Achievements on the field don’t always translate into financial stability. That’s why today we bring you three financial tips for athletes who want to start laying the groundwork for their post-career success.
Improve Your Financial Literacy
This is one of the greatest hurdles that athletes must clear both during and after their career. Athletes tend to hit their financial peak early, when they are still grappling with some basic aspects of financial literacy. It’s no wonder that a famous survey by Sports Illustrated showed that 78% of NFL players were bankrupt after only two years into retirement. Striving to become financially literate is one of the best time investments an athlete can make.
These are some steps you can take to build your financial literacy skills:
- Read personal finance books
- Learn how to keep a budget
- Listen to financial podcasts and subscribe to financial newsletters
- Contact a financial professional who can offer guidance
- Use social media to learn more about finance
Be Discerning With Your Entourage
Successful athletes never lack friends. The quality of those friendships is another matter altogether. Athletes must be discerning with the people they allow into their entourage. Friends (or even relatives) and hangers-on who only want to gain some advantage from associating themselves with a successful athlete usually don’t provide good financial advice. On the contrary, they use flattery to take financial advantage of the athlete and then leave when the well dries up.
Watch Your Spending Habits
Again, peaking early from a financial standpoint means that athletes tend to create unsustainable spending habits. Whenever you spend money, think beyond the present moment to ensure that you are not making an impulse buy. Ask yourself whether you really have to make that purchase and whether these are the spending habits you want to build for yourself. Coupled with a solid financial education, this habit can do wonders for your financial stability.
New Tech Outreach: Empowering Individuals and Changing Lives
At New Tech Outreach we assist athletes at all levels and the public at large with counseling, coaching, life skills training, and financial education. We aim to change lives by empowering individuals to achieve the goals they have set for themselves.
We work with clients in Washington, Arizona, and all over the United States. Contact us today by email (info@newtechoutreach.com), telephone (202-412-4768), or through our social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.