The fine print on Apple’s new credit card

Sir Richard Branson leaned across the table, smiled, and winked at me.

“It’s pretty sexy, right?”

In his hand was a credit card ‒ a Virgin credit card ‒ with an aesthetically revolutionary ‘clipped corner’.

That boozy night happened, from memory, about 16 years ago. At the time Branson was banging on about his card helping people, while simultaneously sticking it to the ‘fat cat banks’ (and making himself a boatload of cashola).

This week Apple announced it’s launching a credit card (only in the US to begin with), simply called ‘Apple Card’.

And it’s titanium, baby.

As in metal. Laser-etched. There are no numbers on the front ‒ which coincidentally makes it safe to show off on Instagram, if you’re so inclined (and the people who get this card most certainly will be).

And it’ll totally blow the mind of the 7-Eleven attendant when you plonk it down to buy some Cheezels:

Attendant looks down at shiny metal card … then looks up at you, slowly studying your face.

“Are you some kind of celebrity bigshot ... Mr Cheezel man?”

Yeah, no.

This week Apple CEO Tim Cook gushed about his new credit card: “While we all need them, there are some things about the experience that could be … so much better.”

Okay, so I’m going to pull you up on that one, Timbo. You actually don’t need a credit card. (Well, maybe if you’re spending $319 on wireless Airpods, which make you look like, to quote my old man, a “bloody drongo”.)

Strip out the metal and the marketing and this is just another ‘debt card’, and not a particularly revolutionary one: Apple’s fine print shows it charges up to 24.24% interest on the card. However, there are a couple of things they’re doing that are interesting:

The first is the tech: as you’d expect from Apple, they’ve got a great app for the card which allows you to easily categorise and track your spending, and ‘gamifies’ and personalises it to help you make better financial decisions. That being said, a lot of these features and tracking are already here in Australia with Up Bank. And within a couple of years, all banks will offer this.

The second is the card’s rewards system. They’re going with daily cashback instead of points. This makes total sense. Frequent Flyer points are s-o-o-o 2007. Banks and airlines have created their own confusing alternate currency for much the same reason that Zimbabwe issues trillion-dollar notes: to deliberately confuse the poor plebs who are forced to use it. Bottom line?

The Aussie banks will be disrupted over the next decade, make no mistake. However, I’m not sure it will be by Apple, who are just trying to fill another hole by building their ‘ecosystem’ as iPhone sales stagnate.

And remember: the Apple Card is still just a credit card. So while it’s a danger for our banks … it’s also a trap for iPhone users.

Tread Your Own Path!

Reminder: I first wrote about this years ago and highlighted the low costs. Today there are better deals on offer. How do I know? Because my readers constantly email me about them! So before you do anything, do a quick google.

Don’t Send Kids to the Coalmine, Barefoot

Hey Scott,

I just wanted to comment on your response last week to the letter from Alice the 15-year-old asking if she should get a part-time job. Could you please recommend that high school students work no more than 12 hours per week, unless they are happy to take a nose-dive in their education! Up to 12 hours per week can help them with time management and all your other points. But not more. And I know what I’m talking about: I am a teacher who sees the results of overworked students!

Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

I agree with you ‒ a few shifts on the weekend is more than enough. Really, you just want to get kids off their phones and work for a boss who will knock the ‘special snowflake’ out of them.

And here’s a tip for all those tired parents, which I call the ‘taxi rank’: shortlist the youth-friendly employers that are close to your home or the school. Think shopping malls, supermarkets, fast food joints and small businesses that you’re happy to taxi them to and from. Because you will!

Scott

How a Financial Advisor Can Make You a Millionaire

Hi Scott,

My daughter is a hardworking 22-year-old who lives in a share house. She is struggling with her living expenses.

(I pay for her weekly grocery shop, and she feels bad about it). She earns $3,068.32 after tax each month.

Here are her monthly expenses:

Rent $760
Financial advisor $190
Savings $400
Share portfolio $250
Insurance $58
Super $100

She feels grateful that her financial advisor has enabled her to do all this. Is there anything she could be doing differently?

