Am I a Greedy Landlord?

Scott,

I own an investment property in an area where rent prices have basically doubled during COVID. Do I keep my good tenant of nearly 10 years who is now on very, very low rent, or chuck him out to cash in on the double dollars with new tenants? The tenant could actually be making money as he has two rooms to sublet, and the rent from these could exceed the entire rental. The rent is actually so low now that it is embarrassing me — I feel stupid!

Helen

Hi Helen

You’re embarrassed? Really?!

Helen, there are plenty of things you could be sheepish about, but this is not one of them.

Helen, stomp your hoof, you’re a rolled gold daddy ram!

Here’s another way to frame your situation:

You’re a savvy investor. The value of your property probably went up 30% over the COVID period, while you were still able to provide a secure roof over the head of your tenants who were likely going through a really stressful time.

Am I saying you should let them rent it out well below the market rate?

No.

What I am saying is that you renegotiate while also being considerate of the people who’ve been paying off your investment. If they’ve been good tenants and have maintained your property well, they’ve earned the right to sit down and make a fair deal with you. Good tenants are hard to find. Giving a little often goes a long way.

Baaa!

Scott.

I’m All Ears

Hi Scott,

My nine-year-old daughter started a business making earrings and hair-ties last year during lockdown. It’s grown so much she now has a few thousand dollars in her bank account! We have an agreement that she must split the money into reinvesting in her business, saving for the future, and saving for a short-term goal like an iPad (which she actually brought at the end of last year as a reward for hard work). Given the rate her business is going, I’d like to help set her up more for the future, but I’m not sure how to go about it, as I’ve never done this myself. I’m probably not the best role model for money with her. Can you provide any advice?

Tammy

Hi Tammy

Oh I LOVE THIS.

Let me tell you a little secret: you don’t need to know all the answers.

As parents we feel like we should, yet it’s usually better to work alongside your kids and help them work it out themselves. This is exactly what my next book is about. And I’d like your daughter to be a part of it!

So I’ll put my hand up to be both a customer (my wife likes earrings) and her financial coach.

I’ll be in contact next week.

Scott.

How you can move into a million dollar dream home, today

He doesn’t buy craft beers. She sips Nescafé Blend 43 from a tin.

They live in a feral sharehouse, all so they can save $623 a week to put towards their house deposit.

And here’s the kicker:

While they scrimp and save … the prices of properties around them are going up $1,990 a week.

Do you see what’s happening?

Despite all their hard work and sacrifice … they’re going backwards.

There’s no celebratory champagne after winning the auction … just second-rate slurps from a dirty teacup in a sharehouse … and the sinking feeling they’ll NEVER crack the market.

And then, in their darkest hour, there is hope:

A few weeks ago there was a spot on the nightly news that talked about a brand new product called OwnHome (backed by CommBank), which promises to “save for your dream home, while you live in it, meaning you can kiss the renter’s life goodbye”.

Understandably, it caused my inbox to light up like a kid on Coco Pops.

Here’s the guts of how OwnHome works:

OwnHome buys your dream home and rents it to you for three to seven years.

The rent is expensive. On a $1 million home, you’d pay $70,500 a year. A large part of that rent goes to OwnHome, while a smaller part goes to building up equity in the property.

You agree to buy the property from OwnHome in, say, five years for $1.2 million. (Because OneHome sets the price, you’ll pay for the home at the start of the contract; currently they increase it by 3.8% a year).

And, if you’d done this deal five years ago, you’d be well ahead.

So is this really a breakthrough product?

Not really.

Despite OwnHome’s fintech vibes, and the fact it was on the news, this is not a new strategy. It’s called ‘rent to buy’ and it’s been around long before Billy Ray had an achy breaky heart.

Straight up: I’m not a fan (of Billy Ray, or rent to buy).

Why?

Let me count the reasons:

First, because there’s a power imbalance

The sellers (like OwnHome) are generally savvy investors who set the terms of the deal in their favour. Whereas the renters are making an emotional decision which is often driven by FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

Second, because there’s a chance the renters could lose everything

Over the years I (like many other financial counsellors) have helped renters who got an achy breaky heart on these deals. How does that happen, Billy Ray?

Well, if interest rates go up and house prices go down:

You risk not being able to afford (or being able to qualify for) a home loan to buy it (OwnHome is not a lender). You also risk overpaying for a home that’s dropped in value since you agreed to buy it.

