wife’s father died a few years before I met her.

When our house burned to the ground, in 2014, we lost some of the last remaining photos of him, the letters he’d written, and the paintings he cherished.

How does my wife explain to me who her father was?

How does she explain to our sons who Grandpa was?

Her physical reminders are now lost in the ashes.

So, I made a pact with her that each year I’d share with you, my readers, the ultimate Father’s Day present.

The Ultimate Father’s Day Present

If you’re lucky enough to have your father still with you, here’s how you can give him the ultimate Father’s Day present. Go and see him, whip out your phone, hit ‘record’, and ask him the following questions:

1. How did you meet Mum?

2. What advice can you share with me about money, life and happiness?

3. What does being a dad mean to you?

4. What are you most proud of?

5. How would you like to be remembered?

This is not for Facebook. It’s for you and your family’s legacy. One day, it’s all you’ll have left of him.

And you’ll treasure it.

Happy Father’s Day!

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. I grew up in the bush myself and have a very strong appreciation for Tim. I am also the daughter of a farmer who was incensed with the change in gun laws after the Port Arthur Massacre. But after seeing Tim speak at a community function Dad came home and packed up the gun shed: “It’s just not necessary”, he said. Then I was in the USA for university just after the Columbine shootings ‒ I could not have been more proud to be Australian. Tim was a giant.

Cass

Hi Cass,

Thanks for sharing your story.I received hundreds of emails from readers about Tim, and it made a tough week a little brighter reading through the stories of people just like you.

This week I spoke at Tim’s funeral, and it was one of the greatest honours of my life. He was a decent man who left Australia a better place. That’s all you can ask for at the end of your life, right?

Scott

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.

I took a deep breath and strode confidently into a private patient room and greeted my old mate, former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer.

My first thought was that he looked really crook.

My second thought was that I started feeling really hot … was there a heater on in here or something?

And then?

And then I fainted. Out cold. On the floor.

Tim was watching all this unfold, and quickly hit the emergency button at his bedside.

The nurses came sprinting into the room and made a beeline for Tim’s bed.

“Not me, I’m fine! It’s my young, fit-looking friend over there who needs help!” he said, pointing at me.

When I came to, Tim was laughing and taking photos of me on his iPhone

“You’re always trying to show me up!” he said.

That afternoon, as I drove home, Tim called me from his hospital bed:

“How do you feel? Do you need a good doctor? I have a good doctor. I can call him now. It’s no trouble, really …”

I can’t think of a better story to explain my friendship with Tim, who sadly passed away on Thursday.

Today I want to talk about the difference Tim Fischer made in my life.

Our First Meeting

I first met Tim roughly 15 years ago — and it wasn’t by chance.

I actually cold-emailed him (and a bunch of other heavy-hitters) about joining the advisory board of a financial education program I was developing for Aussie kids.

Not only was Tim the only person who bothered to reply — he suggested that we meet up to discuss it.

A few days later he arrived at our meeting clutching his trademark Akubra in one hand, and a dog-eared copy of my first book in the other.

He’d come prepared.

Over the next hour I gave him my pitch: where I was from, what I was about, and the change I wanted to make.

Tim listened intently, sizing me up as I spoke. It’s fair to say that he saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.

“An ambitious project like this is going to take you many years … but it will be worth it,'' he told me.

(He was right: it would take another 15 years to get it off the ground, and it has been worth it.)

What I didn’t know at the time was that Tim would become one of my closest mentors.

Many More Meetings

Over the years we met up at my farm in Romsey, at his joint in Albury, and everywhere in between.

(And I mean everywhere. When he was the Australian ambassador to the Holy See in Rome … he snuck me and my girlfriend in, and even allowed us to stay (in sin) at the Australian embassy. Though I got back in God’s good books by later marrying her.)

At these meetings we’d talk about finance, economics, politics, power, the media … and farming.

Yet for all those high-powered conversations, the thing I remember most is that he would always take the time to ask: “What’s going on with Liz? How are the kids? How’s your dad? How much rain are you getting?”

