Barefoot Investor reveals what every parent needs to do to help their kids with money

THE Barefoot Investor said it’s time for parents to turn off their TVs and start an important conversation with their kids that could change their lives forever.

THE Barefoot Investor said it’s time for parents to turn off their TVs and talk to their kids around the dinner table about money.

Scott Pape — arguably Australia’s most influential money guru — has revealed one of his own secrets to financial success was listening to his parents talk finances as they tucked into their evening meal.

“I got to see my parents having responsible adult discussions about saving and about not having too much debt,’’ the 39-year-old said.

“I sat there with no TV on listening to them about saving and investing and that stuff seeps in.”

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Barefoot Investor Scott Pape urges parents to have frequent conversations with their children about money. Picture: Jason Edwards

Pape has spoken in-depth to News Corp Australia about how he grew up in the small regional Victorian town of Ouyen, and from a young age he listened intently to his parents Joan and Donald discusses money in front of him.

“They scrimped and saved and they made good decisions, they didn’t earn a lot of money but they were careful,’’ he said.

The father-of-three has been busy working on his next piece of financial wisdom: Barefoot for Families: The Only Money Guide Your Kids Will Ever Need, which is due to hit the bookshelves in the coming months.

Barefoot Investor Scott Pape at his farm in rural Victoria.

Pape hopes this will help put money on the table for Australian families and educate children to become savvy.

“It needs to be done, it’s a core life skill that kids get tested every day,’’ he says.

“It is the antithesis of living in a really big home with a leased BMW looking fancy but not having any money, my parents were the opposite.

“Stats shows only one in six families talk about money with their kids, a lot of people want to shelter them and they don’t want to talk about it with them.”

his new book follows in the footsteps of Pape’s bestseller, The Barefoot Investor: The Only Money Guide You’ll Ever Need, which has already sold more than 1 million copies nationally.

HE’S the man with the no bulls*** lingo that’s sold a million books but where did it all start for Scott Pape? Find out in tomorrow’s Herald Sun, Advertiser, Daily Telegraph and Courier Mail.

@sophieelsworth