And here’s the stinger: if you walk away from the house, you also walk away from all the dough you’ve put towards it. In the example I used above, that would translate to around $165,000.

In other words, the $165,000 you’ve put towards the home would be goneski, and you wouldn’t be able to use it to purchase another, cheaper home.

Third, because you’re probably better off renting and saving

Get this: OwnHome itself admits that “in many situations using OwnHome is slightly more expensive on a monthly basis than renting and saving”.

Or, in other words, don’t believe everything you see on the nightly news!

Tread Your Own Path!

Stuck in Reverse

Hi Scott,

My daughters swear by your advice and said I should run our problem past you. My husband and I are in our eighties and have had a reverse mortgage for 12 years, without paying anything back. We are getting worried that the longer we live, the less our three kids and their families will end up with when we are gone. I rang the bank and asked if they could lower the interest rate but the answer was “no”. Do you have any suggestions?

Launa and Reg

Hi Launa and Reg,

Reverse mortgages are the financial equivalent of a rottweiler dressed up as labrador:

Essentially the bank gives you a lump of dough, and you don’t have to pay anything back.*

(*But the bank charges fees, plus an interest rate that is generally higher than a home loan.)

Nice doggie!

The bite comes years down the track when people find that the bank owns much more of their home than they thought possible; they’ve experienced compound interest in reverse.

Because of this, reverse mortgages taken out from 18th September 2012 have had to include a ‘negative equity protection’ so you can’t end up owing the bank more than your home is worth. However, you may have missed out on this important safeguard.

The fact is that a reverse mortgage is a very complex dog, and one that was pushed on a lot of retirees without a lot of explanation. So, I’d like you to ring 1800 007 007 and speak to a not-for-profit financial counsellor who will be able to read through your contract and see if there are grounds to push back and negotiate with your lender.

Scott.

So My Husband Spent my Redundancy on Grog

Dear Scott,

I just discovered that my husband of seven years, and the father to my children, has spent half of my $40,000 redundancy on grog and other rubbish. I suppose it’s my fault for trusting this man (a former accountant!) with our family finances. The trouble is, bill-paying gives me anxiety, and I am useless with numbers. I’ve always been ‘kept’. My question is: what’s the best way to set up bill payments and track where our money is going? Feeling very overwhelmed right now.

Renae

Hi Renae,

Let’s flip it.

Your stress and anxiety are coming from doubting your husband, and yourself.

I understand how overwhelming it must be for you right now, so let’s start at the beginning.

Step 1: Schedule a Barefoot Date Night. Bring a copy of my book, or listen to it via audiobook on the way.

Step 2: Set up your buckets. Look at your daily expenses that are going into your ‘Blow’ bucket and see how much, as a percentage of your income, that’s taking up, and go from there. You don’t need to do a spreadsheet. You don’t have to track every last cent. I’ve never had the self-discipline to do it, and I don’t expect you to either.

Step 3: Let me tell you a little secret: it’s not really about the money. Once you get on top of things it’s going to change how you look at your husband, and most importantly yourself.

Scott.

This could change everything

Let me tell you about Mark Zuckerberg’s favourite book … and how it could change your world.

It’s a science fiction novel, written in the nineties, called Snow Crash.

And it’s actually become an underground cult hit in Silicon Valley, for reasons you’ll soon understand.

Here’s the premise of the book:

The global economy is in ruins, and governments have lost their power to a handful of giant corporations (sound familiar?). To escape their depressing reality people don augmented reality goggles and slip into an alternate internet-enabled universe, which they call … the Metaverse.

Zuck loves the idea of the Metaverse so much that he’s making it a reality: he’s not only rebranded Facebook as Meta, but he announced he’s spending ten billion bucks this year alone building the Metaverse.

Sadly investors didn’t like the idea of Snow Crash … and instead turned it into a share crash:

Last Thursday Meta’s shares suffered the largest one-day crash in US corporate history. The internet giant’s shares plunged 26%, wiping more than $US240 billion off its market value.

And the great cyborg-CEO personally took a $29 billion haircut.

Interestingly, Bloomberg reported that Zuck held an ‘all hands’ staff meeting the following day where sources said he appeared red eyed, wore glasses, and warned his team that he may tear up because he had “scratched his eye”.

Uh-huh.

(Mate, it’s okay to cry, you just rubbed out two Gina Rineharts in one day!)