Above all, he had a confidence about him.

And he had a habit of filling you up with his confidence in you. I would leave each meeting believing that I could pull things off. It made me want to stretch further, try harder and do better.

Over the years he gave me lots of good advice. However, as with the very best mentors, I didn’t just learnt from the advice he gave me — or the many doors he opened for me — but by watching him.

Especially in the last week of his life.

Our Final Meeting

This weekend Tim and I were due to run a town hall charity event in my hometown of Ouyen which was being recorded for ABC Local Radio.

We called it ‘Living the Rich Life in Regional Australia’. (It was Tim’s idea of course.)

Yet a few days ago Tim rang me and told me that he had to pull out — doctor’s orders.

I replied: “Look, I totally understand … and I think we should cancel the event. After all, this is your baby … your brainchild. Without you there, it just won’t be the same.”

His reply was classic, confident Tim:

“You will NOT cancel! You will NOT quit!

“We have the opportunity to tell the story of Ouyen — and how to live the rich life in regional Australia — to thousands of people. And you never know who’ll be listening … it could spark an idea or give inspiration for someone else living in a small town.

“Besides, I’ll twist your arm — I’ve already filmed a video that outlines my thoughts on what towns need to do to thrive.”

I played that video (which he’d shot from the hospital grounds!) at the event.

Before I played it, I pointed out a few things to the audience:

First, Tim’s body was riddled with cancer. He must have been in excruciating pain as he was making the video. Yet he never let on. Not once.

Second, this was the final week of his life. And he devoted part of it to making a video helping people in the bush get a better shake of things.

You can’t fake that.

Look, I’ve been in the media for years, and met some very self-important people — big shots, politicians, media stars — who say one thing in public but are totally different when the cameras turn off.

Not Tim.

He was the real deal.

I think Australians worked that out about him.

And they loved him for it.

Rest In Peace, mate.

My Socially Irresponsible Brother Marries his Masseuse?

Hi Scott,

My socially irresponsible 34-year-old brother has recently spent four weeks in Thailand and met an attractive masseuse who seems to have made him believe he is the man of her dreams. They spent the entire time together, and now that he is home in Australia we hear she is expecting their baby!

He is paying the mortgage down on his own property, has a secure job, and will soon receive a substantial inheritance from a relative (who would be mortified at this situation). I feel he is being scammed ‒ if there is a baby on the way, I think this is exactly what this lady intended. Yet he wants to believe all the lies he has been fed, and of course she now wishes to set up life here in Melbourne.

Most of our family agree he should send money to support this child and visit a few times a year. But I fear he will bring her over here, and I am not sure it will end well. What are your thoughts, and how can he protect his interests?

Danielle

Hi Danielle,

That’s a hell of a story … and a complicated question: how can your brother protect his interests?

Well, that presupposes that he actually wants his interests protected.

He’s a grown man. He’s in love. And he’s going to be a father for the first time. So I’m not sure how far you’ll get telling him that the mother of his unborn child is a scammer.

(Look, I have no tuk-tuk in the race: he may be getting scammed. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened. Or she may turn out to be the love of his life. Who knows?)

If I were in your shoes, I would do three things:

First, let him know that he’s your brother and you’ll support him.

Second, encourage him to get DNA tests to ensure the baby is his (as legal counsel Kanye West says: “Eighteen years … eighteen years … and on her eighteenth birthday he found out it wasn’t his?”).

Third, encourage him to get proper legal advice: investigate having the inheritance diverted into a discretionary trust (of which he’s a beneficiary), set up a testamentary trust (estate planning), and, finally, if the relationship goes ahead, get a binding financial agreement (BFA) which sets out what happens in the event of a separation.Good luck.

Scott

Family Feud

Hi Scott,

I am 26 and recently got married (yay!), but my husband and I are not sure how to combine our finances. He owns a house with his brother, and I have a decent inheritance which I would not like to lose if we ended up divorcing (yes, I know it’s a bit early for that!). I thought of leaving the inheritance in the offset account, but if my husband dies I do not want to lose it to my brother-in-law either! How can we make it all work? Do we need a (post) prenup?

