An old mate of mine turned up to the farm with a baseball cap on.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t sunny.<\/p>\n
As we shook hands I noticed his head was bandaged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat have you done to your head, cobber?\u201d I asked, concerned for his wellbeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just had a surgical procedure,\u201d he said. \u201cGrafts.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had no idea what that meant.<\/p>\n
But apparently, a surgeon yanked the hair from his rump then sewed it into his noggin, like a seed. And then my mate spent the next few weeks watering it with enough worm juice so that hopefully a few bum hairs would sprout.<\/p>\n
Or something like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much did this hair-raising procedure cost you?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cForty grand,\u201d he said sheepishly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, yeah,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n
Now my mate paid for this out of the savings in his Smile bucket.<\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re missing both your hair and your savings, help is at hand:<\/p>\n
\u201cThinking about a hair transplant but the cost is holding you back? You may be able to access your superannuation on compassionate grounds to fund your treatment \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Check this Facebook ad out:<\/p>\n
Huh?<\/p>\n
In 2024, Australians lodged more than 90,000 applications to raid their super early on compassionate grounds. Over a billion dollars was released, mostly for medical costs. Authorities are now calling out businesses that push people toward overly expensive or unnecessary treatments funded by their retirement savings.<\/p>\n
And some of those treatments include hair transplants.<\/p>\n
Apparently this now falls under \u2018mental health\u2019.<\/p>\n
Right.<\/p>\n
Getting bum fluff sewn into your head and calling it a mental health necessity is a stretch.<\/p>\n
But think about what happens when these blokes are old and grey and finally do the maths. Factor in the tax on early withdrawal and decades of lost compound interest, and that $40,000 procedure can quietly turn into a $200,000 mistake.<\/p>\n
All for something that, in most cases, is optional.<\/p>\n
My mate can afford it. Plenty of people can\u2019t.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re the ones being sold.<\/p>\n
One day they\u2019ll stop working. One day they\u2019ll have to start living off what\u2019s left. And if they\u2019ve been dipping into it early, that moment will arrive with less than they thought.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s enough to make you tear your hair out!<\/p>\n
Tread Your Own Path!<\/p>\n
Dating an Orange Narcissist <\/p>\n
Hi Scott,<\/p>\n
A lot of us Barefooters signed up to ING back in the day for the free banking and the good rates. Now I\u2019m reading they\u2019ve rolled out a paid subscription model overseas, up to $75 a month for the bells and whistles, and Australia\u2019s apparently on the list. If ING goes down that road, where are we all supposed to go?<\/p>\n
Daniel<\/p>\n
Hi Daniel,<\/p>\n
I rang up ING (admittedly when I was at the boozer.)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not doing it this year,\u201d the employee assured me.<\/p>\n
So next year then.<\/p>\n
After all, the big boss in Europe gave an interview to Bloomberg under the headline: \u201cING introduces subscription model to lift fee income.\u201d It also confirmed our little penal colony was on the list for the gouging.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the quiet bit out loud \u2026 that makes your job hard,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUh, yes, it does,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
My view?<\/p>\n
Banking is a lot like dating a narcissist.<\/p>\n
When you first hook up they\u2019re all lovey dovey, and low-maintenance:<\/p>\n
No bank fees! No ATM fees! High savings rates!<\/p>\n
Then they get comfy. And slowly the hoops appear:<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me your pay packet if you want a good rate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you dare touch your own savings, or my interest in you will \u2026 vanish.\u201d<\/p>\n
They treat you worse every year \u2026 putting out less and less, betting you\u2019re too busy to leave.<\/p>\n
So where to next?<\/p>\n
Well, I had a brief affair with UP, yet they ended up jerking me around as well.<\/p>\n
My business banking is with a credit union, but that\u2019s kind of like listening to music on a walkman. It\u2019s financial virtue signalling, and mostly impractical.<\/p>\n
Personally, I\u2019m not playing banking Tinder, swiping right on every outfit that flirts with an extra 0.7 per cent, knowing full well it disappears the second the honeymoon ends.<\/p>\n
My view?<\/p>\n
ING are not the sweetheart they were when I first wrote my book, but they\u2019re no Big Four either.<\/p>\n