Here’s my take:

Zuckerberg – the boy wonder billionaire – is losing for the very first time in his career.

See, today, the most successful site on the web isn’t Facebook, or Google or Instagram, it’s Tik Tok.

The Chinese app is currently adding eight users each and every second, and the overwhelming majority are kids. (Meanwhile your Aunty Karen is ranting about face masks on Facebook.)

So, rather than compete head on with Tik Tok, Zuck seems to be doubling down on what made him a billionaire:

Capturing, and then exploiting, our attention.

“From the very beginning our main objective was how do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?” admitted Sean Parker, Facebook’s founding president.

And it worked shockingly well.

The average Aussie now spends 5.5 hours per day on their phone, which equates to 16.6 years – or around 33% of their waking life staring at a screen – according to a study by Reviews.org.

Yet it’s not enough. It’s never enough.

The next play is to suck you into your phone and engulf you in a virtual reality – the Metaverse – that you rarely come out of. And Mark Zuckerberg’s megalomaniac ideas (and those of his other tech-tobacco farmers) will control and monetise everything.

Okay, so I admit that this is all sounding a little like a weird sci-fi novel, so I caught up with a very successful tech entrepreneur I know, who cashed out of his last tech business for a cool $200 million, to discuss the Metaverse.

He put it this way:

“If you have a teenage kid, you have likely already experienced a version of the Metaverse: online gaming. Kids go into that world and don’t come out for hours … even days”, he said.

“Yet, thankfully, no one really trusts Meta …”, he said reassuringly.

But then he added:

“... however, if Apple releases its rumoured virtual reality glasses … humanity is screwed.”

Tik. Tok.

Tread Your Own Path!

Update: ‘Rich Girl Loses it All’

Hi Scott,

We met five years ago at a book signing at Dymocks in Melbourne. I told you that I felt like Barefoot was the financial parent I never had. I admitted to you that I was extremely spoiled, always getting whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. That changed when I was 14 and my father died, and I found myself on the streets, where I had $1.92 in my bank account, and was at a crisis point … when I found you.

So let me give you an update on what I’ve been doing for the past five years: I have worked six days a week at a bookkeeping job. I have now saved up enough Mojo to cover my income for two years, which will allow me to study full time to get a Bachelor of Commerce. Never have I felt so free as I do now. Even better, my partner and I are about to buy our first home. Thank you so much!

Courtney

Hi Courtney,

I remember you!

I was wondering how you would go turning things around after experiencing so much trauma in your life.

And now I have my answer.

You Got This!

Scott.

Anti-Vaxxer Worries About Getting Sick

Hi Scott,

I have been fired due to vaccination mandates. I wonder how this will impact my insurance within my superannuation? Will I lose my insurance? Or will it affect my permanent disability insurance? What advice do you have for those of us out of work?

Alex

Hi Alex,

Great question. Just being fired doesn’t stop your insurance within super.

However, by law, super funds will cancel insurance on accounts that haven’t received a contribution for at least 16 months. They’ll write to you before they do it, but it’s good to be on the front foot. If you want to keep your insurance, you’ll need to call your super fund and/or make a contribution to your account.

Scott

I’ve Uncovered an Awesome Travel Tax Rort

Scott,

I am seeking confirmation of a tax rort that would help everyone who is looking to travel. Have I been living in a cave? I’ve recently been advised that if you can incorporate a personal/professional development component relevant to your job while on holidays and you can then claim part of it as a tax write-off. Example: a prison officer (me) travels overseas on holidays and visits Alcatraz and speaks to someone regarding their role and the differences we face, and this could be considered professional development. Is this right?

Dirk

Hey Dirk,

I’m guessing you got that tax advice from some of the white-collar crims you’re watching over, right?

Because it’s not correct.

First, you need to prove there is a direct connection between your job and the expense – and I highly doubt that having a yack to another screw in the States would cut it with the taxman.

Second, even if you can prove it, you’ll need to apportion it appropriately. In other words, you may be entitled to claim the cost of the entrance ticket to Alcatraz as a tax deduction … but not the $3,000 in international flights, accommodation and minibar.

Scott.

