by Scott Pape
And as you lock your Fearless Folder into your safe, and put it away . . . breathe a sigh of relief.
The Final Goodbye
We’re approaching our final goodbye.
In fact, now that you’ve completed your Fearless Folder, you’ve technically ‘finished’ this book.
There’s a good reason I’ve asked you to do the Fearless Folder right now, just before we part ways.
Yes, it’s going to keep your family safe. But it’s also a very powerful way to put you in the right ‘space’ to think about your life, and what really matters.
See, most of the time, your mind is elsewhere. If you’re anything like me, you have things going on all the time. You’re rushing, or hungry, or stressed, or annoyed, or tired . . . but rarely reflective.
Yet the great thing about doing something as old-school as reading this book is that you’ve been able to take a little time out of your usually crazy life . . . and you and I have been able to chat for a few hours.
Look, you know as well as I do how it’s going to go from here.
Your phone will soon be buzzing in your pocket. There’ll be another basketball pickup to do. Another work email will come through. There’s a dishwasher that needs to be unpacked . . .
‘RIGHT NOW!’
So what I want you to do, in the brief moments we have left, is step back with me to the start.
Remember that on the first page of this book, I asked you to picture the day your kid leaves home.
Well, I’d like you to picture that scene again. Only this time, you’ve got the confidence of having done everything you’ve just read in these pages—and so has your kid. So that picture’s going to look a little different . . .
Picture this . . .
You’ve spent the entire weekend helping your 18-year-old pack up their bedroom and box up their belongings.
Finally the moment has arrived to say goodbye.
You walk them to the front door and give them a hug.
You’ve known this was coming for weeks, but your stomach is still in knots.
It’s a pivotal moment in both your lives.
But this time something’s different.
You know you’ve prepared them for anything they could possibly face.
And even if something happens to you, they’re going to be okay.
You may not have given them a trust fund, but you’ve given them something even more valuable: wisdom and real life experiences.
As they walk out the door, they smile at you.
They jump in their car, reverse out of the driveway, give you a toot, toot, a wave, and then they’re . . .
Gone.
You close the door, go back inside.
You sit down on the couch and a wave of emotion hits you.
Then . . . you smile.
You take a deep breath and think to yourself:
They’ve got this!
Epilogue
When my wife, Liz, was a teenager, her father would drag her along to a weekend market, where they had a stall selling vintage clothes. It was a father–daughter ritual that taught her the value of buying, selling and making a profit. Okay, and it was also a pretty good excuse for father–daughter time, too.
Liz’s father tragically died just after her final year of high school.
He never got to see his only daughter become an adult.
Never got to hug her goodbye at the family doorstep.
So what became of her?
Well, I met Liz when she was 24, and working as a TV producer on The Project.
I quickly realised she wasn’t like many 20-something kids.
She already owned her own inner-city apartment, and her own car, and had money in the bank.
No man was part of her plan. There was no inheritance. Just grit, determination and money smarts.
I never got to meet my father-in-law, but I know he’d be immensely proud of the woman Liz has become.
And I believe looking back at those weekends would have given him a deep sense of satisfaction and peace.
After all, our duty as parents—the reason we’re here—is to provide for our kids and to prepare them.
That’s what Liz’s father did.
And that’s what you’re doing . . . and it matters so much more than you could possibly know.
Thanks for spending this time with me.
Now, go make them proud.
Scott Pape
Family farm, July 2018
Will you help me?
Parenting is a tough job.
Everyone wants to see their kids succeed.
Yet unless someone gives you a financial road map, how are you supposed to know what to do?
Look, everyone knows that feeding their kids junk food each day is bad . . . but when it comes to how to raise financially strong kids, where do they turn for that common sense advice?
After all, it’s not being taught in schools.
And marketers, banks and corporations are finding ever-increasing ways to target kids.
That’s why I wrote this book.
And it’s also why I wrote it in such a way that anyone can apply it: a single parent on Centrelink payments can do this with their pocket change and a few jam jars. There are deliberately no fancy apps and no specialist knowledge required. All it takes is a bit of time from a caring person.
So, I have a favour to ask of you:
If you got anything out of these pages—if you highlighted or circled anything—please pay it forward and give this book to another parent. Ask them to read it. It could be responsible for changing their entire family tree.
And just like you’ve done for your kids, the greatest gift you’ll give is that their kids will never grow up and say:
‘If I knew then what I know now, things would be so different.’
This country desperately needs a financial revolution, and it starts with our kids.
Spread the word.
Index
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.
