As I pulled my bank card out of my wallet and scanned the PayPass the cashier gave me a knowing smile.
“You’re one of them,” she said. “Barefoot.”
I nodded back, slightly embarrassed. My cult status was exposed. “I’m on it too,” she confided. “And I see it almost every day.”
Right now, thousands of Australians are flashing orange bankcards with mantras penned on with sharpies and stickers. “Splurge”, they read. “Daily Expenses” read others. And they all signal one thing: that you’re following the biggest finance cult in Australia.
The Barefoot Investor is one of Australia’s biggest-selling finance books, having topped the charts for the last few months. It doesn’t matter where you go; everywhere from independent hipster bookstores to chain stores has it a the top of the pile. And for good reason: the author Scott Pape cuts through all the jargon to give you some of the simplest financial advice you will ever read.
No spreadsheets. No complex budgets. No get-rich-quick tricks. Just step-by-step, follow my lead, and you can buy smashed avo AND save for a house deposit at the same time.
Listen: The Barefoot Investor shares his best financial advice for the single woman, with Mia Freedman. Post continues after audio.
It works on the principal that you automatically ferry your earnings into different “buckets” to then spend or save. It’s like putting your money on autopilot – set it, and forget it.
Top Comments
That's actually not true at all. Once you kick start this thing and have it up and running, you have no idea how sexy financial security is when you're both on the same page.
Funny that you spruik the word of the Barefoot Investor... have you heard his opinion of Bank-sponsored in-school savings programs like Commbank Dollarmites? He points out that these are basically a marketing ploy to get customers on board with the bank before they can even read. As soon as they turn 18, these kids are offered credit cards... hellllo debt. I was pretty shocked when I heard the sponsor of the Bump Podcast was Westpac's Bump Savings Account. Targeting foetus', now that's taking it to a whole new level of disgusting! Love your podcasts but cmon, there are plenty of ethical companies out there that I'm sure would love to align with your brand. And speak more truly to the words you preach - like the ones in this article for instance!