Barefoot, You Offer the WORST Advice I Have EVER Heard

Scott,

I have to respond to your advice last week where the husband had lost $57,000 trading crypto. That was literally the worst ‘non-advice’ I have ever heard in my life! You don't even know what he was trading, for one. If he's invested in blue chip top 10 cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana) then, for the most part, it’s a long-term strategy like with any other stock. Giving non-advice like this is just making that woman panic and will probably result in her persuading her husband to sell at a huge loss. I call it non-advice because your advice, “invest your short-term savings in your bank account” – with 0.01% interest per year! Seriously!?

Elliott

Hi Elliott,

Seriously.

Look, I have no problem with people buying magical dog coins or anything else that tickles their greed gland.

But I wouldn’t be risking my house deposit on it.

If you’re ‘banking’ on the money being there within a few years to buy a house, you really should protect that capital, even if it means you’re not earning interest.

That’s just common sense, I would have thought.

Scott.

So My Husband Revealed His Debts

Scott,

After I finished your book I asked my husband to come clean on our finances, as we had had separate accounts. And O.M.G. his credit card debts were out of control! I told him “we are a team or it’s over”. Then I got him to read your book. Then I got the kids to read the book (I was honest with them about our finance mistakes). Then we slowly turned our situation around together. We no longer have any murky undertow in our relationship, and we are happily married again. Thank you!

Belinda

Hey Belinda,

That’s epic.

You not only saved your finances, you likely saved something much more valuable: your family. And while I’m handing out the high-fives, good on you for being honest with your kids about your financial mistakes. That’s a teachable moment. I often get parents to blend up their credit cards in front of their kids while they tell them “from now on our family doesn’t do debt”. That’s a powerful visual lesson that helps kids not repeat your money mistakes.

Scott.

Let Me Entertain You

At the park, my kid started playing with his kid, so we began chatting.

He told me he was in the ‘lifestyle marketing’ business. I told him I was in the ‘fat lambs’ business.

Meanwhile, his wife appeared to be working very hard on taking photos of their kids.

“Instagram”, he nodded. “She’s got quite the following”, he added proudly.

“That’s interesting. I think I have 500,000 followers on Facebook”, I said.

At that point he stopped talking, turned, and stared at me like I was a fat lamb.

“Really?”

“Really, though I haven’t really posted much for a year … or maybe two.”

And at that point he began licking his lips. He was about to smother me in marketing mint jelly:

“You could get paid … like … fifteen hundred bucks for ONE POST. You have a brand, so all you need to do is engage your audience each day with a mix of inspirational content and sponsored posts. The key is to be aspirational. Post lots of videos and pics of your family. With that follower count you’ll have advertisers beating down your door”, he gushed.

“Well, that sounds absolutely … horrible”, I said.

Look, there’s a reason I don’t post much on social media: the only thing I dislike more than social media influencers and so-called celebrities is the social media companies that profit from them.

After all, leaked internal research from Facebook (now Meta) found that most users feel worse when they see celebrities and influencers in their feeds … because they compare themselves and come up short.

So let’s you and I take a look at a traditional social media status-anxiety-inspiring post:

“Let me entertain you! Robbie Williams shows you through his $50 million Hollywood Hills mansion.”

On Instagram, superstar Robbie Williams showed his fans through his Hollywood mansion. Wearing a cowboy hat and leopard-skin undies, the singer strutted us across his 20 acres of manicured gardens, with pools, tennis court, and home that’s so humungous it has 27 toilets.

The takeaway?

Robbie’s rich, famous, cool enough to pull off budgie smugglers in public, and is altogether living a fabulous life … and you’re a loser, schlepping around your dump (with one loo) in your trackies.

Okay, so here’s what living ‘the good life’ looks like in reality.

On the ‘This Past Weekend’ podcast, Robbie was candid about the realities of owning the mansion:

“What I didn’t take into account is that house insurance is $700,000 a year. Taxes are $400,000 a year. And I need two gardeners, three housekeepers, a house manager, security detail, and two nannies. I walk into the kitchen and there are eight people there … and none of them are my family. It’s a life tax … a head tax … you just can’t enjoy it.”

Later in the podcast Robbie admitted he suffers anxiety and depression … and rarely leaves his home.

In other words, while you sit on your throne scrolling through your feed, poor old Robbie is anxiously trying to take a dump in a different dunny each day to get his money’s worth.

Okay, so that’s Robbie. You don’t compare yourself to him. Yet it all filters down on social media.

Case in point: how much do Aussies think they need to live ‘the good life’?

According to a News.com.au article, it’s $326,900 per year.