Maria

Hi Maria,

The monthly expenses you’ve listed come to $1,758, which means your daughter has $327 a week to spend on food, booze, bills and transport. That’s doable. (I lived on less when I was 22, though admittedly I drank a lot of homebrew, ate spag bol most nights, and drove a 1966 XP Falcon that mostly ran on potato skins.)

Having said that, she needs to eat without resorting to dumpster diving. I’d suggest she looks at scaling back her saving for the moment rather than relying on you (of course a ‘care package’ from Mum now and then never hurt anyone).

Other than that, your daughter is an absolute bloody legend.Let me paint you a picture:

Let’s say she invests that $250 a month into the share market, from age 20 to 30 (starting from zero and assuming an 8% return) could grow to $43,460.

Then, at age 30, she stops saving, leaves the investments to grow, and never puts in another dollar.By the time she’s 65, that $43,460 will have grown to $642,571.

Noice … but let’s not stop there ‒ let’s make her a millionaire!

I’d suggest your daughter meets with her financial advisor ‒ who has done a terrific job setting her up ‒ and get her to have an awkward conversation with the advisor.

Play him Bette Midler if you want, and assure him ‘you’ll always be the wind beneath my wings ... but I ain’t paying you a monthly retainer anymore’. Then, she adds the $190 a month she’s paying to the advisor, and add it to her low-cost index fund.

If she does, her end balance will be boosted to $1,001,130.

Scott

I am NOT an Alcoholic

Scott,

I currently spend about $100 a week on alcohol ‒ it is pure habit and l love the taste too. I am not an alcoholic, but I do need some incentive to drop the habit, like a financial goal! What else could I be doing with that $100 that will give me the kick l need to replace booze with something more intoxicating?

Jane

Hi Jane,

I’m good, but I’m not that good.

There is nothing I can do with my trusty old Casio calculator that will beat the buzz you’re currently getting from boozing it up. (Case in point: on the form you submitted to ask your question on the Barefoot Investor website, there’s a box that says ‘Summarise your financial situation in one word’. You answered: ‘Tipsy’.)

At Barefoot, we talk a lot about having an Alpaca Attitude. It’s named after my two headstrong alpacas ‒ Pedro and Alberto ‒ who will spit, kick and stomp on anyone who tries to mess with their flock. In that regard, getting on top of your money isn’t that dissimilar to losing weight (see, I’m still hanging on to the Barefoot Bikini Challenge):

We all know what to do, but you need to come up with the why for you.

Scott

How a Barefooter lost 97 kilos, and saved fifteen grand in 18 months

I’ve decided to make a move into a new industry: health and fitness.

(I’ve even come up with a catchy name for my program: ‘The Barefoot Bikini Challenge’.)

Why am I so excited?

Well, I just read the following email from Claire, who has given me one of my most inspirational book testimonials yet.

Here it is:

“Hi Scott,“My fiancé and I started ‘going Barefoot’ in November 2017.

“At the time, we were living paycheque to paycheque at my in-laws’ house. I was also battling some demons in regard to my physical health, being obese at 170kg.

“Fast forward to now ‒ 18 months later ‒ and we have achieved the following:

• Paid for gastric sleeve surgery out of our own pocket ($5,000)

• Gone to America for three weeks

• Paid off one of our credit card debts ($3,000)

• Moved into our own property and bought brand-new furniture and appliances

• Paid for multiple things for our wedding using savings and not credit

• And ... still managed to save $15,000.

“What’s more, I have lost 96kg, which has eradicated my physical health problems. I have included photos from before and after starting Barefoot, because without your advice I don’t think I would have been able to have this surgery and achieve so much in such a short period of time!

Thank you,Claire”

Holy Guacamole!

96 kilos?

So, how did Claire nail the two biggest goals most people have (fitness and finances) in one hit, and so quickly?Well, it had nothing to do with fad diets or get-rich-quick schemes … which never work out in the long run.

And she certainly wasn’t spurred into action by continually beating herself up about her situation.

This reminds me of a book that legendary financial columnist John Beveridge wrote called Invest or Die.

Full. On.

Truth be told, my book has roughly the same stuff in it (just with less death threats and more date nights).

And the Barefoot approach worked for Claire:

She created rituals, like going to the pub for Barefoot date night. And while she was there she automated her finances so she didn’t have to rely on her willpower … or even think about her finances after it was set up. And the process of continual wins built up her confidence, little by little.

