The Barefoot Investor & The Bindi Patch
Lynda McKie
Author Hannah Trotter
Continuing our afternoon of powerhouse women speakers, Senior Private Wealth Adviser Lynda McKie is here sharing why she doesn’t hate the Barefoot Investor like most financial planners, but reminds us to beware the bindi patches if we are going to leave our shoes behind!
The Triangle Happiness
In the last 15 years, there has been 40 surveys conducted to come up with the following 3 contributors for happiness.
These are:
- Strong Relationships;
- A Sense of Purpose; and
- Financial Security.
What we’ve learned is that you can’t have one or two of these – you need all three so that no element is left in isolation.
“True and lasting success is knowing deep in your bones you have the freedom to tread your own path in life and the ability to protect those you love.”
1. Strong Relationships
In the Barefoot Investor, Scott encourages a weekly date night. Getting together with your significant other in a relaxed environment to talk about, an apparently taboo topic, money!
In a survey of 3,000 Australians, 33% say they have never spoken about money with anyone! Not their loved ones, friends, an adviser – no one!
When we speak about money, we become motivated to learn more about money.
87% of couples who say their marriages are great also say they set long term goals around money.
So in summary, no bindi patches in Scott’s date night and the strong relationships and conversation about money it encourages.
2. Financial Security
They say well-being rises until we reach about $100,000 in income – then suddenly, it plateaus.
The power of money to affect our well-being lies in its capacity to alleviate stress. People can actually achieve normal levels of well-being on a low income provided they remain in control of their finances.
Financial Security comes from being in control and confident about our finances.
The Art of Conscious Spending
Conscious spending is not about sticking to a tight budget. Rather, it’s like a keto diet.
When we are consciously eating, we think about what we consume, we savour it, take our time and enjoy it and do not consume without thought.
It should be similar with spending.
We need to:
- Consider what’s important to us;
- Spend $$ on the stuff we love; and
- CUT THE WASTE! (Sorry Lynda, no more shoes!)
If you want financial freedom, we need to take charge. We need to feel confident that we are on track to achieve our goals. Money doesn’t lead to well-being, it’s the sense of control that helps us get there.
The book sounds easy, but it’s not!
It is challenging to continue the maintenance of a new pattern behaviour, we need to see results. Similar to my gym membership, I’ve signed the papers, paid the subscription and been at least twice in the last few months, and yet, I can’t understand why my body doesn’t look completely different.
When it comes to finances, Lynda says long term strategies take at least 7 years to show you significant benefit. There’s no short term path.
Present bias is the tendency of people to give stronger weight to payoffs that are closer than trade-offs that are further away.
In the moment, it’s hard to stay on track.
‘No one is born smart with money – we have to learn to be savy.’ This is more about our behaviour than our brains.
The three take homes from Lynda’s session are:
1. there’s no quick fixes – this is a long term strategy;
2. get support – we are working against our own behavioral tendencies here;
3. talk more – we need to open the dialogue about money!
Thanks Lynda! Beware the bindis friends!
Thank you to our partners for helping us bring The Retreat 2019 (a law conference like no other!) to you!
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Hi there! I’m Hannah and I am a law student currently in my third year at Queensland University of Technology. I graduated high-school in 2014 completely clueless about who I was, what I wanted and how I intended to get there. To many people’s surprise (including my own) I moved from my family farm on the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to start my law degree in 2016.
Following my first year I commenced work as the Receptionist at Brisbane Family Law Centre. Having worked with this amazing team for nearly 2 years, I have been given a learning opportunity that goes beyond lectures and tutorials by providing a practical experience of the world of Law. My experience as part of the BFLC team has taught me that a Law career does not have to fit into a traditional box which has ignited a new passion for my studies as well as my future career in the legal profession.
In the meantime, I’ll stick to writing musicals, drinking coffee and playing board games.