That’s five times the average Aussie wage.

Worse, one in four respondents said they’d need five hundred grand a year to stop feeling povo.

That’s totally out of whack.

My view is that life is infinitely better when you tune out of toxic social media. The only influencer opportunity I’m focused on right now is being a good dad to my kids.

Tread Your Own Path!

The Seven-Year-Old Financial Advisor

Dear Scott,

I am a seven-year-old who lives in Tasmania. I have read all your books and shared them with my mum. This is helping her pay her debts, and I will make sure she gets a super account. I own a small business (for pocket money) but I don’t know the business laws and I would like it if you wrote a book on what you can and can’t do in business.

Michael

Hi Michael,

Thank you for sharing my books with your mum, and for nagging her to set up a low-cost super fund.

You’re a good son!

In terms of writing a business book for kids, well, I’ll let you in on a little secret:

I’m writing one.

Late last year, my son, who’s roughly the same age as you (you two would get along so well), started asking me lots of questions about setting up his own business.

We had so much fun discussing it, I decided to write a book about it.

Watch this space.

Scott.

Top of the World

Hi Barefoot,

I’m in the fortunate position of being about to receive a windfall on the sale of my business of $10 million. This is great but I don’t want to stuff it up from here! I’m only 45, with a wife and four kids, and I don’t know how to invest this. I’ve been badly burnt by financial advisors in the past so I’m reluctant to hand any of it over to some random to control. What should I do? Our only asset is our family home, worth $1.4 million with a loan of $700,000. What should I do?

Tom

Hey Tom,

Great stuff!

With ten big ones (well, call it nine-and-a-bit after you pay out the mortgage and buy some fancy stuff like cars, holidays and thermomixes), you need to have a strong understanding of what tools you need. Otherwise the finance industry will be very happy to sell you expensive magic wands.

With that in mind, here are a few things to think about:

Getting rich is different to staying rich:

You got rich by stacking all your chips on one business, but to stay rich you’ll need to spread your chips across thousands of businesses – preferably by investing in low-cost domestic and international index funds.

Don’t sell the farm:

Think of your share portfolio like a farm that provides you with a golden harvest of dividends each year (in your case around $300,000 a year!). Spend the yearly harvest, but never, ever sell the farm.

Get yourself a lawyer, son:

Even if you spend all your dividends, your kids still stand to inherit a $30 million (or more) fortune in the future. A family trust can help both protect your assets and minimise their taxes. You’ll need a lawyer for this.
Finally, keep working:

You need to find something that gets you out of bed each morning. This time round you don’t need to do it for the dough, though. Do it to make a difference.

Scott.

My latest phone trick

Liz walked into the bedroom with tears in her eyes.

I glanced up at her and my heart went into my mouth: she was waving a stick at me with two lines.

“You’re pregnant?! Again?!” I screamed.

“No, I have COVID!” she screamed back.

“Oh, well thank god for that” I said, visibly sighing.

(Which in hindsight was not the response she was looking for at that moment.)

Little did we know, the next week was about to get much worse.

That’s because everyone in our family got struck down … well, except me.

What are the chances?

By Wednesday I was strutting around like I’d won first prize on Survivor. Liz had a hunch and suggested I get some ‘proper testing’ at a drive-through.

So I did.

After a long wait, I wound down my window, took off my mask, and smiled at the nurse.

“What brings you here today?” she asked politely.

And then she threw herself back from my car and started screaming at me to close my window.

I could see the terror in her eyes as I madly fumbled to close my window.

At that point one of her colleagues ran to her aid, and then she too started screaming at me.

For the next 15 seconds it was total pandemonium. I had no idea what was going on because (a) my window was up, and (b) they were both screaming and pointing at me from behind their face masks and visors.

Did I have a new super-weird mutating variant?

What the hell was getting these two so steamed up?

And then I saw it:

A giant huntsman crawled down from the roof of my car to my window, then back on to the roof.

“I’m sorry, I have a spider phobia” said the nurse, her eyes darting frantically around the roof of my car.

The poor woman was terrified. As was I. After all, it’s not the calmest set-up for someone who’s about to push a stick up your nose and down your throat.

Of course, she’s not the only one who’s been getting the shakes lately … investors have been seeing a hairy huntsman or two crawling around their stock portfolios, with the market falling in January.

So is this the start of a major sell-off … or just a temporary blip?

You’ve probably got a hunch.

