‘I can do that’: What inspired Scott Pape’s new book Barefoot Kids

Scott Pape’s new book Barefoot Kids is about putting life-changing lessons directly into the hands of children everywhere. Read what inspired him to write it.

I can tell you the exact moment I officially … tapped out. I’d been sweating on a call from one of the state education departments about getting my money program into schools.

But it was not good news.

“Your lessons are very good … and we had great feedback from them. But the department is worried that the ‘buckets’ concept is too closely aligned to your brand. So, even though you’re doing this all for free … the department just doesn’t think it will work.

“Also, the Mathematical Association has developed a suite of financial literacy learning resources, and that feels like a safer option, so we’re going to go with that instead”, he said matter-of-factly.

“So that’s that then”, I said dejectedly.

“Well, not quite. The Minister is very keen to have you appear in an advertising campaign promoting the government’s commitment to financial literacy. It wouldn’t take much of your time …”

The truth?

I’d already wasted too much of my time. Not with the teachers or the kids – they loved my lessons and got right behind them. It was their bosses’ bosses who decided they knew more about financial literacy than I did.

(I actually had a senior education department bureaucrat spend 30 minutes lecturing me on how I could write financial content that really connects. She even put it in a PowerPoint presentation!)

Barefoot Kids is now available for pre-order at your favourite bookstore.

After the meeting, I got in my car and drove home, miserable. For a while I just moped around the farm (and the threat of another Covid lockdown wasn’t helping).

However, my wife was having none of it. “We need to get out of here”, she said.

So we grabbed the kids and did a lap around Australia, which turned out to be one of the best things we’ve ever done.

Because in almost every pocket of the country I met kids who were doing the buckets, learning about money from my books and columns. And yet none of my books had ever actually been written directly to kids – only parents and adults.

I can tell you the moment my depression lifted.

It was in Jabiru, in the Kakadu National Park. I rang my editor and announced:

“I’m going to write a kids’ book”.

I started getting up at 4.30 am every morning and got stuck into it.

Then I put a call out to find Barefoot kids who could tell their inspiring stories in the book.

Country kids. City kids. Older kids. Younger kids.

I wanted every kid to open this book and say, “That’s me. I can do that.”

I’m so proud of this book. I believe it’s even better than The Barefoot Investor, because it’s not just a book, it’s like a kit for kids of all ages, with stickers, reward badges and a certificate!

The best part?

The kids do it all themselves – no extra work for you.

Ultimately, this book is my way of bouncing over the bureaucrats and putting these life-changing lessons directly into the hands of kids everywhere.

Tread Your Own Path!

Scott Pape’s new book Barefoot Kids is about putting life-changing lessons directly into the hands of children everywhere.

Liquid Paper, Barefoot?

Scott,

In your book you state that to have a comfortable retirement a single person with a mortgage free home needs to save $170k. Recently you sent out a letter that showed figures from Super Consumers Australia that suggest I would need to have saved $301k to enjoy a medium retirement. I would like to know if you have now revised your figure up to this level?

Gina

The median bloke aged between 60 and 64 has just $178,800 in super, while the median woman of the same age has just $137,050, according to the latest figures.

Hi Gina,

No, I haven’t.

The figure I give in the book (which I call the Don Bradman Strategy) actually gives a higher amount of annual income than Super Consumers, even though you need less of a balance.

What sort of magical maths am I using?

It’s a complex formula called: work. I’m focused on boosting the income from your super, and the age pension by working part-time once a fortnight (or thereabouts, and using work bonuses so it doesn’t affect your pension), and then gradually tailing off work as you get older and do less travelling.

That being said, I have always said you should aim to have as much money in super as you can.

However Gina, my aim with the Don Bradman Strategy is to give people hope.

Know this: the median bloke aged between 60 - 64 has just $178,800 in super, while the median woman of the same age has just $137,050, according to the latest figures. This is the reality for normal people retiring. I set out to show them how to do it with dignity, purpose and nice wine.

Sweet Sixteen

Hi Scott,

I’m in a bit of a stressful situation. I’m 16 years old and moved out of home last year. I work two jobs and attend high school full time. I am fully financially responsible for myself and get very little support. I’ve read your books and have been able to save over $10,000 in the past year as well as keeping up with bills and school! Insurance is something I take very seriously as I want to be protected both physically and financially. However, trying to navigate through providers and ‘fancy terms’ is just a huge rabbit hole and I don’t have anyone that I can talk to about it. I also don’t want to put myself in debt trying to keep up with bills, especially because I will be attending university soon. Do you have any suggestions?

Fiona

Scott Pape recommended a healthy, financially independent 16-year-old would be better putting her money into a separate Mojo account than into health insurance.

Hi Fiona,

Sure, I have some suggestions. First, stop and congratulate yourself. Seriously. You’re more financially mature than many 36 year olds I deal with. There’s obviously a backstory on why you’ve moved out at such a young age, and it’s translated into you being very self reliant. Stick with that. However, as a young, and hopefully very fit person, I wouldn’t bother with health insurance at your age. Instead, put that money into a separate Mojo account to ward off any financial problems that may come up.

Affording Financial Freedom

Hi Scott,

I came to Australia in 2018 from Nigeria. I found your book when I was searching the book shops for an investment book. Your advice resonated with me as something practical. We have saved up more than 20 per cent for house deposit, but we are yet to buy because we are not permanent residents yet. Is it too late to invest in the share market, considering that I’m already 36 years old? We really want no Mercedes, but want to be able to afford financial freedom and set up our kids for uncertainties of the future.

Abiona

Parking your short-term funds in an online savings account is less risky than investing in the sharemarket, says Scott Pape.

Hi Abiona,

What a humungous achievement – well done!

A couple of thoughts:

Don’t put your short-term savings into the share market, it’s too risky.

Instead, I’d look at parking that money in an online savings account. For many years online savers sucked, because their interest rates were so low, but now they’re paying upwards of 3.5 per cent.

Now you can earn slightly higher than that for locking your money away in a term deposit – say for a year or two – however the risk is you may find a home you want to buy before then!

And finally, you’re well on your way to financial freedom. Even better, your kids are sitting back, peering at you over their screens every now and again, and watching you two absolutely kick financial goals. You’re modelling winning habits and that’s the most important thing you can do.

You Got This!

Information and opinions provided in this column are general in nature and have been prepared for educational purposes only. Always seek personal financial advice tailored to your specific needs before making financial and investment decisions

Originally published as ‘I can do that’: What inspired Scott Pape’s new book Barefoot Kids