Growing up as an athlete, especially as a basketball player, there was a lot of pressure to look a certain way or seem like you’re living a certain way outside of sports. The shoes you wear, clothes you have, accessories you acquired all ‘mattered’.
But living a lifestyle that you can’t afford can be very dangerous, especially if you’re trying to impress others. The stress that comes with not having money saved can play a toll on your physical and mental well-being. Here are five reasons why athletes should save money and how it will help them in the long run.
5 Benefits to Saving Money as an Athlete
Saving helps prepare for rainy days. Saving for an unexpected event is so important because whether you are an athlete or not, you never know when you’ll need help. You could experience a season-ending injury or an accident that could prevent you from working. It’s always important to be prepared.
When Kurt unexpectedly tore his ACL playing pickup basketball, his savings helped him cover the costs of physical therapy after his surgery. With weeks of therapy, he avoided going into debt to pay for treatments.
Saving helps pay for large purchases. Want a new Peloton bike? Thinking about upgrading your workout wardrobe? All of these things are possible when you have savings. Can you pay for these items with a credit card? Of course! But having the cash on hand to pay off your credit card will help you remain debt free and able to enjoy any fitness purchase you make.
Saving provides financial freedom. There is no better feeling than knowing that you don’t have to make choices between necessities each day. Having enough money to cover your basic needs- food, shelter, utilities and clothing helps people live a life with less worry. Having the savings to treat yourself to small or big luxuries is an even better feeling.
Starting early helps your future. Saving earlier in life helps athletes build a strong financial future. Growing your savings slowly over time can help you build a solid emergency fund for the future, while also providing you with a safety net for health and wellness expenses.
These days we’re super focused on investing in items and activities that enhance our lives. Even more important, Kurt and I are doing our best to make sacrifices now so that we can leave a great financial legacy for our child. Besides accumulating savings, property and other items that appreciate in value, using our savings to invest in our health will (hopefully) prevent our little one from having to make sacrifices regarding our care as we age.
Starting small can be very easy. Some pro-athletes have a philosophy where they save 40%-80% of their paycheck. Having this type of mindset or ‘philosophy’ can put any athlete in a tremendous advantage personally and professionally. If you don’t make millions of dollars each year (ps… many of us don’t!) you can still start small by putting a few dollars or a percentage of your paycheck into your savings account.
To help me take the work out of saving, I schedule automatic payments that directly deposit into my savings account. By doing this, funds go directly from my paycheck into my emergency fund account- easy!