As a Professional Athlete, if I gave you the green light to not worry about how much you spend, would you like that? If you knew that spending was not going to be an issue and you didn’t have to worry about being constantly told to watch your spending habits would that be appealing? If that sounds good to you, then I think you’ll appreciate this month’s Something to Think About.

Professional athletes are constantly advised to watch their spending habits. I understand the reason as to why this is being said; that’s easy – too often, athletes go broke and it’s because they’ve spent far too much money. But I believe the typical approach to spending habits needs to be thought about differently and here’s the perfect opportunity for Something to Think About.

Why not focus on what you save as opposed to what you spend? Beyond that, by all means – spend! Spend 'til you’re blue in the face and you can’t spend any more! Now obviously, I’m exaggerating a bit. I’m not suggesting that you waste money; rather, spend as you would like to with the knowledge that you’ve saved enough money to last you through your lifetime.

If for example, you and your Financial Advisor determine that you need to save $250,000 (in addition to normal living expenses) each year that you are employed as a Professional Athlete to be able to live the rest of your life comfortably, then anything above and beyond that should be available for you to spend if you choose to do so. By shifting your focus away from spending and towards saving, you automatically set yourself up for financial success as opposed to just the opposite.

In closing, I’d like you to please ask yourself the question, “Am I focused on how much I’m saving, or am I constantly thinking about how much I’m spending?”

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Something to Think About, Edition #3: Focus on what you save, not what you spend