We’ve all heard about major league sports athletes, singers, musicians, and other famous people going broke after having made enormous incomes during a period of their lives. The minimum salary for some major league sports athletes can be $500,000 per year or more and continues to rise each year. In addition, they normally get generous raises when their service stretches into successive years even if they sit on the bench all those years.
Many of the other celebrities and high-income earners don’t have minimum or maximum salary tables. Their income is dependent on how many sales they can make of their endorsement on products, services, concerts, speaking engagement, etc. Most people have seen the ‘Cribs’ shows that give us a glimpse into the opulent mansions and array of expensive cars they sport. We also hear that they purchase clothes, jewelry, and other items that cost tens of thousands of dollars a whop.
Despite the high incomes many have earned for at least a few years and some for many years, we continue to note a great number who are broke not many years after they reached the height of fame and fortune. Many people think the greatest culprits are:
1) The same amount of income is no longer coming to them.
2) The average longevity for being on top in the entertainment / sports arena is a few years.
3) These stars are at the mercy of industries either don’t have pension plans they can draw from or the plans pay a fraction of what they earned during their careers. This is exacerbated for those who spent many years in the industry and made the highest incomes.
4) Some don’t have much formal education or other skills to fall back on once the high income is gone.
However, all is not as it seems. What really caused most to go broke is the fact that they did not follow scriptural instructions for managing finances. They chose to follow the path so many of their comrades follow and that the world teaches and examples for them: Spend recklessly and spontaneously without planning for the future which often does not provide as much income as one makes at the height of income-earning years. Make it rain baby! Thus, there are minimum salary makers trying to live like industry icons, taking on more debt than they receive in income.
Sure, there is a low percentage who never lose all the fame and high income. Yet, the majority will only have a moment or few years of fame and then their incomes will drastically drop. History and a good understanding show us even icons can fall and go broke when they do not employ good financial & lifestyle stewardship. Thus, we should walk in wisdom leading to a debt-free, giving, saving, and investing lifestyle that is as concerned with our ability to live twenty years from now as it is with our current comfort.
Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!
Genesis 1:27, Exodus 19:5, Psalms 50:10, Ecclesiastes 12:1, Ephesians 3:9
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