A
‘adulting’, lessons in, 88–89
AMP Growth Investment Bond, 228
Armstrong family, on setting up bank accounts 83
Australia
bank fees, 75
credit card debt, 151
share market returns, 208
young adults living with parents, 219
Australian Foundation Investment Company, 227
Australian Scholarships Group, 228
Australian Unity Lifeplan Investment Bond, 228
author’s father
chooses author’s name, 69
early life of, 5–7
gives author a BHP share, 7–8
B
Ball, Fi and Rob, on the Barefoot Ladder 235
banking
credit card statement, 152
marketing to children, 66–68
savings account for home deposit, 216
switching accounts, 76, 78
for teenagers, 70
zero-fee accounts, 64, 69, 81
Bankwest Kids’ Bonus Saver account, 78
Barefoot Burger, 110
Barefoot Betty (dog), 187–188
Barefoot Date Nights, 17–18, 41–43
Barefoot Investor Foundation, vi, vii
Barefoot Ladder, 217–218, 222–226
Barefoot Money Meals 44–58, 81, 97, 115, 129, 141, 157, 181, 193, 213, 233
Barefoot Scoreboard, 37–38
Barefoot Ten, 15, 60–63
BHP, author given share in, 7–8
Blow bucket, 70, 71
Breakfast Clubs, 125
‘buckets’ for savings, 24–26
Buffett, Peter and Warren, 220–221
Bunnings, 247
C
car purchases, 231
children. see also teenagers; tweens; young people
a
llowing to make mistakes, 92
arriving at school hungry, 124–125
Barefoot Ten goals for, 60–63
buying food for, 104–105
cooking by, 112
employment for, 31–33
financial marketing to, 8, 66–68, 74
funding home deposits for, 219
importance of family meals, 45–49
leaving home with confidence, 250–251
participation in duties, 51
pocket money amounts, 39
promising never to get credit cards, 144
shopping for food to donate, 125–126
teaching ‘adulting’ to, 88–89
training to turn off lights, 135–136
volunteer work by, 118
Choice, 135
chore charts, 31–32
Cleasby, Jess, on learning about money 215
Coles, employment at, 171
Commonwealth Bank
credit card statement, 152
Dollarmites program, 66–68
compound interest, 200–202
credit, teaching children about, 151
credit cards
removing dependence on, 144, 153–159
‘reward’ points, 153–154
CUA Everyday Youth Account, 76
D
Date Nights, 17–18, 41–43
death, planning for, 242–244
Depp, Johnny, 162
Digital Finance Analytics, 219
documents, important, 245
Dollarmites program, 66–68
Duke, Marshall, 52
Dunedin Study, 27
E
education, paying for, 231
employment laws for teenagers, 163
Energy Made Easy website, 139, 141
executor, appointing, 248
F
Family Legends game, 52–53, 55, 81, 128–129
family meals
Barefoot Money Meals, 17–19, 44–59
celebrating with, 16–19
first payday, 80
importance of, 45–49
Money Meals, 17–19, 44–59
Parents Only Date Night, 41–43
prepared by children, 113–114
shopping list for first, 80
Victory Dinner, 239–241
Family Treasure Hunt, 85, 94–97
Fearless Folder, 242–244
financial literacy
Barefoot Ten money skills, 14–15
of young people, 2, 9–11
financial services. see also banking
investment bonds, 227–229
marketing to children, 8, 66–68, 74, 145
superannuation funds, 204, 206–207
Finger, Lauren and Simon, on Family Treasure Hunt 99
First State Super, 208
first steps in game plan, 13
Flogglebox game, 90
food, donating, 124–126
Foodbank, 124–126
Froot Loops, 87
G
game plan, 13–16
Generation Life LifeBuilder Bond, 228
girls getting less pocket money, 39
Give jam jar, 28–29, 130
grandparents, dinner party for, 101, 115
Grow bucket, 71
H
Harris, Nicole and Malcolm, on kids cooking, 117
home deposit, saving for, 216
homeless people, giving aid to, 127
‘honourable mealtime’, 47–48
Hostplus, 208
I
ING Orange Everyday account, 69
ING Orange Everyday Youth account, 69, 75–76
ING Savings Maximiser, 75–76
inherited money, investing, 230
interest rates
compound interest, 200–202
on credit card debt, 151
internet advertising, 88
investment bonds, buying for children, 227–229
J
‘Jack’, author interviews, 121–123
jam jars for savings, 23–30, 37–40
Japanese meal customs, 47–49
Joan’s Veggie Slice, 109
job interviews, 177–178
Jobs, Steve, 53
jobs for children, 31
K
Kasser, Tim, 10, 127
KFC Australia, employment at, 169
L
Lancefield Bakery, employment with 172
Lazy $100 Challenge, 133–134
legacies, investing, 230
letter to loved ones, 248
