As I was perusing through some news articles this morning, I stumbled across the following title: NFL star Michael Bennett skips direct deposits and keeps checks 'until the end of the season'. That sure caught my attention!

My first thought was "good for him." My second thought was "How much potential gain has he lost by not investing wisely?"

Image Source - Pixabay

The Early Years

Bennett held several jobs in his youth while living in Lousiana. He worked at a local water park and grocery store. He also lifeguarded over a span of 4 years. According to Bennet, he was motivated to work and save money so that he could buy school clothes for himself and his brother.

Those formative years in his life of working, saving, and budgeting still impact him even after enjoying a successful career in the NFL.

_{Details about Bennet's life are paraphrased from the article referenced above.}

Playing Football For A Living

Bennet was signed by the Seattle Seahawks in 2009 as a free agent. Attempting to settle into his new city, Bennett rented a home in the area, but later experienced financial loss when he was cut by the Seahawks and could not recoup any of the money he had paid for rent.

Since that time, Bennet, a three-time Pro Bowler, has amassed $59 million by playing professional football (including the salary he will be paid until the end of this season). In order to protect his earnings, Bennet still takes a conservative approach to his finances by forgoing direct deposits and waiting to the end of the season to cash his checks.

“I keep my checks until the end of the season to make sure I don’t spend any money. And then at the end of the season, I deposit it,” said Bennett,

Michael Bennet seems to have minimized his financial risks, but at what cost to his potential financial rewards?

_{Details about Bennet's life are paraphrased from the article referenced above.}

I Have Never Earned $59 Million

I am not a professional football player, I don't have a rich uncle, and my current salary is nowhere near close enough for me to earn $59 million in my lifetime.

But there is still a big question in my mind, "How much potential gains were lost?"

Interest rates are abysmal. The threat of negative rates (paying the bank to keep your money safe) is real, so I understand that Bennet may not have a lot of faith in a normal savings account, but there are still other options likes CDs and money market accounts. We are not talking about making a fortune off of interest. Bennet has already made his fortune. We are just talking about letting his money work for him, now that he has worked for the money.

What Does The Bible Have To Do With the NFL and Money?

As I read about Michael Bennet's conservative saving philosophy, I was reminded of a Bible Story. I am not going to get all preachy on everyone, but I think the story illustrates my point. The following is my modern-day paraphrase of an ancient parable:

While preparing for an extended trip, a business owner entrusted his company to three of his managers. Each manager was given the responsibility to oversee various parts of operations based on his proven ability.

The business owner gave the first manager control over $5 million worth of assets. The second manager was given control of $2 million of assets, and the third manger was given control of $1 million of assets.

Once the businessman returned, he called a meeting with the three mangers. The first and second manager reported that they had doubled the value of the assets they had been given control over. The business owner was pleased, so he praised the managers and promised to give them more responsibility in the future.

The third manager said, "I know that you hard man. I was afraid that I would lose your money so I did nothing while you were away, but here is the $1 million of assets you gave me." The business owner replied, "Could you have at least earned interest? You are not worthy to watch over my business. I will take away what I gave you and give it to someone more deserving."

The third man never even earned interest. He was too scared to be blamed for a loss!

Image Source - Pixabay

Do I want my kids to follow Bennet's example?

Yes and no. Is Bennet's saving philosophy wrong? Not for him, but I need to teach my children more. I want to enable and equip my children to earn by investing wisely and give sacrificially, regardless of their income.

I am completely impressed with Michael Bennets desire to save and his ability to execute his plan. Props to Bennet for having the ability to make money and exercising enough restraint to not spend it all. If you look around the NFL you see a lot of players wearing their wealth and wasting their wealth.

Although my kids will most likely never earn millions of dollars in the NFL, they need to learn to master money instead of allowing money to master them.

Self-Control

One of the best ways to exercise self-control in regards to money is to develop a budget and follow it. There are two components to a budget:

• How much money do I make?
• How much money do I spend?

Although sometimes depressing, knowing how much you make is relatively simple (especially if you make the same amount every week or month).

Knowing how much you spend is a bit more challenging. If you only use credits cards, which is becoming more common, you can review your spending habits via the credit card website. If you make a purchase with cash or checks, you will need to add those into the mix as well. I would recommend categorizing each expense so that you have an overview of where your money is going. For example, there might be categories for ...

• Food
• Transportation
• Communication
• Clothing
• Entertainment
• Household Supplies
• Emergencies
• Savings
• Benefits
• Miscellaneous
• Add other categories as appropriate

After you have created the categories, review the last 3 to 6 months of expenses so that you can calculate the average amount allocated to each category.

The key to budgeting is Money In > Money Out!

Bennet exercises self-control by removing the temptation/ability to spend. If money is not accessible then it is not spendable. I prefer a version of self-control that still gives me access to my money in case of an emergency or unexpected opportunity.

Investing

I want my money to make money. There are a lot of opportunities in life - some good and some sketchy. Investing is not just about making money, but making decisions that reduce risk and increase the chances of potential rewards. Noticed I did not say "remove risk."

I want my children to make decisions about their current finances that will positively impact their future gains.

This is not financial advice, but let's imagine that Bennet invested $50 million of his total earnings into Steem (no realistic because the government has come in and taken its share already). And for the sake of a compelling example, let's say he bought near the all-time high of $8 per Steem.

$50,000,000 \ $8 = 6,250,000 Steem

With that much Steem, Bennet would be a Whale.

Now let's say that he found an investment that provided an 20% annual return (very possible) with the current price of Steem at $0.20.

6,250,000 Steem x 0.20 = 1,250,000 Steem earned per year
1,250,000 Steem x $0.20 = $250,000 per per year

Even buying at the all-time high and earning at a very low price, Bennet could make a decent return on his investment.

I am always thinking about not leaving my money on someone else's table. I want to use my money to benefit my current needs and help me reach my future goals. I want to teach my children the same financial principles.

Giving

I believe that money creates opportunities to bless other people. I cannot speak to Bennet's generosity, but I find that it is hard to give money away that I keep at arm's length. The same mechanism that Bennet's uses to keep him from spending would potential keep me from giving.

It is equally hard to give away money that we selfishly grasp in our hands. Open hands are giving hands. As a proud father I want to brag on my girls. They act more like their mom than they dad. My daughters started a fund called "The Sisters Fund." They carefully guard a small plastic container and fill it up with spare change (and sometimes dollars bills from their allowance). They are keeping their eyes up for an opportunity to give this money away so that it will be a blessing to others.

Final Thoughts

I am not a financial expert, but I am a man who has some money, so I have to figure out the best way to utilize it. I have children who are entrusted to me and my wife, and we have a responsibility to help our kiddos flee from greed, learn responsible financial principles, and bless others with their blessings.

I fully support people saving money, and I think that Bennet is a great example to many. I also think that saving is just the starting point, not the finish line.

@SumatraNate