Capes aside, the 2018 Winter Olympians are modern day
superheroes — strong, full of endurance, and unstoppable. While you may not
exactly be able to identify with these amazing athletes, there's something
to be gleaned from their relentless dedication to go for the gold.
Your strive for your own kind of financial gold should
require just as much motivation, hard work, and planning as they've practiced
in their own quest to reach the top.
While you may not be able to take their skills or habits to
the ice or the slopes, you can take them to the bank.
Here's how.
Start young when
it comes to saving and investing
Chloe Kim began snowboarding at the age when most kids started learning their ABCs — four years old. After showing promise, she joined her first team at age six and won junior nationals a year later. At age 17, she coasted to her first gold medal in Pyeongchang.
If this dominator of the women’s halfpipe proves anything,
it’s that you’re never too young to start something — like investing. Consider this hypothetical scenario: Person
A invests $5,000 annually between the ages of 25 and 65 for a total of $200,000;
Person B invests $5,000 annually between the ages of 35 and 65 for a total of
$150,000. Assuming a 7% annual return, Person A will have $1,142,811 by the
time they retire and Person B will have $540,741 — that’s a huge difference.
Throw in Person C, who invests $5,000 annually only between
the ages of 25 and 35 for a total of $50,000. With a 7% annual return, Person C
will have accumulated $602,070 by age 65. Even though Person C invested less
money in less time than Person B, they still end up with more money, all because they invested earlier.
But also know it’s
never too late to start
While there is no age limit, the average age of athletes
representing Team USA is 26.5. At age 39, Brian
Gionta is Team USA’s oldest athlete to compete. After not being re-signed
to the Buffalo Sabres, Gionta was free from the NHL’s prohibition of players
partaking in the 2018 Winter Olympics and able to take to the ice as USA Hockey's team
captain in Pyeongchang for the first time.
Like Gionta, it’s never too late to get in the game —
especially when it comes to money. As the saying goes, it’s better late than never. Just don’t go crazy with high risks to make
up for lost time.
Pick up a side
hustle
As if Olympic athletes aren't talented enough, many of them
also have a side hustle. Snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov, who had to bow out
last minute from competing in Pyeongchang after
getting injured in the X Games in Aspen, has more than just a gold medal to
his name — he also has a published book of Polaroids titled 'True Love is Hard to
Find' and a collaboration with camera maker Leica to design a special-edition
Leica Q, all thanks to his photography career.
There’s no arguing a side hustle helps bring in extra cash.
Susie Moore previously told Business
Insider, “It’s really not safe to rely on a single paycheck. The
traditional job market is shrinking.”
According to Bankrate,
more than 44 million American adults have a side hustle, and 36% of the 86% of
side hustlers who do it monthly make an extra $500 a month. Imagine what you could
do with that amount.
When you fail your
personal finance goals, try again
U.S. champion Bradie Tennell couldn’t remember the last time
she fell on ice — until it happened less than 30 seconds into her 2018 women’s
Winter Olympics figure skating debut while trying the triple toe loop.
“Things happen. We’re all human. We make mistakes, so you
just have to get up and keep going,” she told USA Today. “It’s a setback, but
it’s important to not dwell on things like that…”
That’s exactly how to treat a
financial setback. Whether you receive a salary cut, blow your budget, or run into some
credit card debt, there’s no need to give up. Make a plan for how you’ll start
the next day fresh and rise above it.
Take a risk —
invest in the stock market
A recent Gallup
poll reveals that only 54% of Americans invest in the stock market, down
from 62% just before the Great Recession. Perhaps that’s because about 61% of
adults find investing in the stock market to be “scary or intimidating,”
particularly millennials, according to a survey conducted by Ally
Invest. But you shouldn’t be afraid to take the risk.
Just take a cue from Canadian figure-skating duo Meagan
Duhamel and Eric Radford, who took a risk when they cleanly landed the first throw
quad salchow in Olympic history. The difficult maneuver helped the two-time
world champions take home a bronze medal.
While the stock market may not reap beautiful bronze, it can
reap other monetary rewards. Get started with the help of Andrew
Tobias, who sums up the sensible ways to invest in stocks.
