The Barefoot Toolbox The Barefoot Investor

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The Barefoot Toolbox The Barefoot Investor

I’m not a financial advisor anymore, and I can’t recommend products. But I can show you how to find the help YOU
need. In this short cheat sheet, I’m giving you the telephone numbers, websites and other tools you need to find
advice you can trust. These are the exact recommendations I’ve given to my own friends and family in the past –
and in many cases it’s saved them thousands of dollars a year. I’d advise going through this list once a year to find
the best deals and see how much you can save. Let’s get into it!

– Scott

Barefoot Banking
If you want to find the best Go to www.mozo. There are better accounts than ING, with less restrictions
bank accounts … com.au on earning decent rates on your buckets (online savers).

If you want to find the best
home loan (if you have
more than 20% deposit or
equity in your home) …
Go to www.ratecity. When it comes to home loans it’s still easier to bitch
com.au … then call than to switch ‒ and for that, the scripts in the Barefoot
your bank Investor book work amazingly well. For your negotiation,
choose a low variable rate from one of the non-Big Four
online lenders.

If you want to find the best
home loan (if you have less
than 20% deposit or equity
in your home, or you’re a
small business owner) …
Search for a If you have multiple properties or a non-standard
mortgage broker on situation, call a mortgage broker. Some may refund you
www.google.com the annual trailing commission the banks pay them. It can
be as much as $1,000 a year on a $500,000 mortgage.

If you’re looking for the
best place to stash your
savings …
Check out the best Right now, with interest rates rising, the best deals are
deals on www.mozo. with online savers, not term deposits. Remember, the
com.au Deposit Guarantee kicks in at $250,000 (and it’s per
institution, not per account – so if you have more than
$250,000, spread it around different banks).

If you’re looking for a
pocket money app for your
kids …
Look at www.spriggy. The two big ones are Spriggy (backed by NAB) and Kit
com.au or www. (CommBank). Having said that, in our house we don’t use
heykit.com.au either – because we are lazy and don’t want to navigate
another set of passwords and apps in our life. Instead we
use cash and jars and online savers linked to our parental
bank account, nicknamed with each kid’s name.

If you want the cheapest
deals on travel money …
Look for bank Travel cards have gone the way of Lonely Planet
accounts at www. guidebooks. That’s because the best online bank
finder.com.au accounts (e.g. not from the Big Four banks) don’t mark up
their currency conversions or charge for overseas ATMs.
Keep an eye out for them when you’re choosing a bank
account.

If you’re looking for a
low-interest credit card to
domino your debts …
Go to www.finder. The best balance transfer credit cards are currently
com.au offering three-year deals for the debt domino. Steer clear
of any card that charges a percentage ‘transfer fee’.
NOTE: these cards should come with a debt warning: the
reason banks offer these deals is they know most people
will not pay back the debt in three years (in fact most
people will have more debt in three years). Don’t sign up
to one until you’ve spent six months religiously knocking
down your debt.

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Investments
If you’re looking for Search ‘Australian These days you don’t need to see a stockbroker or sign up to
the best Investment investing apps’ on an online broker. There are new investing apps springing up
apps … www.google.com all the time, so it pays to google ‘Australian investing apps’
and research the best one for your situation. Here’s what I’d
look for:

Investment options: Consider low-cost index funds (local and

international – some apps also offer ethical index funds).

Minimum investment: I’d want it under $100, and the ability to

regularly invest on autopilot.

Cost to buy or sell: Ideally it should be free, though I’m a bit of

a grumpy tightwad.

Account-keeping fees: I don’t like paying account-keeping

fees, they’re like bank fees but worse. Can you imagine your
bank saying “we’re going to take 1.5% of whatever is in your
bank account as a fee”. Of course not!

If you’re looking for Look up kids’ If your child is at high school, have them choose their own
an investment app investment apps on investment app (I teach them how in Barefoot Kids).
for your kids … www.google.com
However, if you’re setting up an investment app on behalf
of your kid, google “kids’ investment apps”, which should
uncover around seven providers. Here’s what to look out for:

Investment options: Consider low-cost index funds (local and

international – some apps also offer ethical index funds).

