The Money Game

Whether it’s a summer job, a camp check, or NIL money down the road, money you can’t see clearly is money you’ll lose. Start with the basics most kids never get taught.

• ●A checking account is for money you spend; a savings account is for money you keep. Use both.
• ●Direct deposit beats cash and checks — it’s tracked, it’s safe, and you can’t “lose” it.
• ●Pay yourself first: every time money comes in, a set slice goes to savings BEFORE you spend a dollar.

Here’s a trap that wrecks young athletes: they get a check, spend all of it, and then find out they owe taxes on it. NIL money, camp money, prize money — most of it is “1099” income, which means nobody took taxes out for you. You owe them later.

• ●When you’re paid as a contractor (a 1099), no taxes are withheld — it’s on you to set money aside.
• ●A safe habit: the moment money comes in, move roughly a quarter to a third of it to a separate “taxes” savings spot and don’t touch it.
• ●Keep records of what you earned and any expenses. When in doubt, a real tax preparer is cheap insurance.

A budget isn’t a punishment — it’s a plan that lets you buy the things you actually want without the panic. The simplest one that works:

• ●Needs first — the stuff you genuinely can’t skip.
• ●Savings second — pay yourself before you play.
• ●Wants last — and only with what’s left, guilt-free.

The trap is buying “wants” like they’re “needs.” New cleats every month, the latest phone, eating out every day — none of that is a need, and all of it adds up to the difference between a kid who builds something and a kid who’s always broke.

Credit is borrowed money, and your “credit score” is a number that says how trustworthy you are at paying it back. Used right, it helps you rent an apartment or buy a car. Used wrong, it’s a hole that swallows people for years.

• ●A credit card is not free money — it’s a short-term loan you must pay back, with brutal interest if you don’t.
• ●Pay the FULL balance every month, not the “minimum.” Minimums are how the trap closes.
• ●Borrowing for something that loses value (clothes, a night out) is the worst kind of debt. Avoid it.

The minute there’s a whiff of money or fame, people appear. Agents, “managers,” advisors, and the famous “uncle with a plan.” Some are real help. Some are there to eat. Here’s how to tell.

• ●Real help gives first and asks for money later — and explains exactly how they get paid.
• ●A red flag is anyone who wants money UP FRONT, a big cut of money you don’t have yet, or your signature tonight.
• ●Big decisions get a parent AND, when there’s real money, a lawyer or a licensed financial advisor — not just a buddy.

Making money is loud — the car, the chain, the clip. Keeping it is quiet, and quiet is what changes a family’s name. The athletes you never hear went broke are the ones who turned a short career into a long life.

• ●Spend less than you make — always, even when the number gets big.
• ●Put money to work: saving and simple investing turn today’s check into tomorrow’s freedom.
• ●The goal isn’t to look rich. It’s to BE okay — and to leave your kids better than you started.