It takes money to make money
Making it to the Olympics isn’t cheap. Once athletes qualify for Team USA, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) covers their accommodations, food, flights, and training. But until then? Everything else is on the athlete’s own dime.
U.S. snowboarding champion Mike Trapp, who made his Olympic debut in Pyeongchang, told NBC an average training season costs $35,000 in equipment, coaching, and traveling expenses. And that’s not counting schooling. Trapp trained at Waterville Valley Academy from sixth to eleventh grade, where tuition for a three-month season cost $15,000. Meanwhile, Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin paid $55,000 in tuition to attend Burke Mountain Academy.
It’s true that Olympic athletes aren’t ensured a hefty payday in return. The USOC awards only medal winners — $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. But some, like Lyndsay Vonn and Shaun White, rake in millions through endorsements and sponsorships.
Lesson learned: you need to invest money to earn money. It may grow or shrink depending on changing interest rates, but you need to pay up to reap the reward you’re looking for. The same is true for investing in something less tangible, like a graduate program or your own business. Just be realistic about what it will cost to get there and the return on investment.
Never stop
learning how to make your money grow
After struggling with uncertainty before being named to the
U.S. Olympic team, figure skater Vincent Zhou opened up in an Instagram
post, “I am young, ambitious, hungry, and motivated. But most importantly,
I am still learning.”
He added, “I am learning how to balance my training. I am
learning about the danger of ambition. I am learning what it takes to succeed.”
He ended up being the first person to land a quadruple lutz
jump at the Olympics.
Like Zhou, keep learning what it takes to succeed
financially. Personal finance can be overwhelming, but the right book can help
break it down. Luckily, Business Insider has
rounded up ten to fill your bookshelf.
A little makes a big difference
Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, who took home silver for Team USA, recently gave Health.com her advice on staying motivated: “If you can only get in 10 minutes on the bike, get in 10 minutes and go from there. It will add up.”
Meyers Taylor is right — a little goes a long way.
Americans aren’t known for their saving habits — the average American saves just a little more than 3% of their disposable personal income. Part of the struggle comes from the cost of mere day-to-day expenses. But even tucking away as much as $5 into your savings can make a difference over time — one woman saved close to $40,000 by tucking $5 dollar bills away over the course of 13 years.
Try using an app that helps you automatically save in small amounts over time, like Digit, which transfers your spare money into a savings account, or Acorns, which rounds up your purchases to the nearest full dollar and invests the change.
Likewise, when it comes to paying off debt, a little is better than nothing. Even paying an extra $10 on top of your monthly minimum payments can help reduce how much you pay in the long run. Another way to think small is the snowball method, which involves paying off the smallest balance first.
Be resourceful
Figure skater Adam Rippon recently turned to Twitter to
share his story about how he made ends meet as an aspiring Olympian chasing his
dream, from living in his coach’s basement to spending all of his extra money
on a gym membership and taking advantage of their free snacks:
“A little over five years ago, I moved to California. I was
broke AF, to the point where the little money I did have, I used to join the
gym. I would steal all the apples they had out for all the gym members because
sometimes I wouldn’t have enough $$$ for groceries.”
Stealing aside, there is a certain resourcefulness to be gleaned from Rippon’s story. There’s
no shame in brown bagging it to work, swapping Starbucks for homemade coffee, or stashing away an unexpected windfall of
money into your savings as opposed to treating yourself.
Think about the
end destination, not the pitstop
Being an Olympic athlete takes a lot more than physical
skill — it also involves mental skill, namely patience, perseverance, and a
view of the bigger picture. From the relentless training and physical injuries
to extreme expenses, Olympians push through it all for the gold.
Even when it comes down to the last few minutes, they never
lose sight of the end destination. Take it from Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krueger,
who
found himself tangled on the ground with two other skiers at the skiathlon
event, breaking his pole and placing him behind 68 skiers.
But he didn’t let this pitstop deter him — an hour later, he
crossed the finish line, winning the gold.
This mindset is exactly what a savvy saver needs. Think
long-term, not short-term. Whether it’s the small urge to pick up take-out or the temptation to splurge with your tax refund, don’t let a pitstop
prevent you from looking down the road ahead to your own gold — like that house
you’re saving up for or your retirement fund.
