Can you imagine burning through $154 million? Evidently, that's what former NBA star Allen Iverson did, according to reports that he didn't have the cash to pay a jeweler $860,000 following a judge's order.
The former Philadelphia 76ers guard raked in $154 million from his NBA salary alone, not to mention outside deals. He was known for living large. CBS reporter Joshua Norman writes:
"...he spent money like the superstar he was. He was known for having an entourage as big as 50 people. He helped popularize in the NBA the hip hop fashion sense of neck tattoos and absurdly large diamond jewelry. He traveled with a hair stylist, and spent lavishly on everyone around him."
This isn't a rare occurrence among NBA players who get used to outsize lifestyles, Norman points out:
"The NBA Players' Association reportedly reminds its rookies every year that 60 percent of NBA players go broke five years after their last basketball-related paycheck, reports The Toronto Star."
Take Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, best known for his Chicago Bulls tenure. He is reported to have lost career earnings totaling $120 million. The rapid depletion of funds included a little run-in with a jet, Yahoo! Sports notes:
"Unfortunately, Pippen’s successes on the court couldn’t stop him from losing career earnings worth $120 million, including more than $4 million for a corporate jet that was grounded just months after he bought it. He sued his attorneys for $8 million for failing to monitor the purchase, and won the lawsuit. The jury ruled, however, that Pippen bore some responsibility for the purchase himself, and he was awarded only one quarter of the amount that he sought."
Crazy, isn't it?
I don't know about you, but I have no clue how you'd even begin to spend $154 million, let alone with such stunning alacrity. I can't fathom what that much money looks like, what it entails.
And of course, we're much better off for lacking this staggering spending gene.
With their diamonds and jets, hair stylists and entourages, people like Allen Iverson are spending for today. Single Catholics, on the other hand, are spending for tomorrow, living in a way that sets them up for the marriage and family life they seek.
Doing so can be a real challenge. In a CatholicMatch poll, 59 percent of members said that yes, finances are affecting their dating lives. One in five respondents called it a "major problem."
"I definitely think finances affect dating," Andrew-680201 wrote in a blog comment, "especially for men who are expected to...pay for dinner, outings and take care of the majority of the expenses in the relationship. Unfortunately, because of the way the system is set up, you sometimes meet someone great before you have the job that enables you to handle those expectations."
What are you doing to save for your future? Leave a comment to share your strategy. And while you're at it, clue me in: How could a person possibly burn through $154 million so quickly?
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