Ashley

Hi Ashley,

It sounds a little like you want a Meatloaf marriage: “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that (share my inheritance).”

The way I see it, there are three things you can do:

First, you can go to a lawyer and draw up a ‘binding financial agreement’, which will set out who gets what if you want out of the marriage like a bat out of hell (another Meatloaf reference … ask your parents). The downside to binding financial agreements is that they can be expensive, and they’re often contested.

Second, a more practical approach could be for both of you to write single wills which state that your parents (or whoever) get your stuff in the event of your death. These wills can be updated as you go through life.

Third, if you want to avoid a lot of financial heartache in the future (and also avoid the costs associated with the first two options), I’d seriously consider talking about your feelings to someone qualified ‒ and that’s not me!

Fact is, you’re still in the honeymoon phase of your marriage (which, in my personal experience, lasts until the first kid pops out) yet you’re already choosing money over marriage.

That doesn’t make you a bad person, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you have doubts.

And those doubts won’t go away.

Scott

Filthy from Head to Toe

Hi Scott,

Thanks so much for your last column. My son and I went on our first camping trip these holidays and it was honestly the best holiday ever. I set a limit of $250 from my Smile account, which paid for food, petrol and admission to the Buchan Caves. He spent the whole time exploring, throwing the biggest stones he could find to make the biggest splash he could, and rolling down dirt piles. He was filthy from head to toe, asleep before his head hit the pillow every night, and already planning our next trip before we left the campground. It was amazing, and what’s more we were out of range so I had to turn my phone off -- and did not feel a twinge of guilt.

Thank you, Marie (mum to a little boy who got to be dirty for a few days and had a ball!)

Scott says ...250 bucks! That’s one night at the suburban Mantra, with food poisoning at the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Give me damper on a stick and boiling billy any day. (And a few frothies around the campfire when the kids are gone to bed.)

Good on you, Marie.

And thank you for reading.

Scott

How Much Will Really Make You Happy?

Before we got married, we signed up for pre-marriage counselling at the local country church.

The pastor asked about our thoughts on work, which was a sticking point: at the time I was working around the clock getting Barefoot up and running, appearing on television, and travelling the country most weeks doing paid speaking gigs.

I turned to Liz and said:

“If in a decade from now I’m still working my guts out, and travelling constantly around the country, the only reason will be because I’m status hungry, and that I value my work over my family. Whatever excuse I give you in the future … will be a lie.”

(Mic drop.)

Liz has not only remembered that conversation ... she has skillfully reminded me of it at opportune times.What the hell was I thinking?

Well, life is difficult to measure, which is why money is such a simple substitute for happiness:

Do I have a bigger house than I used to? A better car? A fancier title? Earning more money?

Even millionaires think they need more. A 2018 Harvard study asked 4,000 millionaires how happy they were, and how much money they’d need to be perfectly happy. The overwhelming answer? Two or three times more than they currently had.

However, I’ve also spent a lot of time around a lot of really old people (some of them fabulously wealthy). And the one regret that keeps coming up is:

“I wish I’d spent less time working, and more time with my family.”

Now I’m sure there are plenty of things pre-marriage counselling didn’t pick up on that I totally suck at.

However, I’m proud to say that I haven’t done a (paid) speaking gig since my kids were born.

And this year my oldest son started school, and he’s coming up for his first school holidays. He’s been excitedly telling me about all the things he wants to do with me … like going camping on the farm, and doing lots of secret boys’ stuff.

That’s why in my last negotiation with this newspaper I told them that from now on I wouldn’t work on school holidays.

There was no negotiation. Take it or leave it.

Now that’s real wealth to me.

See you in two weeks!

Tread Your Own Path!