The outcome is that she’s not only changed her life, she’s saved her life.

Tread Your Own Path!

You’ll Be Proud of Me, Barefoot

Dear Scott,

I wrote to you when I was on maternity leave in October 2017 to tell you I had racked up a $17,000 credit card debt (you published my response as ‘Zero Balance Is a Trap’). Well, since returning from maternity leave I am down to my last $1,000 payment, I am winning at work, and I even have a new role! I followed all your steps ‒ I paid off $25,000 in debt, negotiated a pay rise, and paid for a wedding, all while managing a two-year-old. Honestly, Scott, you have changed the game for me and my family!

Natalie

Hi Natalie,

I didn’t do any of this, you did. A lot of people reading this right now who are just like you were may say their situation is hopeless. But you are inspiring them to get up and do something about it. What you’ve done at the start of your child’s life is to change your family tree ‒ from debt and disappointment to cash and confidence. Don’t underestimate just how much influence that will have on your kids.

You Got This!

Scott

The Perfect Barefoot Side Hustle

Scott,

I have come across a mob who are selling themselves as offering the “perfect Barefoot Side Hustle” with what they call “matched betting”. Is this is a scam? Or am I just a little too risk averse?

Jenny

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

I have a standing rule that I don’t Google myself, or read anything that’s said about me (good, bad or otherwise).

It keeps me (marginally) sane.

Yet what gets me all ‘Mark Latham’ is when insurance salespeople, mortgage brokers, financial planners, Bitcoin scammers, and even blokes on Tinder (!) use my name to sell their … junk.

Let me be clear: I have absolutely nothing to do with a gambling service.

Someone’s doing a hustle but it sure ain’t me!

Scott

Blow the Whistle

Hi Scott,

I’m 15 years old and do not have regular work, though I do umpire netball in the winter months, which earns me about $15 a game. I’ve just started Year 10 and will have a lot on my plate school-wise, and do not want my studies to suffer. Would you suggest I get a part-time job, or just keep up the casual netball work?

Alice

Hi Alice,

Good on you for (a) taking interest in sport, (b) earning some money out of it, and (c) emailing the Barefoot Investor for financial advice while you’re still in high school ‒ you’re awesome!

Yet I still want you to get a part-time job.

I view a part-time job as one of the most important ‘real life’ high school classes you can take.

Seriously, how else do you get the experience of selling yourself in an interview, working in a team, taking orders from a boss, and learning about setting up bank accounts, paying tax and eventually investing super?

Your parents should pay Ronnie McDonnie for the educational experience! Besides, you only need to do a few shifts a week, so it won’t interfere with your studies, and you can pare it back when you get into your final years of school.

Good luck!

Scott

Engagement Ring Going Cheap

Scott,

I am currently filing for divorce. My ex-husband rampantly cheated on me with a bunch of random women, and then had an affair with a graduate at his work. Beyond humiliating! So to my question: is there is anything sensible to do with an engagement ring once a marriage has ended, or should I just sell it for a pittance? I know you are not in the business of pawning jewellery, but I thought you may have been asked this question before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Tamsyn

Hi Tamsyn,

I’ve written a lot about ‘reject rings’ in the past: they’re great for the buyer … not so good for the seller.

If you’re getting divorced the ring could form part of the settlement. However, it’ll be valued at its resale price, not it’s initial purchase price or what it’s insured for.

So here’s what I’d do:

First, I’d talk to your ex-husband and explain that, while he’s hurt you deeply, there’s a part of you that will always cherish your relationship. And, because of the history you have, you’d like to keep the engagement ring as a memento of what has been a major part of your life.

Second, I’d get him to agree to let you keep the engagement ring from the settlement pool ‒ because of its sentimental value.

And then?

Then you hock the bloody thing for whatever you can get, and spend the money on two things:

(a) A very good lawyer

(b) An ‘eat, pray, love’ holiday.

After all, who needs a memento of this mongrel?

Scott

Let me tell you about the smartest 23-year-old woman I know:

Her name is Samantha, and she’s worked out a way to get a private 30-minute financial strategy session with me every single month. How much does she pay me?

Nutt’n.

In fact, I pay her $40!