So, given it’s my first week back, let’s test your gut:

Where do you think housing, shares and Bitcoin will be at the end of the year?

(For reference, last year housing was up 22%, Aussie shares were up 16% last year, yet fell by roughly 5% in January, and the price of Bitcoin is currently US$38,000).

It’s easy to be a hero in hindsight (“I knew 2022 was going to turn out like that”), much tougher to do it in real time.

So, take out your phone and read this script:

“Hey Siri/Hey Google/Hey FBI,

“On the first of January 2023, at 8am, remind me of the following predictions I made today:

“Aussie shares will go up/down XXX%.

“The Aussie housing market will go up/down YYY%.

And Bitcoin will be trading at $ZZZ.”

Go on, do it now!

Postscript: after a very long week, the family was raring to get out of isolation and head to the beach for a holiday. Just to be sure I took a RAT test. Bad news. I was pregnant.

What are the chances?

Tread Your Own Path!

I’m Going to KILL him

Scott,

My husband of 12 years finally fessed up. He has been trading crypto coins and has lost $57,000! This was money our family of five was relying on to upgrade from our tiny three-bedroom home. We have always had separate accounts but vaguely knew what each of us was doing. At least I thought I did. I thought he had his money in shares but, unbeknownst to me, he sold them last year and started trading crypto. I cannot believe he’d be so stupid, I just want to KILL him. He thinks the market will come back and wants to hold on. What say you?

Sally

Hi Sally,

A few years ago, I walked into the lounge and noticed red crayon scrawled all over a wall.

“Who did this?” I thundered.

My three-year-old nervously put up her hand and said, “Daddy, I made an ‘uh-oh’.”

At that point I had a choice: I could yell and scream, or I could thank her for being honest and suggest we work together to clean up the mess.

Sally, you are in the same position. Your husband has admitted to making a big mistake playing with the crypto crayons. It’s over, done-ski. The only way to win from here is for you two to clean up the mess together.

(This is one reason I’m not in favour of happily married couples keeping their money separate: you need to be a team.)

My tip?

Don’t invest your short-term savings in the share market or a digital beanie baby – keep it in your savings account.

Finally, if you’re asking me where the crypto market is going, I have absolutely no idea in the short term. Yet I do have a rough yardstick on when we’ll see the bottom:

When Dogecoin is valued at zero.

Woof!

Scott.

The Scented Candle

Dear Scott,

Three years ago I bought your book when I could least afford it, with six-figure debts written on my fridge door. I took you and the book to dinner every week as I was dying inside and out.

Today I buy your book as a gift for everyone I know. It’s my standard go-to, like a scented candle, but with a brighter flame when ignited. I can see the black line fast approaching, and I answer private calls these days. The red line is in my rear vision mirror.

I just wanted to say thank you for literally saving my financial life. I didn’t go bankrupt. I made the calls. I cried with you. And screamed at you and learned from you. And formed a great relationship with my creditors. And survived. I began to live again. I educated myself and found a new kind of personal wealth. Thank you.

Jasmine

Hi Jasmine,

That’s one of the nicest emails I’ve received this year, and a fitting one to end 2021 on.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

You Got This!

Scott.

My Son is a TikTok Star

Hi Scott,

My 15-year-old son owes a lot to homeschooling. He became super creative and started a TikTok profile @tcezy uploading weird, dark and mysterious content. He has amassed a huge 5.7 million followers in just over a year.

We get daily emails from all sorts of companies wanting him to promote something but so far he has only agreed to one and it made him a staggering $10,000 . Now that could be it. But for the moment what should he do with it?

Jackie

---

Hi Jackie

So I just spent way, way, way too long watching your son’s videos.

Then again, that’s the point right?

He’s got more engagement than any prime-time television show, and unlike the idiot box, his ads won’t be a signal to duck off to the dunny.

In other words, this is a genuine business (though his business partner is a super creepy Chinese Artificial Intelligence company that is manipulating its users).

Still, if your son can continue creating great content he’ll have hit the jackpot: a well-paid job he’d gladly do for free!

As for what to do with the $10,000, I’d ask him to think about his saving goals:

Will he want a car in a few years?

If so, he’s better off saving it in an online saver.

However, I’d encourage him to invest the bulk of it in shares (there’s plenty of apps that can do it at a low cost), and only check the price every few years.

What an adventure. You should be proud!

Scott.