Single Mum Is a Loser

Hi Scott

I am a 32-year-old single mother trying to save for my own house. I’m working full time and completing my degree online, so I moved in with my grandparents to get some help. My daughter and I currently share a bedroom, all in the name of saving. But I feel hopeless and useless. I have recently been looking at Metricon HomeSolution as a way of getting into the housing industry. Do you recommend this?

Fiona

Hi Fiona,

I agree, your instagram feed would totally suck: all you do is work and study, and you live with your grandparents and share a room with your kid!

#Loser.

However with as little as $2,000 down, you can have lots of instagram-worthy pics of you and your daughter in your very own, brand new Metricon home.

#Winner.

Actually, last year Metricon HomeSolution was fined by the regulator for misleading advertising. It turns out that buyers actually need to come up with a 5% deposit, which is financed through an unsecured personal loan, often arranged through one of Metricon’s associated finance brokers.

#Ripoff.

My job allows me to look through people’s financial filters, and here’s what I’ve seen:

Some of the biggest financial losers are young couples with the nicest Instagram accounts; they live in Metricon house-and-land-package homes, with a leased Audi, an interest free Harvey Norman television, and Afterpay’d accessories. I even have a name for them: Postcode Povvos.

In my eyes, you’re a winner.

While other people desperately try to show strangers on social media they’re successful - you are living it.

So do me a favor: whip out your phone and record a message to give to your daughter when she’s 18. Tell her about how you’re feeling right now: the struggle and sacrifice of working and studying, and being a mum. Tell her why you’re doing it, and what your hopes and dreams are. Then show her your little shared room.

I guarantee you two things:

First, when it comes time for her to look at that video, you’ll have your own little home.

Second, she’ll realise just how brave and amazing her mother really is.And that’s the ultimate ‘like’, right?

Scott

When cashed up bogans run out of luck

You know what really grinds my gears?

Cashed up bogans.

For years, their success stories have been clickbait for news websites. They all run along the same lines:

Craig and Cheryl were just like you - wasting their lives away reading empty articles on the internet instead of applying themselves at work. Yet unlike you, they made the decision to buy five investment properties five years ago.

Today the young couple are worth $3 million and they’ve retired (to run a property investment advisory business). The savvy couple’s advice to people wanting to follow in their footsteps? “If we did it, anyone can. All you need is passion” says Cheryl. “Hustle!” adds Craig.

(Insert photo of the smug couple with matching tans, tattoos, and teeth.)

“Come on, they were just lucky!” I yell at my computer screen.

They didn’t work, or create anything … all they did was take on a lot of debt and rode their luck!

Well, let me show you what happens when your luck runs out, this time with a real couple: Michelle and Ian Tate.

In 2013, the Tates decided to expand their property portfolio … to five properties.

Despite the fact they had three young kids.

Despite the fact that they were relying on only one income, which was heavily dependent on a cyclical industry (mining, as a fly-in fly-out FIFO worker).

It didn’t take long for things to go (as my father would say) ‘tits up’.

So, who is to blame?

Well, the couple blame the bank for lending them the dough.

And so do their lawyers, Maurice Blackburn, who have made them the lead plaintiffs in their blockbuster Westpac class action with the charge of irresponsible lending.Hang on a moment.

If we’re talking about acting irresponsibility, how about not taking a few moments to question how their single wage could possibly feed both a family of five, and five properties. It’s not that hard. All they needed to do was click away from Facebook and head over to a Mortgage Calculator:

“Strewth! If interest rates go up by 0.1% the computer says we’re cactus!”

It seems to me that there was a healthy dose of greed and stupidity on both sides.

The banks closed their eyes and went on a borrowing binge to hit their profit targets ... and many borrowers did pretty much the same thing. (And now, in the circle of corporate life, the greedy lawyers are licking their chops at the chance of a big payday.)

Look, I’m a fan of kicking the banks, yet I’m an even bigger fan of personal responsibility. And the media? Well, it’s a fan of whatever gets the most clicks, which this week was, “Family’s $1.8m Westpac mortgage hell”.

Tread Your Own Path!

