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November Book Of the Month | The Barefoot Investor | Scott Pape
So this year the Garrandarang Book Club decided to change things up a bit.
Through our reading, we have noticed that Aboriginal books tend to focus on telling our truths as a whole and unfortunately a lot of those truths have to do with misfortune, inter-generational abuse, the abuse of power, the letdowns by various governments etc and this can get.....heavy.
So as a collective, we will intersperse our Aboriginal books with a variety of other books to 'lighten' our moods and protect our mental health.
To start our new collection of books, this month we read- THE BAREFOOT INVESTOR by Scott Pape.
When i read this at the start of the year and implemented changes to make myself more 'financially comfortable' i thought it is something that Aboriginal people need to be aware of as it is LIFE CHANGING!
It generated great conversation about financial independence, savings tips and so much more!
As a book club with all women (although men are welcome!) somehow we have created a place of truth telling and raw honesty which allows conversations to happen organically and i think conversations about money matters are important.
Our book club has women from all ages and backgrounds and so of course- all financial levels as well. As a group we all support one another and being able to discuss finances, share tips, provide advice and WISDOM is always welcome.
Scott details how to get the most from your superannuation, investments, stocks, even your insurances. I particularly loved the whole 'Save $1000 in a day! and it works!!!! It involves ringing all your current bill providers such as electricity, insurances, foxtel etc and asking them to lower your premium. The book even provides a script- it doesn't get much easier than that!
Using tips within The Barefoot Investor, i was able to turn my finances around in under 6 months! So, what else did i implement?
- multiple bank accounts
Scott advises to open a number of accounts, each fit for purpose. This allows your spending to come from designated accounts and for your savings to happen in others. I found this quite helpful and it gives me a great sense of achievement seeing my savings accounts going up whilst my bill account, for example, tinkers away doing its thing, paying the bills!
- ring providers for savings
Tick and tick! Done that! And it worked. Almost instantly (i can imagine how many times the people on the phone hear the exact same script now hahaha) the lady on the other end of the phone gave me a discount on my car insurance.
- realign your possessions (and sell off what no longer fits!)
Okay so i did the whole 'go big or go home' thing on this one! When i was young and silly at 21, i brought myself my dream car- a black Jeep Wrangler, and i LOVED it! I could take the roof off, even just one half- it was THE BEST! BUT, i was never a 4-wheel-driver, it used a lot of petrol and it got me into a lot of debt that i still had hanging over my head. So, i sold it! I brought myself a snazzy little Ford Focus outright and i am so happy! I was able to use the leftover money from the sale to pay out all other debts and put the rest into my house deposit savings. I now have no debt and it is truly liberating. Yeah, i still get little pangs of jealousy when i see someone driving a black jeep with the roof off, but a car is just a car and i sure as hell don't miss the stress of paying those bills!
Now its your turn-
Have you read the book?
Have you implemented any of Scott's tips?
What tips do you have to share that have assisted you to become more financially comfortable?
If you haven't got yourself a copy, do yourselves a favour and grab one. They are available at most libraries for hire also ;)
Visit Scott Pape's blog below:
