Barefoot Investor Scott Pape offers golden rule to parents as he reveals new money book aimed directly at kids

Barefoot Investor Scott Pape has offered a lifeline to Aussies worrying about kids and money – and a golden rule that every parent should follow in these tough times.

BAREFOOT Investor Scott Pape is inviting Aussie kids to kick off their shoes and jump-start their own financial journeys.

The popular financial commentator, News Corp columnist and author of Australia’s best-selling book, The Barefoot Investor, has changed millions of adults’ views on money.

Now, he’s bringing his advice straight to the next generation with his new title Barefoot Kids: How to Get What You Want – a money guide packed with big ideas for pint-sized savers.

As one of the first such books that speaks directly to children, Pape told News Corp it would help youngsters learn and even grow enterprise empires, without turning them into money-hungry vultures who view every chore as a business opportunity.

Get stuck in ... Barefoot Kids features tips from Scott Pape, above, and dozens of youngsters who have already started their own businesses.

Aimed at children aged between 7 and 14 years old, and with an engaging and amusing tone, Barefoot Kids takes readers through each step on their path towards becoming financially savvy: from negotiating pocket money, to starting their own businesses and investing their hard-earned cash.

Throughout, it emphasises the value of helping others at the same time as growing assets; and teaches the young readers how to do both.

SCOTT PAPE: I WAS MISERABLE ... THEN I WROTE THIS BOOK

“What I’ve tried to do with this book is to take The Barefoot Investor, but write it directly to kids,” Pape said.

“Financial education is a life skill. And it’s the one test that they (kids) will be tested on every day of their lives.”

Not just for children ... the cover of Barefoot Kids

And the themes are not just for youngsters, Pape added.

“Parents can learn a lot from it, and the biggest thing is that you’re a role model. You don’t need to be wealthy. You just need to be in control and being in control is a lot easier than you think,” he said.

“Your kids may not listen to you, but they model you. They pick up what you’re saying about money and right now, money is really tight for a lot of families.”

BEAT THE RUSH: HOW TO RESERVE YOUR COPY

Pape said one of the main goals was to keep kids motivated in developing strong financial habits that will steer them well away from debt and reliance on buy-now-pay-later schemes in adulthood.

“It was all about getting the kids tactile. Financial institutions have been so good at targeting young people about money.

“Debt makes everything more expensive. Even the name ‘credit card credit’ sounds like it’s a good thing, but it’s a debit card, that’s what it is.”

On a mission to help kids learn ... Scott Pape started his campaign for better financial education in 2021 Foxtel show Scott Pape's Money Movement. Credit Nick Wilson/Foxtel

The book’s release follows what Pape described as a crusade that “didn’t go too well” to boost financial education for students in schools. Parents and teachers were enthusiastic, he said, and it had some early success, but authorities were slow to commit.

New data by comparison website Finder revealed that more than 80 per cent of Australians did not learn money saving skills in high school, while six per cent reported never learning how to save money at all.

Currently, schools can opt into the national MoneySmart program in which some students are taught about consumer and financial literacy.

Pape said that by going directly to young readers, Barefoot Kids cuts through a crowded curriculum that often leaves students none the wiser on money by the time they finish school.

Is there a hole in your money bucket? ... Scott Pape wants to make sure your kids aren’t in that position,

“If we’re going to pay to put kids through school for 13 years … we have a responsibility to teach all kids that this is how it works.

“We should be saying, ‘You may not ever have to learn some of the stuff in schools, but you will always have to learn how to manage your money’, and that’s what this book is about.”

Barefoot Kids: How to Get What You Want by Scott Pape will be published by HarperCollins on November 7. You can pre-order it now at Big W and other bookshops.

Originally published as Barefoot Investor Scott Pape offers golden rule to parents as he reveals new money book aimed directly at kids