Then again, she does wield sharp scissors and often holds a razor to my throat (so I’m the very definition of a captive audience).

Over the past few years I’ve heard about her on-again, off-again, on-again boyfriend (it’s my version of MAFS … each month I get a new episode). Yet over the past 12 months they’ve gotten engaged, and are now looking to buy.

She put in my lap a brochure from a new development on the ‘fringe’ of Melbourne.

“This joint looks more like the back of the mullet than the fringe”, I quipped (as she snipped dangerously close to my ear). “How much are you looking to spend?”

“We’re looking at places around $450,000, and we’ve saved up $50,000”, she said.

“That’s a great start, but not enough.”

“Well, we’ve already got pre-approval from the ANZ!” she countered.

“Did you have to submit payslips or any other documentation?” I asked.“Er … no.”

That, I explained, is the equivalent of a swipe right on Tinder: you’re not getting married, you’re simply in the ‘maybe’ pile. So I challenged her to spend the next month playing the field, and she dutifully went to two banks and a broker.

The response? “Yes ... no … and maybe."

Still, Samantha is in a rush, and she wants me to wave my magic wand and help her buy as soon as possible, “while prices are low.”

But here’s the interesting thing:

At 23, she has absolutely no concept of an economic downturn. In fact, even her parents, who are in their early forties, have never experienced a recession in their adult lives.

Let’s put that in perspective:

In the 1991 recession, Aussie property prices had their longest fall on record: 20 months of decline.

So how does that compare to today?

Well, nationally prices peaked in September 2017, which means they’ve been falling for 17 months.

However, I’d argue that this slump is only getting started, for three reasons:

First, the Reserve Bank suggests there are almost $500 billion in interest-only loans that are due to be reset to principal-and-interest in the next five years, which their analysis suggests will cost the typical borrower $7,000 more a year.

Second, interest rates are already at historical lows, so small rate cuts add up to only small repayment savings. And besides, it’s unlikely the banks will pass on the full rate cuts.

Finally, the upcoming federal election will likely bring a new government, and with it changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax (CGT).

As a result of all these factors, banks are being very cautious with their lending … and it’s the banks that ultimately control property prices, based on their willingness to lend.

Plenty of people who bought in the past two years are copping a buzzcut. That’s why my advice to Samantha -- and anyone else with less than a 20 per cent deposit -- is simple: there’s no rush!

Tread Your Own Path!

Confessions of an Afterpay Junkie

Dear Barefoot,

As someone who fell down the Afterpay rabbit hole and got stuck in a cycle for three years, I completely agree with what you are saying. I added up every single purchase I had made and found I had spent a disgusting $19,338.39 since April 2016! Seeing that figure was both humiliating and eye-opening. I realised I have a problem, so I have sent Afterpay an email to block any further transactions and to close my account when the current orders are paid off. I am gutted and ashamed that I have thrown away so much money ‒ I look around and cannot even tell you where it went. Afterpay is toxic.

Anna

Hi Anna,

Let’s look at the bright side: at least you didn’t do use a credit card.

I deal with shopaholics all the time, and their biggest bill is interest to the bank. However, what it sounds like you’re saying is that AfterPay got you into a merry-go-round of misery. At least you didn’t graduate from the weed to the heroin.

As I’ve said before, maybe in the future we’ll have before-and-after photos like they do with meth heads:

Before: This is excited Anna, aged 23, buying the cutest diamante collar for her pet pug on Afterpay.

After: This is agitated Anna, aged 24, buying dog food (for herself) with a Nimble loan.

Look, you’re never going to win if you don’t learn to stand on your own two feet and pay your own way. So good on you for getting clean!

Scott

Am I a Financial Drug Dealer?

Hi Scott,

I run a small online business with my wife. While I do not use Afterpay myself, we do offer it as a payment option for our customers. Does this make us financial ‘drug dealers’? I admit it makes me uneasy, but it has boosted our sales and I am afraid customers would turn to a competitor if we did not offer it. What would you say to merchants like us who feel stuck in the middle?

Pete

Hi Pete,

You’re right, there is a financial drug dealer here ‒ but it’s not you ‒ it’s Afterpay.