Honouring My Husband’s Legacy

Scott,

My husband passed away on New Year’s Day at the age of 37. I am 26 years old and for the past four years he and I have had full-time care of his daughter. The day before he passed, we listened to your audiobook. He was so excited to make the changes and had his ‘alpaca attitude’ on. Unfortunately, he did not have a will, and had eight super accounts. I am heartbroken but somehow need to sort this out. Any advice on where to go from here?

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I am so sorry for your loss.

The most important thing to do right now is look after yourself and your step-daughter.

The admin that’s required after someone dies can be overwhelming … especially when you’re grieving. So the best thing you can do is find someone (like a good friend or a trusted advisor) who can help you with it.

Your husband has died without a will (this is called dying ‘intestate’). You’ll need to apply for letters of administration. An administrator will then be appointed and your husband’s estate will be distributed based on a predetermined formula.

As for super, you’ll need to contact each of his super funds and ask what’s required to receive the ‘death benefit’ payment, which will be a combination of his final balance and any insurance held at the time of his death.

Finally, when you start to get on top of things follow the Barefoot Steps with all the ‘Alpaca Attitude’ you can muster.

You got this.

Scott

The Most Moving Message I Received in 2018

Throughout the year, I’ve received thousands of messages from Barefooters.

This is the one that moved me the most:

Dear Scott,

Five years ago our middle child was diagnosed with brain cancer, at five years old. We had to move to the city for his treatment, and my husband had to commute for work as much as our situation allowed. This meant we had to find funds for rent as well as mortgage and bills, all while living off a very limited wage. We didn’t even qualify for a credit card, though after reading your book I’m so glad we didn’t get one.

After our son passed away, we spent years trying to claw our way back from financial ruin, and it was near on impossible — until I was told about your book eight months ago. I thought I would struggle to read it (that the financial terms would go over my head), but you had me laughing, crying and captivated to the end.We honestly thought we were in for a lifetime of debt, but thanks to you we are already breathing easier. We are in a far better position than we were, and the improvements we’re making are noticeable. And with your new ‘Families’ book our children are learning to be smart with their money too. We’ve started the jam jars with our little ones, and our teens have both got jobs and set up their bank accounts to include savings. I am so proud of them and completely loving that I have been able to give them the headstart I never had.

I can honestly say that if not for your advice we would never have reached a position of financial freedom. So from the bottom of my broken heart, thank you.

Jennie

Thank you for writing, Jennie.

I’ve chosen your letter to end my column on for 2018 because you epitomise what Barefooters around the country are doggedly working towards: looking after their family, and gaining financial control.

That you’ve soldiered on through your heartbreak is a testament to your strength.

You Got This.

And to you ‒ the person reading this ‒ thank you for helping me spread my message to people like Jennie.

This wraps up my columns for the year. I’m taking the school holidays off to hang out with the family, and will be back ready and raring to go in 2019.

Tread Your Own Path!

Scott

The Giving Game

Hi Scott,

My daughter would like to donate the contents of her money box to a charity. I really want to take her to one in person, rather than doing it online, so she can be a part of the process. But I am finding it increasingly challenging to find information on where we can do this ‒ none of them seem to want to interact in person. Any ideas?

Jill

Hi Jill,

I think there are more meaningful ways to teach giving than handing over cash.

Instead, my experience is that food is the perfect way to teach your kids about giving.

Reason being, every kid knows what it’s like to be hungry: you can’t concentrate, and you’re irritable until you eat.

So, you can explain that on a typical day roughly three kids in her class will arrive at school hungry or without having eaten breakfast, according to Foodbank. (This explains why approximately 1,750 schools across the country have Breakfast Clubs, to ensure kids are getting their most important meal of the day. They’re in poor areas. They’re in wealthy areas. They’re in my home town.)You can also explain that just because you can’t see their tummies rumbling doesn’t mean they’re not hungry.Not only is food a powerful metaphor for kids, even better, your kid has the chance to do something about it.