Minimum investment: For kids you want it under $50, and the
ability to regularly invest on autopilot.

Cost to buy or sell: Ideally it should be free; I don’t like kids

being charged dollar or percentage amounts.

Account-keeping fees: I don’t like paying account-keeping

fees as it erodes their returns.

In most cases you can open a trust account in the name

of an adult who will act as trustee until the child turns 18.
Once your child (or grandchild) has turned 18, the shares can
then be transferred into an account in their name. For high-
income-earning parents, you may want to consider children’s
investment bonds.

If you want to check Download the ATO app The ATO app works with your MyGov account. You can check
your super balance, from www.ato.gov.au your super balance and consolidate your super funds. It’s
and consolidate all actually not bad for a government app.
your funds …

If you want to find Use the ATO’s super The ATO’s super comparison tool allows you to compare your
the best super comparison tool current super fund against other funds in terms of fees and
fund … at www.ato.gov. performance.
au/YourSuper-
As an index fund investor I care deeply about fees but not so
comparison-tool
much about performance (I know I’ll outperform the majority
of funds over the long term because of low fees).

The type of super fund that I like is a target-date fund, which

automatically invests your super based on your age.

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Insurance
If you want to Compare policies at At privatehealth.gov.au choose ‘Compare Policies’. Unlike
get the best www.privatehealth.gov.au most comparison tools, it’s run by the Government ‒ so
private health it’s free and unbiased and lets you search every policy on
insurance for your the market to find the cheapest that meets your needs.
circumstances … I purchase top-level ‘comprehensive’ private hospital
insurance ‒ the best hospital cover I can for my money.
And I don’t purchase extras or ‘combined’ healthcare
cover, because it really means paying up front for stuff I
generally don’t claim.

If you want to work Use ASIC’s life insurance ASIC’s MoneySmart offers a helpful calculator for working
out how much life calculator at moneysmart. out how much life insurance you might need (your super
insurance you gov.au/how-life- fund may also offer their own calculator on their website).
need … insurance-works/life-
Once you’ve figured out how much insurance you need,
insurance-calculator
call your super fund and speak to their insurance advisors
to explain the pros and cons of purchasing insurance
inside and outside of your super fund.

If you want to sort Use Google to find an This is controversial, but I choose to get almost all my
other kinds of insurance broker in your insurance through a single insurance broker, who charges
insurance … area. Call at least three me a commission.
and find one you gel with.
Sure, I pay a bit more than I would online. But as someone
who’s lost a home, crashed multiple cars, had flood
damage and more (you name it, I’ve claimed it), I’ve found
that insurance is all about claims management.

And when something goes wrong is when my broker

really earns his money. I can just pick up the phone, call
him up, and he’ll sort everything out. Reading policies,
understanding what I’m covered for, talking to insurance
companies, sorting replacements, and handling claims ‒
he does it all for me.

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Stopping Scammers
If you want to shut Check out www. They have an option called ‘savvy shield’ that allows
down your credit creditsavvy.com.au you to shut down your credit file with all the credit
file … reporting agencies. They’ll also alert you if someone is
trying to access your file.

If you’re looking I use www.malwarebytes. I use Malwarebytes to protect my computer. Having

for good anti-virus com (though you should
software … google ‘best antivirus
software’ to find the latest
and greatest!)
a strong virus protection program running in the
background of your computer is a must! Your virus
protection should automatically run scans throughout
the day and find any viruses or malware that have
found their way onto your computer. They should
also be scanning income emails. As I say, I use
Malwarebytes, but you should google ‘best antivirus
software’ to find the latest and greatest.

If you need a I use www.lastpass.com LastPass and Dashlane are password managers that
password manager … and www.dashlane.com hold the keys to my digital life: they remember my
passwords, account details, card numbers and more.
I use both for slightly different purposes, but either
would be totally fine to use on its own.

