Skip to main content

The Barefoot guide to happiness

Image
By
There are three things that happy people have. Is more money one of them? Nope. Once your basic needs are met, extra money doesn't really make you happier. The three things are purpose, relationships and financial control, says author Scott Pape.

I've just finished his popular book The Barefoot Investor (2018 Update): The Only Money Guide You'll Ever Need. I expected mainly tips on saving, investing and the sharemarket. Those topics are covered, but a lot of his advice is
1. Don't buy so much stuff,
2. Buy the basic stuff not the flashy stuff, and
3. Don't get sucked in by advertising and salespeople.

He says millionaires drive average cars. People with flashy cars are generally not doing as well. ("All show and no dough")

Stop making the bankers rich

Credit cards don't help you get ahead or buy more. In fact they lock us in to a lifetime of debt and often people pay more in interest than they spend on the purchases. This mean our pay packet doesn't go as far because part of every pay goes to the credit card bill.

Buy a home not a property

Houses. Many people are trying to climb the property ladder - constantly trading up from one house to the next in search of the exclusive postcode. Instead of joy, all this brings is financial stress. They end up no happier than people in a standard house in an normal suburb.

Don't buy until it makes sense

Still on houses, he reckons we are over-obsessed with owning our own house. We're either scared that we have to buy now before prices go up, forced into it by social pressure, or worried that 'rent money is dead money'. He points out that paying interest on a mortgage is also dead money. So are the stamp duty, legal fees, rates and maintenance that come with purchasing a house.

He seems to advocate waiting until you find you place you want to live in "forever" and only to buy it if you can easily afford it.

More from Scott...

He also has something to say about health insurance and on how losing everything in a fire taught him about clutter.
Read more about:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Big motivator for small living

By
It's been a while between posts here - mainly because we've been moving house. It's been a real motivator for downsizing. Packing each and every item we owned, really makes me wish there were fewer of them. Moving everything from the old apartment to the new one made me envious of those people who live in a "tiny house on wheels". For them moving house simply means towing it to a new location. No packing required. The whole process has reaffirmed our commitment to owning less stuff. So we're going to be intentional about downsizing. It will be an ongoing activity. My environmental heart couldn't stomach a spontaneous dumping of things into the garbage, but it's also more fun this way. Selling things online brings in some handy pocket money. Giving items away is also a great community activity, whether it is to friends and family, to charity or to people in the neighbourhood. I'm looking forward to it as a lifestyle rather than a task to do....
Post a Comment
Read more

Top 5 articles of 2019

By
As we wrap up 2019, here are the most-read posts here on But Wait There's Less . 5. Books. Do we need them anymore? Why do we keep books? To read them again? How many do we ever read a second time? I worked it out .For me not many. This lead to a second post on my technique for streamlining my book collection . 4. Living in a converted barn. This was something my wife and I tried on a trip away this year. Check out the pictures . I still reckon it could be possible long-term. We really don't need as much space as we have. 3. What's your retirement age? It's not 67. At least it doesn't have to be. If we spend less, compulsory work can become optional at a very early age . It could even be in your 30s. 2. The automatic guest room On the same trip as number 4, we stayed with a friend who (with some clever furniture ) converts her living room into another bedroom. It's a clever way to be able to have guests, but without paying a heap of money for a bigge...
Post a Comment
Read more

Colour me happy

By
One of the great things about reducing possessions is thing called 'helper's high' . It's that fuzzy feeling you get from helping someone else out. I got one recently by helping an old man lift heavy groceries into his car boot when he was struggling. But this is not about that. I was about to put some watercolour paints online for anyone who wanted them. Then I remembered a local community group where people do art therapy. I gave the paints to a contact who passed them on to the group. The next day my contact called me to say how much they were appreciated. One of the participants wanted to do some watercolour painting, but couldn't afford the paints. When my contact walked in with free paints the participant was overjoyed to be able to do her art. As far as 'helper's highs' go, this was a slightly removed one - I never met the actual person I helped. But still it was a buzz.
Post a Comment
Read more