local businesses, employment with, 172
M
Maina family, on Money Meals 59
Manley, Fiona, on kids and credit cards 159
marketing to children
financial services, 8, 66–68, 74, 145
internet advertising, 88
TV advertising, 87–90
‘Materialism Intervention’, 10, 127
McDonald’s, employment at, 168, 173
McDonnell family, on negotiating household bills, 143
Zero to Hero Résumé, 173–174, 178–179
McLean, Sophia, on volunteering, 131
ME Bank, 69
Media Super, 208
Michigan State University study, 45–47
millionaire mindset, 104–105
mobile phones, limiting use of, 53–54
Mojo account, 73
Mojo bucket, 71
Money Meals. see family meals
Mozo, 80, 152
N
non-pocket money, saving, 29
O
online purchases
food deliveries, 103
for teenagers, 79
‘open book’ interview, 175–176
P
Pape, Joan
gives birth to Scott, 5–6
Joan’s Veggie Slice, 109
Pape, Liz
cooking for, 104
financially savvy, 253
meals made by, 48–49
Pape, Scott (author)
about, vii
aged 18 months, 6
Famous Pasta, 107
first part-time job, 163–164
interviews ‘Jack’, 121–123
promise to reader, 4
Pape family. see also author’s father
Christmas traditions, 44
parents
control over own money, 92
driving children to work, 188–189
funding home deposits for children, 219
helping children find work, 178–179
helping other parents, 255
lessons in ‘adulting’ from, 88–89
matching child’s investment, 226
Money Meal script, 56–57
role in children’s employment, 165
single parenting, 93
Parents Only Date Night, 41–43
part-time work for teenagers, 34, 160
‘paydays’, shopping list for, 80
personal loans, 156
pester power, 85, 98
‘petrol price game’, 136–137
pocket money
amounts to give, 39
arranging payment, 56–58
‘payday’ at dinnertime, 51
for teenagers, 78
uses of, 19–22
withholding as employment incentive, 166–167
power bills, reducing, 135–139
Pratt, Steve, on kids and credit cards 159
private education, paying for, 231
punctuality, 190
R
Raiz Kids, 212, 227
recipes, 106–111
references, earning, 184–185
résumés, writing, 173–179
S
safe, purchasing, 247
Scott’s Famous Pasta recipe, 107
Screen, Amanda and Talaya, 19, 183
second-hand trading, learning about, 85–86, 94–98
Serviette Strategy
adding
home deposit to, 224–225
for teenagers, 70–71, 81
share investments
for investment bonds, 228
returns from, 208
single parenting, 93
Smile account for teenagers, 72
Smile jam jar, 27–28
Sneath, Gretel and Andy, on kids and work 195
Splurge account for teenagers, 72
Splurge jam jar, 26–27
‘Start Smart’ lessons, 67
Stout, Hilary, 88
Sunsuper, 208
superannuation, maximising benefits from, 196–210
T
Taxi Rank strategy, 167–170
teenagers
bank accounts for, 70
choosing a superannuation fund, 206
duties for, 33–34
earning glowing references, 184–185
employment for, 160
explaining work to, 188–189
hosting dinner parties, 112–114
lack of confidence with money, 150
online negotiating by, 134, 137–139
Serviette Strategy, 70–71, 81, 224–225
volunteer work for, 126
The Big Issue, 127
theft from jam jars, risk of, 29
‘three jam jars’ method, 23–25
‘three jobs’ strategy, 32–33
three minute parenting plan, 36–37
Tickle Belly Hill, 5
toys, limiting number of, 94
Treasure Hunt. see Family Treasure Hunt
tweens
jobs for, 33–34
‘petrol price game’ for, 136–137
second-hand trading by, 96
shopping for food to donate, 125–126
U
UBank, 69
Uber Eats, cost of, 103
university attendance, paying for, 231
University of Toledo study, 94
V
Victory Dinner, 239–241
volunteer work, 118
W
‘We Are the World’, 120–121
Woolworths, employment at, 170
‘Work Yodas’, 188–189
World Vision, 119
About the author
Scott Pape is the founder of the Barefoot Investor.
For 15 years he’s reached millions of Australians through his national weekend newspaper column, appearances on TV and radio, and bestselling books.
In 2010 independent research firm CoreData found that:
SCOTT PAPE is considered the most knowledgeable regarding financial matters, topping the ratings in the areas of superannuation, investment, taxation, insurance and economics. Pape is also considered the most trustworthy, truthful in how he presents himself and in touch with financial matters that affect everyday Australians.