Founder Anthony Eisen told me over lunch that, after Google, Afterpay is now the biggest referrer of leads to retailers in Australia. And as a result they’ve now got a lot of retailers hooked on their drug: millions of shopping-happy millennials.

You’re currently paying Afterpay a percentage of each sale. Well, tech companies have learned a trick from drug dealers, and they have a track record of jacking up their prices once the addiction takes hold, to capture more of your margin. Google did it. Facebook did it.

Will Afterpay do it? Time will tell.

Yet one thing you should be very clear on: they are not your friend.

Scott

My experience with dumpster diving

There have been a couple of times in my career that I’ve come across a subculture.

The first was right back when I began: people who would write to me about my … feet. Yep, that’s a thing. Some people get their socks off looking at bare feet in the newspaper.

The other was a few weeks ago when I got a question from uni student Tim, who said he ‘dumpster dived’ for food.

I thought he was joking … yet little did I know that I was myself about to get binned like a bent banana.

The email responses came in like two-day-old loaves of bread:

“Dude, you don’t know what dumpster diving is? I earn $180,000 a year, and yet on my days off I go to the local Woolies bin around midnight for all the eggs, bread, pink milk (not expired), and slightly spoiled but still good fruit and veges.” (This person signed off as ‘Dumpster Diving Till I Die’, which may be tempting fate.)

As I dived into the subject, I discovered that the devotees of this movement even have a name: ‘freegans’.

Yet my favourite freegan was Benjamin, aka ‘Binjamin the Raccoon’, who wrote: “I live almost entirely out of rescued food from the bin (plus some home-grown veg). Every day, I systematically take all the food from two dumpsters and distribute it out to feed probably 20 struggling families per week, as well as bread for farmers’ livestock.”

Okay, so that’s actually pretty cool.

So this week I grabbed my five-year-old son and we went dumpster diving at the back of an inner city KFC — “It’s finger-lickin’ good, mate!”

Okay, so we didn’t do that. (My wife doesn’t allow us to eat KFC, let alone from a dumpster.)

Yet we did go on a father-son trip to Australia’s largest hunger relief not-for-profit, Foodbank, who each month help feed over 700,000 Aussies.

The reason I had my son come along was twofold: first, he loves factories, forklifts and donning high-vis vests. Yet, more importantly, it was also my first step in a long journey to making sure he doesn’t become an entitled brat.

And Foodbank is an awesome way to teach kids one of the fundamental keys to happiness: generosity.

See, the hidden crisis in this country is that one in five kids live in ‘food insecure’ households.

No, it’s true.That explains why in Victoria they are expanding the ‘Breakfast Club’ program to be in 1,000 schools.On our way to the factory I asked my son if he remembered what it feels like to be hungry.

“Yes, it’s hard to think, and I get angry because I have a sore tummy”, he said.

“Well chances are that some of your classmates arrive at school with those tummy rumbles. You can’t see it, of course, and your mates may be too embarrassed to talk about it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening”, I said.

Then I explained that he could help these kids by buying food, and having Foodbank deliver it.

It was like seeing a lightbulb go off in his little head: he got it.

Even better, he’d brought along his Give jar and proudly gave some of his pocket money.

Now that’s a subculture I’m proud to be part of.

Tread Your Own Path!

Fighting the Fire

Hi Scott,

Earlier this week I lost my rental house and most possessions in the Bunyip State Park fires. I just wanted to say that reading your book earlier this year has helped me deal with what I’m going through. I have a much more positive attitude having read your own fire story. This book helped on a different level than finances. Thank you!

Lucy

Hey Lucy,

My heart goes out to you.

For us it felt that part of our identity was lost in the fires … photos, family heirlooms, all our possessions.

What helped us was framing the experience as part of our story: we got knocked down, but that we got up again.

That’s what life is about … rising from the ashes and saying “I got this”.

You Got This.

Scott

Are Charities Ripping Us Off?

Hi Barefoot,

Do you know of any charities which do not have highly paid CEOs and numerous other well-paid staff? l would like to make a donation to charities where all the money goes to the people who need it, rather than paying managers and having only the leftovers go to actual charity. What’s your advice?

Ruby

Hi Ruby,

You need to think of it like you’re making an investment, because that’s essentially what it is.