Help Me Get My Hubby’s Money

Hi Scott,

Two weeks ago, my husband had a workplace injury that left him with a shattered skull and in an induced coma. He is now in an acquired brain injury unit. He is making progress each day but the long-term impacts on him, his work and our life have yet to be discussed. I only work two days a week as we have two young children. The question is, as we have separate bank accounts, how do I gain access to his account? And what do you suggest I do to support my family financially?

Kelly

Hi Kelly,

What an absolute disaster!

I can’t imagine how stressful this would be for you … so I’m going to be very specific on what you should do.

First, you need to lawyer up.

Provided your husband was not a contractor, his employer must, by law, have Workers Compensation insurance.

Here’s the dance: you want the maximum payout, whereas the insurer wants the minimum. That’s why you need a workplace compensation lawyer to provide you counsel.

Second, hopefully your husband has both a medical and financial power of attorney (POA), so you can act on his behalf, and if not, get them written up. That’ll allow you to access his bank accounts.

Finally, after you’ve put the kids to bed, pour yourself a cuppa and write this five-part ‘breathing room’ letter:

1. Explain what has happened to your husband.

2. Write emotionally about the effect his accident has had on you and your kids.

3. Describe what the loss of income has meant for you so close to Christmas.

4. Ask for a minimum three-month moratorium on your payments (so you won’t have to pay anything till February 2022). That will give you breathing room while you explore compensation arrangements and apply for any Centrelink payments you may be entitled to.

5. Attach any workplace or medical reports.

Bring this letter when you see your lawyer and let them look over it.

Then send it to your bank, your insurer, your utilities providers, and any other companies that will be charging you big bills in the next few months. (If you’re not sure where to send them, Google the provider’s name and ‘hardship department email’).

If any of your creditors give you any pushback, email me back and I’ll sort it out for you.

Scott.

The best Christmas gift under $30

Christmas shopping sucks, right?

Not for me.

Years ago, I cracked the Christmas shopping code: I buy people books.

They’re the ultimate present — they cost under $30, they don’t need a separate card (I simply scribble a Merry Christmas message on the inside cover), and my local bookstore will even gift wrap them for me.

Job done!

Here are the books I’ve got in my Santa sack this year:

Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation
Edward Chancellor

This is probably the best book on financial speculation ever written.

Devil Take the Hindmost finds that most speculative booms over the past 400 years have followed the same script:

It begins with a breakthrough technology that promises to revolutionise the world and deliver untold riches to investors.

The early investors make a fortune, which attracts novice investors (who often gamble with borrowed money).

And then, when least expected, prices begin to wobble. The true believers see it as a blip, and buy the dip.

And then comes Black [Insert Day], when prices plunge and everyone loses their mind, and their shirt.

This book is a great gift for anyone who holds Dogecoin.

Meditations
Marcus Aurelius

It’s been said that the majority of the stuff we consume on our phones was created within the last 24 hours.

We snack on clickbait headlines, mean tweets and skin shots like sugary junk food designed to hit our dopamine receptors. And it leaves us feeling empty, insecure and unsatisfied.

My view?

It’s time to get a bit more fibre in your information diet.

Tweets can be fired off on the toilet. Clickbait articles are spun out in media sweatshops solely for eyeballs. Writing a book, on the other hand, takes hundreds of hours of labour, deep thought and craft. And the very best stand the test of time – some literally for thousands of years – like Meditations, by Marcus Aurelias.

It’s called that because that’s what you’re reading: the private thoughts and meditations from the wisest Roman emperor in history, who is riffing on how to be a strong, stoic person … and not totally freak out and rock in a corner with crippling anxiety when you’re surrounded by war and disease.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” (but presumably not to scroll mindlessly through Insta).

A great gift for anyone face down in their newsfeed over Christmas lunch.

Atomic Habits
James Clear

This is easily the best book on habit change I’ve ever read.

Let’s say you want to develop the habit of going to the gym. Rather than relying on willpower, or positive affirmations, or flogging yourself, Atomic Habits will get you to break the habit down as small as possible, like putting on your runners and showing up at the gym but not forcing yourself to go in and work out.

What’s all that about?

What you’re doing is proving to yourself that you’re the type of person who turns up at the gym. “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity”, says Clear.

A great gift after the trainwreck of the last few years. I mean, who doesn’t want to make a few changes in 2022?

Tread Your Own Path!