If you want to set I use www.ExpressVPN. It’s worth paying for a VPN. I use ExpressVPN ‒ for
up a Virtual Private com $100 a year it’s good insurance.
Network (VPN) to
protect your online
browsing …

If you want to keep Set up ‘two-factor On all my accounts I’ve turned on two-factor
yourself safer authentification’ (also authentication (google it).
online … known as 2FA) on your
accounts

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Legals and Estate Planning

If you want to create I used www. Don’t get your will from a newsagent. The lawyer I
a will … legalconsolidated.com.au use is Legal Consolidated (I get paid nothing for this
recommendation). Also get both medical and financial
powers of attorney (POAs).

If you want to set up I used www. High income earners who have significant assets and
a family trust … legalconsolidated.com.au are at risk of being sued because of their occupation
should consider setting up a family trust. This online
guide makes it very simple; it’s the one I used.

Tax
If you’re an employee Download the ATO app If you’re an employee with a simple financial situation
and you need to do from www.ato.gov.au (a few shares or an investment property) you probably
your tax return … don’t need to pay H&R Block $100 to do your return.
Do it via the ATO app instead. It’ll be pre-filled, so you’ll
likely just have to ‘tick and flick’, and if you’re due a
return it’ll come in 14 days.

If you need to Use the ATO’s Again, the ATO app has a free record-keeping tool
keep track of your myDeductions tool at called myDeductions that makes it easy to keep your
deductions … www.ato.gov.au/General/ records in one place. I have it downloaded on my
Online-services/ATO-app/ phone.
myDeductions

If you’re a small I use www.xero.com.au We use Xero as the core of our accounting software
business owner who ‒ for payroll, bookkeeping and everything else. It’s
needs to keep track simple, yet powerful enough to handle everything we
of accounting … have going on.

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Getting the Right Advice

If you want to Call 132 300 and say Call Centrelink on 132 300 and arrange a face-to-face
check you’re ‘Financial Information meeting with one of their Financial Information Service
getting the right Service’ or go to www. Officers (FISOs). They can help you sort out your Centrelink
Centrelink servicesaustralia. entitlements and also give you unbiased general retirement
pension … gov.au/financial- planning advice that lays out your options, without the hard
information-service sell. The service is free and independent – and it rocks.

If you need to plan Call 132 300 or go to Again, call Centrelink on 132 300 and arrange a face-to-face
your aged care … www.servicesaustralia. meeting with one of their FISOs. The service is free and
gov.au/financial- unbiased. They’ll explain the costs involved with aged care,
information-service impacts on the Age Pension, options with your former home,
and estate planning considerations. What have you got to
lose?

If you’re having Call 1800 007 007 or go The National Debt Helpline will put you in touch with a
trouble paying to www.ndh.org.au financial counsellor (like me). Call this number if you’re
your debts … having trouble paying your debts. The service is free,
unbiased, and incredibly empowering.

If you’re a small Call 1800 413 828 or go Like the National Debt Helpline but for struggling small
business owner to www.sbdh.org.au business owners. These guys do amazing work.
struggling with
your business …

If you need to find Call your super fund The number one question people ask me about financial
a financial planner advisors is: “Why do I need an advisor if I have index funds?”
(even if you’re
Financial advisors aren’t stock pickers, investment gurus or
invested in index
crystal ball gazers. Rather, they’re strategists. They can help
funds) …
you uncover your goals, help minimise your taxes, protect
your assets, and maximise your pension entitlements.

Finally, the best financial advisors that I know put their clients
into index funds and help them stop freaking out when the
market falls.

So how do you find an independent financial advisor? Your

first call should be to your existing super fund to arrange a
meeting with one of their financial advisors. The first meeting
should be free.

If you want to Use ASIC’s MoneySmart I do this once a year when I’m doing my taxes, to see where
know your net net worth calculator at I’m at financially. I present the figure to Liz at our Date Night
worth … moneysmart.gov.au/ and she says “Oh, that’s good, now let’s talk about swimming
managing-debt/net- lessons …”
worth-calculator

If you’re Check out www.choice. It costs $7 a month (about $85 for the year), but my CHOICE
planning any big com.au subscription easily saves me 10 times that amount each
purchases … year. They have 200+ different categories of independent
expert reviews. I’ve actually been to CHOICE headquarters
and seen how hardcore and in-depth they are at testing
everything. It’s a very valuable service.

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