(Instead of generating a positive financial return, you’re hopefully generating a better world.)

And when it comes to investing I’ve never once said: “I only invest in companies where the CEO and the management are paid peanuts!”

Still, while there are 2,500 companies to invest in on the stock market ... there are 56,000 registered Aussie charities! So there’s a lot of charity chaff to wade through. Here’s how I went about it when I chose a charity to support:

First, I focused my efforts on one area I was really passionate about, rather than spraying it around. For me, that was supporting people in financial hardship. For you, it will be something else. What matters is that it matters deeply to you.

Second, I researched the programs in that sector that were getting cut-through. Before I made my ‘investment’, I read through their annual reports and interviewed the senior managers: Were they switched on? Did they have a compelling vision? Did I honestly believe they had the chops to achieve their vision?

Finally, after making my ‘investment’, I have continued actively monitoring their progress, just like I do with my portfolio of shares. And I can tell you that the kick I get from supporting great people doing amazing things has been just as rewarding as my portfolio.

Scott

My Son Likes You, But He’s an Idiot

Barefoot,

My university-educated adult son read your book. It seems to have inspired him, maybe a little too much. I have had to sit down and set him straight on what you got wrong in your book, namely your blind faith in, as you call it, ‘low-cost index funds’. This is terrible advice! It is not hard to find professional fund managers who consistently outperform the indexes, and you are doing a disservice to your readers by not highlighting that. As I explained to my son, you are committing them to a lifetime of mediocrity!

David

Hi David,

Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to your email ‒ I’ve been saving this one up.

See, ratings agency Standard and Poor’s have a scoreboard that tracks how professional fund managers in Australia perform against a basic index tracker fund, and this week they released the results for 2018.

(Drum roll.)

Last year 87% of actively managed Aussie share funds failed to beat a simple, ultra-low-cost index fund.

It’s kind of staggering when you think about it.

In what other industry do professionals offer so little value to their customers? (Okay, well apart from politics.)

After all, aren’t they highly intelligent people with (often) masters degrees and decades of experience? Who work 12 hours a day poring over companies’ financial reports? And yet consistently get trounced by a computer that simply buys every stock in an index? And why am I ending each sentence with a question mark?

Like you, I have a son, though he’s only three, so we listen to a lot of Wiggles.

Our favourite song?

The Wonder of Wiggle Town: “The kittens hide, the mice all hunt … the spoons are sharp, the knives are blunt … it's back to front.”

Now I don’t want to get all Wiggly on you Dave, but the Singing Skivvies’ song has similarities with the stock market: what you call mediocrity ‒ investing in a low-cost index fund ‒ is, ironically, the surest way to win on the stock market.

Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga!

Scott

The man who made $54 million before lunch

Last Monday, I broke bread with a bloke who’d just made $54 million … before lunch.

True dinks.

His name is Anthony Eisen and he’s one of the founders of Afterpay.

And he’s very, very rich.

Yet a few years ago he was like any other dad living in the burbs. As he’d turn out the lights at night, he’d notice there was always one light glowing across the street. It came from the room of Nick Molnar, a kid in his final year of uni who lived with his parents.

“Probably studying for his exams”, thought Eisen.

One day Eisen got talking to Nick, who explained he stayed up all night working on his eBay jewellery store. Yet the real jewel that caught young Nick’s eye was a groundbreaking payment system for his store:

“You buy something, and then you make a series of payments … but there’s no interest”, Nick told his neighbour.

“Ummm, that’s actually been around for years. It’s called lay-by”, said Eisen.

That conversation happened about four years ago in a sleepy suburban street in Melbourne.

Today, the Afterpay Touch Group is one of Australia’s fastest growing companies, worth over $4 billion.

So, how did they do it?

Well, the genius of Afterpay is that it looked at credit from the customer’s point of view.

The traditional credit model involves screwing the customer: think credit cards, personal loans, and so-called ‘interest free’ deals. Millennials have worked this out, and shun credit as a result.

Afterpay screws the retailer instead.It charges the shop a 4% commission on goods that are Afterpaid (it’s a verb, apparently). The customer then pays off the purchase in four fortnightly instalments. And if they pay on time, there are no fees, and no interest. Think of it as a modern-day version of lay-by with a millenial twist ‒ you get the goods immediately.

