Believe it or not, you and I have a lot in common with the multi-million-dollar earning athletes. We all have to follow the same rules of money health. Pay attention to the amount you spend, keep track of your expenses, and spend less than you earn.
For pro athletes like Terrell Owens or Antionne Walker, they didn’t keep track of what they were spending, and ended up investing in things they didn’t understand, and ended up broke. Even though they earned a lot of money, they didn’t keep control of how much they spent. They might have let managers take care of their money, or helped family members, or bought things that were too expensive. And, pro athletes only have a small window of time to make money. If they don’t plan ahead and save money, they will end up with troubles.
On a smaller scale, I have seen some clients who did some of these things. Many times, clients helped family members, so much that they didn’t look out for number one, themselves. Or, people might buy a car, only paying attention to the payment amount, but not how long they’d have to make the payments. Another big mistake I’ve seen is not paying attention to the terms of a mortgage, so that the payments seem fine for a few years, and then they jump up later. Take a look at this article from Yahoo Finance about how even pro athletes have money problems.
Other reasons for financial trouble for “normal people” can be medical bills, job loss, or divorce. Of course, the more money you make, the more those divorces can cost!
The lesson here is that just about anyone can get into financial trouble, even people you think are rich! Sometimes, financial trouble hits through no fault of your own. You can try to plan and budget, and do the best you can. Bankruptcy can be a way to get a fresh start with your financial life. There are other solutions too; call, and we can help you.
Daniel J winter
BankruptcyLawChicago.com
312-789-9999
Offices in Chicago, Gurnee, Oak Lawn, and Skokie, Illinois