Last year charities across Australia had to turn away 65,000 hungry people each month because there wasn’t enough food to go around.

However, there’s no need to start feeding the masses bread and fish like a motivated messiah.

Instead, when you’re next walking around the supermarket, ask your kids, “What can we buy for hungry people?”

You can donate things like canned foods, spreads, coffee, flour, sugar and baby food. Have your kids bring along some money from their Give Jar so they can buy food with their own money, and then on the way home you can drop it off at the local Foodbank warehouse, or your local community charity that distributes food in your area (you can find their contact details from your local council).

Scott

‘You need sleeping pills’, said my doctor

The Three Exams

Years ago, when I was cramming for my final VCE exams, I went to see my doctor.

I confessed to the old quack that I was stressed — wound up like a lacker band — and was having trouble sleeping.

He just started chuckling, and then pulled out his prescription pad:

“You need sleeping pills”, he said matter-of-factly.

Now, in hindsight, that was very bad advice.

Those pills were like horse tranquilisers. The first time I took one, I woke up 10 hours later with my face superglued to my textbook by my own drool. And to counteract the fogginess I began scoffing No-Doz caffeine tablets (one down from speed, one up from Red Bull). Seriously, my final year of school was like Charlie Sheen’s final season of Two and a Half Men.

Still, the good doctor gave me some wise advice that I’ve never forgotten:

“These high school exams aren’t nearly as important as you think. You’ll have much bigger ones in the future.”

The doc was dead right.

It was only as I got older that I realised that the really important exams ‒ the ones that will change your life forever ‒ don’t have a date, a time, or a room number. (And because of that, most people not only don’t study for them … they snooze through them, again and again.)

And given students across the country are sitting down to do their final exams this week, I thought I’d take you through them. The first life exam is finding a career you enjoy. The second, is to choose to become financially secure. The third, to invest in your family and friends. You’ll sit these three exams over the next decade (and beyond). Here’s how to ace them.

Your Career

The average Aussie teenager will have 17 different jobs, and five careers, in their lifetime, according to the Foundation for Young Australians.

Fair dinkum!

My first job out of uni was working on building sites with a joker called ‘Wolfy’ … who would (unsuccessfully) wolf-whistle at women who walked by. (True story: the day the Australian Stock Exchange called to tell me I’d secured a graduate position, I thought it was old Wolfy playing a trick on me, so I told them to bugger off.)

Anyway, while it’s very important to sidestep the working wolves, you don’t want to keep changing career like Australia changes prime ministers. Otherwise, you’ll never make a dent in the universe.

The smartest method I’ve found to think about such an overwhelming topic (what do I want to be when I grow up?) is to set aside an afternoon and do a thinking exercise that author Arun Abey calls ‘the three circles’:

“What am I deeply interested in?”

“How can I work, over many years, to become truly great at it?”

“How can I make enough money from doing it?”

Your killer career is found at the intersection of these three circles.

Your Financial Security

There are trophy degrees that will guarantee you a good income: medicine, engineering, finance, law. However, there’s no guarantee you’ll turn that good income into long-term wealth, and it’s certainly no guarantee that you won’t end up being ‘completely disengaged with your job’, as 70% of Australians apparently are, according to Gallup research.

Yet committing to being financially strong ‒ no matter what level your income ‒ will change the course of your life.
You’ll sit some form of this exam many times over your life: it starts the moment you get the letter from your bank saying “Congratulations, here’s your credit card!”, or when your employer automatically enrols you into their default high fee super fund.

The solution is to tell the bank you don’t do credit cards. And to tell your boss to put your super into a a low-cost super fund you’ve chosen yourself — then tick the ‘high growth option’ and let compound interest work its magic.

I like to think of compound interest like I do surfing. You put in a bit of effort paddling at the start, but when you catch a giant wave it carries you along without any effort. Which means that, instead of mucking around in the slushy waves later on in life, you get to lean back enjoy the ride.

Your Family and Friends

I’m totally unqualified to offer this advice, but I’ll give it anyway.

