Money Advice From One of the World’s Richest Sportsmen
Shaq Talks Money
World-famous basketballer Shaquille O’Neal says that one evening he had a chat with business manager Lester Knispel who taught him that saving is key to future financial freedom.
Shaq relates how Lester took a $100 note and tore it in half in front of his eyes. Lester then told Shaq that to be rich you save half ($50) and only spend half.
Lester then told him that the difference between the ‘rich‘ and the ‘wealthy‘ is that the wealthy then tear the $50 in half again and only spend $25 and save all the rest (75%).
Since then Shaq has been trying to save 75% of his earnings and has been making use of the saved funds to buy his way onto the board of a big chain of Pizza restaurants to secure future earnings in the wake of his professional sporting career.
Shaq also says that Lester advised him not to spend his next big basketball paycheque (imagine how big it probably was) until he was married with kids. Shaq had become famous for spending $1 Million on the day he earned it in an endorsement deal with a trading card company.
‘Shaq had become famous for spending $1 Million on the day he earned it in an endorsement deal with a trading card company’
Saving his next big cheque is something Shaq got right the next time. He ended up taking the advice and holding onto that amount for quite some time. Just as well since his acting career never really took off as he hoped (as many of us hoped before seeing those movies).
Learn From Shaq
Though most of us will never earn the kind of cash that Shaq was really at the height of his fame, we can take his efforts to heart. If a big sports star can try be responsible with his earnings then we too should look for ways to save. This is even true of those in debt review. If you are in the process then your Debt Counsellor will have advised you to put away a little something each month towards a number of small annual type expenses. These might include car services, new tyres, back to school costs or perhaps just your TV licence.
If you are in the process and are failing to successfully put these smaller monthly savings amounts one side then you are setting yourself up for failure. Start to save now and be aggressive about it…like Shaq.
