From the back (emphasis is mine):

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 show has been described as finance for people don’t do finance. He makes money funky; your money can look after you once you learn to look after it.

The Barefoot Investor is the only finance book I’ve managed to read from start to finish; lets face it – finance is a bit of a boring subject for most people. The book distills much of the jargon and dry subject matter into a form which can be easily related to, easily understood, and easily acted on.

It’s hard to describe the difference this makes. While reading The Barefoot Investor, you start thinking about how you are going to implement the tips and ideas you get, and more importantly, when. This book makes you want to take control over your finances, and it gives you the information you need to do it.

It’s important to note that this book is (mostly) not about short-term gain. Most of the advice is based on long-term strategies which will make you “financially free” (i.e. not worrying about your finances and not living payday to payday). There are some short-term strategies for helping you get on the right track, but mostly the book looks at the “long game,” or – in Barefoot Terminology – “working your Mojo.”

For me, the best chapter (or “step”) in the book, is #3 – “Repo Your Repayments.” This chapter primarily deals with debt and what can be done about it. It clearly looks at many of the common forms of consumer debt, why they’re bad, and more importantly, what can be done to get out of the trap.

So in summary – buy this book. If you’re looking for a book to help you understand your finances, with clear, practical advice, I don’t think you’ll find one much better than this.

¹ Examples would include: Your Money or Your Wife, What Price the Little Things, and Be a Bank Account Tart

While many nations are accruing more and more wealth, as individuals we are increasingly less wealthy, burdened with debt and struggling to live a full life.
Easy access, an all-pervading consumer culture and a lack of emphasis on saving help consolidate the division between rich and poor and are actually working to increase it.
So we need to adapt and start saving, here’s a few tips to help.

There’s some nice tips listed – far more than I’ve had a chance to read through yet!

I ask because I recently got sick. Last summer I suffered a stroke (I’m 23) and couldn’t work for 3 months. This year I’ve had to deal with a number of consequences of the stroke, the most serious of which is epilepsy and being prone to mental and physical exhaustion.

This exhaustion can take me out of pretty much everything (including this blog). I’m only just starting to get back on top of things after the last bout. That’s by-the-by however.

The point is I had to make sure I could have money coming in if I couldn’t work for a spell. Most employers offer sick-pay – where you get paid for a period of time if you get sick. Usually the time period sucks. Some employers offer a form of enhanced sick pay benefit, in the form of a salary-sacrifice scheme. That is, you give up a portion of your monthly wage to fund the scheme which gives you sick pay for a greater length of time. In my case, I would get 3 months full pay and then 12 months half pay instead of just 3 months half pay. By enrolling in the scheme, I ensured I had enough money coming in to pay my mortgage and utility bills.

Covering the very basics is all fine and well, but it would leave things rather tight. Plus, would you really want all your proverbial eggs in one basket? When taking out credit, many lenders will try and sell you unemployment insurance. The idea here is that for an extra premium, your repayments will be covered in the event you find yourself unable to work (through sickness or unemployment). My understanding of this type of policy is that if you ever do need to use it, your credit rating will be severely affected.

Another, more extreme type of cover is Critical Illness Cover. CIC is generally part of a life insurance policy. This type of policy will payout a large lump sum (usually tax free in the UK) in the event you suffer a “critical illness” as defined by your policy. Usually this includes stuff like heart attacks, cancer, most terminal illnesses… and strokes. I didn’t claim on mine. The only issue with CIC is if you ever need to claim (assuming you will survive), that’s it, you’ll likely not be able to get much in the way of CIC again, which can effect your chances of getting something like a mortgage. It was because of this and because I was going to make a full recovery that I didn’t claim on mine.

One final way to cover your self should something happen. One final way – and one which I am working on realising – is to have streams of AIS (Automated Income Source). I’ve talked very briefly about having systems that work on auto-pilot, but not in depth. Examples of AIS systems include niche content websites with advertising revenue, affiliate schemes, and selling information products with an payment/automated download system.

These are just some of the ways you can protect your income if you get sick for an extended period of time. As always, you should seek independent financial advice before making any decisions.

Today the forms for opening the new account came through. I could opt to have my new bank move my salary and all direct debits to the new account automatically, along with closing my old account. For the purposes of this experiment, I chose to use all of their facilities.

Even though I’ve gone through this process once before, switching your main current account is always going to leave you with a slight trepidation. After all, what if someone messes up and one or more of your bills (such as your mortgage) don’t get paid? Or worse – your accounts just vanish into the electronic ether! Banks will tell you there is nothing to worry about – and by and large there isn’t – but it’s natural to worry when your money is at stake!

If first impressions are to be made, the forms for any banking service would be where you judge them. I’m glad to report the forms in this case were extremely easy to fill in – name, post code, current bank account number and sort-code, employer address and payroll number, and a signature. That’s it. All-in-all, it must have taken me about 2 minutes, with three quarters of that time devoted to finding my payroll number. Pop the form in the post and job’s a good’un. So far the impressions of the service are positive. However, having had many, many, “unfortunate” incidents with banks in the past, I’ll reserve judgement until the whole process is complete. I’ll also not name the bank in question until everything is completed, so they will only get a recommendation if they come through on the service front.

No, actually. Interest rates and charges can vary quite a bit and there’s always new “special offers” to consider. Some people point out the hassles involved in switching accounts between banks as reason not to move. This is no longer true. Banks are legally bound to provide details such as direct debit information to your new bank within three working days and your new bank must have the new account open with ten working days (source).

There are many reasons why you would want to switch. Better service and better interest rates are the usual. Lower bank charges are an important one to watch for – especially when ATM cards are involved.

Savings accounts aren’t near as complicated to move about as current accounts, and it’s here you should always be looking for a better deal. Don’t worry about staying a loyal customer – pass yourself around like the floozy at the Office Christmas Party. Use a particular bank only until a better offer comes along, then jump ship as soon as possible.

The only thing to watch for is a trend towards “12-month contracts” on savings accounts. A lot of the best High Street banks are offering fantastic rates of up to 10%, but on accounts where your deposits are fixed for one year. While there’s nothing wrong with one of these accounts (I just opened one the other day infact), don’t put all your eggs in one basket. I’ve mentioned before you should aim to save a minimum of 10% of your income every month. Rather than put all this into a fixed-term account, maybe split it so 4% goes into a more flexible (but lower rate) account. This will let you react quicker when an even higher interest rate appears later.

In summary: don’t worry about being a loyal customer, it won’t get you any benefit; be prepared to switch to a better deal and always look out for number one!