When you’re a teenager you think your friends will be around forever, because they always have been. However, unless you make a point of investing time in your friends, they’ll slowly drop away.

What does this have to do with money? Nothing. But it has everything to do with your long-term happiness. Wellbeing studies show that the happiest people are those with strong social bonds. Investing in your relationships, (especially your family) has the biggest payoff of all.

So there you have it. Sit these three exams and you may not receive a certificate in the mail, or attend a fancy ceremony when you ‘pass’ them. Yet the payoff is real. Because you won’t be one of those people who aces their ATAR exam and then snoozes through the exams that really matter ‒ and wake up 30 years from now and realise they’ve received an ‘F’.

Tread Your Own Path!

I’ve been a little low this week

I’ve been feeling a bit low lately.

My grandmother died last week, at the grand old age of 92.

My other grandmother died a few months ago, aged 93.

These two women shaped my life, and this week I’ve spent some time looking back at theirs.

These days it feels like we’re living through a time of rapid change: businesses are being disrupted, robots threaten to take our jobs, and your mother is now on social media (Hi Mum!).

Well, picture this:

Your family home doesn’t have a television. Or a refrigerator. Or a washing machine. Or an electric stove. Or air-conditioning. Or a husband, because he’s off fighting a deadly war in a place you’d never heard of.

Your home doesn’t even have the most important appliance: a flushing toilet. If you wake up and want to do your biz, you have to head out to the backyard with a candle and poop in a pot. A bloke empties it … once a week. (Can you imagine the smell after a week? Sure puts another spin on leaving the toilet seat up, right?)

Well, that was the life my grandmothers lived when they were raising my parents.

Now that is what you call massive change.

Look, things don’t change much year to year: there’s a new $2,300 iPhone that allows you to send a Poop Emoji. MySpace changes to Facebook. Cars get more safety features.

It’s only when you stretch out and look at the world over the course of somebody’s lifetime that you get a sense of how astonishing the changes have been.

Let’s face it: you wouldn’t trade lives with even the wealthiest people in the 1920s.

Especially if you were a woman.

My grandmothers were amazing country women who built loving families, yet truthfully they were never given the opportunity to do anything different.

Today their great-granddaughter — my daughter — has amazing opportunities they never had.

And that is one of the most exciting changes of all.

In loving memory of Kath and Lorna. Here’s to all the strong women!

Tread Your Own Path!

The Sunday Night Ritual

Hi Scott,

We are two weeks into our ‘Barefoot family experience’. The kids are excited to be doing chores (who would have thought?!), and doubly excited to be watching their money grow in their jars. They are even loving the cooking challenge, and I amazed myself by leaving meal preparation completely up to them.At age 42, this is the first time in my life I have had thousands of dollars in the bank, instead of living week to week. It’s a huge relief to know that “I’ve got this” and, even more importantly, to show my children how to be financially smart for life.

Ben

Hi Ben,

If you’re looking for a way to get a huge reward with very little effort, you’ve found it. You are changing your family tree every Sunday night, mate. That’s what it’s all about, right? Well done!

Scott

Can Grandparents Do This?

Hi Scott,

I ordered three copies of your book, one for each of my adult children, but I am worried they will be too busy to get time to read it. For my grandkids’ sake I really want them to actually do it! So my question is, is this something we should do as grandparents, or do you have another idea?

Barbara

Hi Barbara,

I’d say you have three options:

First, you can do it with your grandkids. Why not? It may well grow into a special bond that you create with them.

Second, you can read the book and break it down for your time-poor adult kids so that it’s really easy (all they need to get started is three jam jars and a scoreboard (you can print from my website ‒ www.barefootinvestor.com/resources ‒ for free). Then you can casually skip to Chapter 3: The Grandparents’ Dinner Party and introduce them to the concept of the Barefoot Money Meals while you’re enjoying your grandkids’ cooking!

Third, you can get them (your adult children, I mean) the audiobook and ask them to play it when they’re in the car.

Here’s to changing your family tree!

Scott