A subscription fee to hold my money though?<\/p>\n
That\u2019ll be the day I tell them to pack their bags. <\/p>\n
Am I Really the Bad Guy?<\/p>\n
Hi Scott,<\/p>\n
Both my parents have passed away and I\u2019m inheriting the family home 50\/50 with my sister. Neither of us plans to live there. She wants to keep it for sentimental reasons. I want to sell. It\u2019s a large acreage with an older house. Mowing, weeds, rodents, the works. And I can\u2019t stomach an empty house when people in our community are desperate for somewhere to live. My sister wants to buy me out via a long-term payment plan. But she\u2019s already said \u201cyou don\u2019t really need the money anyway,\u201d refused any discussion about terms, and forbidden me from asking about her finances. I\u2019ve suggested she borrow from a bank instead. She thinks I\u2019m being unreasonable. I\u2019m yet to start a family and this money matters. Why does wanting my fair share make me the bad guy?<\/p>\n
Tim<\/p>\n
Hey Tim,<\/p>\n
Your sister is grieving the loss of your parents, and right now that\u2019s guiding her decision to keep the joint.<\/p>\n
You also said you\u2019re \u2018about to inherit the home\u2019 which tells me it\u2019s still pretty raw.<\/p>\n
This is what happens mate! It\u2019s a totally understandable reaction.<\/p>\n
So what can you do?<\/p>\n
Give her some time. (You\u2019ve got two years from the date of death before Capital Gains Tax kicks in.)<\/p>\n
The reality of maintaining an acreage property is a pain in the toosh, and expensive as hell. So give it six months.<\/p>\n
At the same time I\u2019d find a way to honour your parents and your family. Maybe it\u2019s starting a new tradition, a yearly long weekend retreat that the entire family goes on. Or perhaps it\u2019s a donation in their name.<\/p>\n
My wife\u2019s late father was a teacher. Each year she and her brother go back to his old high school and present a prize to a student in his name. It\u2019s sentimental, meaningful and hopeful all wrapped up in one night.<\/p>\n
Better yet, ask her for some ideas.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re not the bad guy. You\u2019re her brother, and with a little support you can help her with her grief, and help her use the money to honour them. That\u2019s the legacy they\u2019d be proud of.<\/p>\n
I Spent $800 on takeout food <\/p>\n
Scott,<\/p>\n
In 2021 a friend recommended your book to me. I was in a bad place, in a relationship that was incredibly abusive, emotionally and financially.<\/p>\n
I read it that Christmas and went through my spending. I was spending $800 a week on takeout because my cooking was \u201ctoo shitty\u201d for him to eat. After I\u2019d worked a full day and he\u2019d spent it gaming because \u201cno one is hiring babe.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was a devastating wake-up call. I restructured my spending and started saving. By the end of 2022 I was free.<\/p>\n
Tonight I got my end of financial year bonus. I\u2019ve officially hit my 20% deposit goal, Scott. I can buy a home. I am happy crying right now. I have six months of expenses saved, a healthy ETF account, and I am free.<\/p>\n
Sara<\/p>\n
Hey Sara,<\/p>\n
Hallelujah!<\/p>\n
There is so much doom and gloom right now.<\/p>\n
The government. Capital gains tax. The cost of living. All very real speed bumps. Yet the algorithm of outrage makes them feel like dead ends.<\/p>\n
Not you, Sara.<\/p>\n
You were in a genuinely awful situation. A bloke who wouldn\u2019t eat your cooking and wouldn\u2019t get a job.<\/p>\n
Yet instead of staying stuck, you opened a book, set-up some buckets, and followed the plan.<\/p>\n
Year one you sorted yourself out.<\/p>\n
Year two you walked out the door.<\/p>\n
Year five you\u2019re happy crying over a deposit.<\/p>\n
That is its own special kind of compounding.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve answered thousands of letters over the years. What I\u2019ve found is it takes most people about 12 months to sort themselves out, and around six years to become financially bulletproof.<\/p>\n
Not many people follow a plan for five years. But the ones who do get moments like this.<\/p>\n
A home deposit. Six months of expenses in the bank. An investment portfolio ticking away in the background. And something far more valuable than all of them:<\/p>\n
Freedom. Well done. Enjoy tonight. You\u2019ve earnt it.<\/p>\n
DISCLAIMER: Information and opinions provided in this column are general in nature and have been prepared for educational purposes only. Always seek personal financial advice tailored to your specific needs before making financial and investment decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An old mate of mine turned up to the farm with a baseball cap on. It wasn\u2019t sunny.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":765327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,286879],"class_list":["post-765326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-playaday"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/765327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}