The obvious answer to this question is, “Yes, they are very different!”  But that would be too easy.  Think about it.  NFL players go to the exact same high schools and colleges as the rest of us.  They sit through the same classes where some pay attention and invest in their education while others daydream. 

In a recent article about the NFL Financial Advisor Program Adam Reinking, regional director and partner for Risk Paradigm Group said that, “High schools don’t educate people about finances, credit cards, what debt means to them or how to buy a house. Even when they move on to college, kids major in things where they never have to take any kind of finance course at all. They enter this arena disadvantaged because of the education they had.”  Don’t we all enter the working arena disadvantaged?  What I learned about credit cards, debt and buying a house I learned from my mom.  I got lucky that she is financially savvy and knew how to explain finances to a teenager who loved shoes, and that I actually listened. 

The Registered Player Financial Advisor program tries to give athletes a respected financial advisor they can trust coupled with financial education.  Sure, your employees don’t suddenly have huge contracts giving them money they never dreamed they could have in a lifetime.  But they still receive a salary and need to understand how to manage that money to best secure their families’ lives and futures.  I think your employees’ hard earned funds are just as important as these NFL players’ funds. 

Find ways to educate your employees on finances, because most likely they haven’t had a lot of financial education in their lives either, just like NFL players.  The difference is that someone noticed the players were struggling.  Turn to your credit union and see what they have in place to offer financial education.  Or you can check out the National Endowment for Financial Education.

Are you offering your employees financial education as part of your wellness package?

Erica L.

Originally posted at:

http://uecubenefit.uecu.org/