Clearly it’s a better option than a credit card, or a personal loan, or anything old Gerry Harvey has come up with.

So here I was meeting up the man who started it all … and I found out that, like me, he’s on a mission to help young people with their money.

“We’re here to help people, it’s in our DNA!” Eisen told me, sounding positively Zuckerberg-ian.

“Steady up, cobber”, I replied.

Here was another fabulously rich white tech dude who was saving the world … one short-term loan at a time.It’s my job to needle these visionaries on their ‘new new’ money thing.Look, there’s no denying that Afterpay has transformed the way millenials shop.

However, I’ve learned that with these ‘new new’ things, it takes a while for the ‘bad bad’ to show up. (Case in point: Mark Zuckerberg started out with the simple, wholesome aim of ‘making the world more connected’ ‒ and look where that got him.)

Specifically, what happens when you train a generation to spend money they don’t have?

Because, make no mistake, that’s where we’re headed:The majority of Afterpay’s 2.6 million customers are millennials.

Eisen told me that the average outstanding balance for a customer is just $208.Yet many are on a merry-go-round ‒ 90% of Afterpay’s transactions are from repeat customers.

The result?

Late last year ASIC found that one in six of millenials who use ‘buy now, pay later’ services like Afterpay are in financial strife … getting overdrawn, delaying bills, or borrowing more.

And that’s why I call Afterpay the ‘marijuana of credit’ ‒ my point is that, once you get hooked on spending someone else’s money, there’s every chance you’ll graduate onto harder stuff.

Still, I seem to be in the minority. That very morning that I met Eisen, the Senate inquiry into the ‘buy now pay later’ industry had left Afterpay off the hook from tougher regulation, which predictably caused the share price to rocket. In turn, Eisen, already one of the wealthiest men in Australia, was $54 million richer that day, at least on paper.

At the end of our lunch the waitress came over with the bill.“I’ll pay”, said Eisen.

“No, I’ll pay … with cash!"

Tread Your Own Path!

P.S. Afterpay is a hot button for plenty of people ‒ I’ve been inundated with emails. So this week I’m devoting my questions to it. And to kick it off, someone who is clearly a fan ...

Fearless Despite the Floods

Hi Scott,

It is 3am and I am wide awake checking the river levels from a mate’s house to see if our house has gone under yet — a bloody stressful time for our town (Townsville). Yet one thing I do not have to worry about is my important documents and my most cherished items. My ‘Fearless Folder’ and valuable are with me in my waterproof safe.

Once this mess is all over my kids have already decided that their Give jar will be going towards the recovery of Townsville for as long as it is needed. That makes my heart smile as they themselves may end up losing their possessions. These two things are giving me hope in a pretty crappy time. I thank you for that, and have no doubt there are many in Townsville doing the same.

Andrea

Hey Andrea,

Your joint’s flooding and you’re emailing me?

Seriously, I love the fact that you’re so calm in the face of a disaster: that’s what happens when you’ve got your money sorted, and your plan in place. Even better, you’re turning this into a powerful life lesson that you’re kids will remember.

You Got This!

Scott

Crypto Low

Hi Scott,

I have always put my savings in a long-term deposit bank account. However, starting about 12 months ago, I decided to use half of this money to invest in cryptocurrencies, and this resulted in a 90% loss. I then used the remaining of my savings in some blue-chip ASX shares that have delivered a 25% loss. Of my original $40,000 I currently have just $10,000! Should I accept this loss, cash out, and put my $10,000 back in the bank -- or hold?

Phil

Hi Phil,

Holy Moly.

This year really has been your ‘annus horribilis’, to quote the Queen. Now given your experience, you probably think everything is a scam. However, please don’t confuse punting on crypto and investing in shares. The small, but fundamental difference is that you are becoming a part-owner in a (hopefully) profitable business, that (hopefully) pays you a growing dividend.

So, what would I do?

Well, after suffering a 90% loss on your crypto, I’d mentally write them off as worthless, but continue holding them just in case crypto madness returns. However I’d hold and add to the blue chips over time. It’s the slow and steady accumulation of dividends that will make you wealthy. The rest is just noise.

Scott

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