The Barefoot Investor: 5 Steps to Financial Freedom in Your 20s and 30s [Paperback]

Scott Pape (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

This is for people who ordinarily wouldn’t buy a finance book. Although primarily written for his Australian audience much of the book applies across boarders.

25 year old author and stock broker, Scott Pape delivers streetwise strategies to help young people quickly achieve the financial goals they set for themselves.

The Barefoot Investor is more than a catchy title. It’s about learning about how money can be used in a way that brings the most pleasure and fulfilment.

Scott writes for young people: those working and studying who are trying to get ahead and grappling with debt, home ownership, HECS, superannuation, investing and budgeting but his ideas also apply across age groups.

Scott Pape on why he wrote the book:

‘When I first set out to learn about finance, the thing that got to me was that most of what I read was relentlessly boring. It simply didn’t cut it. The essence of personal finance is about helping you to achieve the things that are most important to you.

‘I really don’t care for accumulating money for money’s sake. The premise behind The Barefoot Investor is not focused on being greedy—accumulating money for money’s sake, nor is it about reducing the fun you have now so that you can enjoy your golden years.

‘’It’s not about being yuppie either, talking to your stockbroker on your brand new Nokia while sipping a cafe latte. It’s not about being the richest person on the block, hoarding your money until your sixty-five, or scrimping over a two-dollar purchase. It’s about working out what you want from this thing we call life and using your assets (all of them) in order to get you there.

For some it could be a once in a lifetime holiday backpacking through Europe. For others it may be buying a house in the burbs with a white picket fence. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you learn to allocate your money away from stupid stuff that has little or no effect on your life, towards things that will make a real difference to you.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A good bet for anyone who regardds money with healthy scepticism but wouldn't mind more of it too. -- James Hall, Australian Financial Review, December 2004

One of the better finance books I've reviewed. -- Wealthcreator Magazine, January 2005

From the Back Cover

Tread Your Own Path with The Barefoot Investor

The Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape, shows how getting your financial act together can be downright sexy, allowing you to achieve things that mean the most to you - regarldess of your income.

Scott shows you how to manage your money to do the things you want: whether it's to quit the job you hate to make a career of what you love; buy a cool apartment; go backpacking around the world; or build a wealth portfolio for the future.

By following the Barefoot Plan you can make your money work for you.  The five Barefoot steps show you how to save it, invest it and let it do the hard work for you so you can tread your own path.

At 26, Scott is a successful stockbroker and media commentator.  He runs his own weekly finance radio show, chooses to drive a wreck and lives a full and rich life.  His radio program has been described as finance for people who don't do finance.  He makes money funky; your money can look after you once you learn how to look after it.

"The Barefoot Investor is a step-by-step plan that requires very little willpower, zero interest in money and less than one hour a year to maintain.  Isn't it about time you started living the life you want ?"  Scott Pape. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press Australia (November 2004)
• ISBN-10: 1864033126
• ISBN-13: 978-1864033120
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,232,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Set me up for Financial Freedom, September 14, 2010

By 

Ghost Who Walks - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Barefoot Investor: Five Steps to Financial Freedom in Your 20s and 30s (Paperback)

I brought this book at Christmas time in 2008, read it, and saw it had good ideas. I didn't do anything, untill I was wondering where my money was going in March 2009. I reread the book, and thought, what do I have to lose by giving it a go? I did what the book said(as other reviews have said, simple things, but important things),opened a few different accounts, Savings, bills, holiday,spending etc. In March this year I worked out that I had gone on 2 overseas holidays, put 5k into my mortgage(That I had saved), now have enough money to pay my bills when they come in.

By doing what it said in the book, The Simple things, Financially I have turned my life around, from living from paycheck to paycheck, to having the money to spend on myself and enjoy life, whilst knowing that financially I am free.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in being Financially Free.
After all, what do you have to lose?

5.0 out of 5 stars The Barefoot Investor, October 13, 2010

By 

Sam - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Barefoot Investor: Five Steps to Financial Freedom in Your 20s and 30s (Paperback)

If you're looking for a boring financial advice book, that is difficult to read and understand, this is NOT the book for you.

This book gives a whole new outlook on finances. The Barefoot Investor gives down-to-earth and understandable advice. In its own simplicity, it tackles complex financial questions.

Scott certainly delivers common sense advice, with a sometimes comical spin, that does not make you fall asleep. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in getting their financial life in order and who doesn't mind a few laughs along the way.

An educating and enjoyable read!

The Barefoot Investor: Five Steps to Financial Freedom in Your 20s and 30s

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for People Who Have Zero Clue about Money Management and Investing, September 15, 2010

By 

B. Roberts (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Barefoot Investor: Five Steps to Financial Freedom in Your 20s and 30s (Paperback)

At 36 I'm completely incompetent when it comes to money management--so much so that someone else handles my bill paying, checkbook and other finances. No one ever taught me how to do these things effectively, and my father is just as clueless because my mother always handled those things. But since her brain injury it's been left to him to handle all this, and Pape's book does exactly what it says it will do: give you a good overview and steps in the right direction, even if you're a complete idiot when it comes to money. I read the book first and then my father read it, and now we're putting Scott's suggestions into place. It's a bit of an adventure, but more than anything it's empowering to know that I'm thinking about and planning for my present and future financially. The best part is that while the author "dumbs it down" so that even a novice could understand it, he's pretty wry, very witty and occasionally a bit caustic in a humorous way. That alone makes this much less intimidating and much more enjoyable to read than your typical finance book.