The life of a professional athlete is incredibly busy. Not only is your schedule packed with training, matches, and various other engagements you have with your club, but you also need to find time to manage your day-to-day responsibilities such as paying bills and running errands.
As a result, it is fully understandable that you might experience some form of stress while juggling so many balls all at once.
Interestingly, finances tend to be one of the most common sources of stress for UK adults. Indeed, according to research published in FTAdviser, 56% of UK adults reported that their finances were the “greatest cause of stress in their lives”, with 23% saying that they were losing sleep over financial anxieties.
As a result, it is highly important to find strategies that help you to limit financial stress, achieving peace of mind with your money so that you can focus on the things that matter to you, such as your career.
So, with Stress Awareness Day coming up on 2 November, discover five effective ways to manage financial stress as a busy athlete.
1. Identify the sources of your financial stress
The first place to start is to identify the causes of your financial stress. So, take a minute and really consider the things that have caused you sleepless nights when dealing with your money.
This will be entirely personal to you and your situation, but some common sources of stress include concerns such as:
- Your finances are not properly organised
- You are not sure how much of your money to save and invest
- You do not have enough time to adequately deal with your money
- You and your family would not have enough money to live on if you were unable to play rugby, work, or if the worst happened to you
- While you are comfortable now, you will not have enough to live your lifestyle once you retire.
Once you know what it is that causes you financial stress, it can be far easier to find the right methods that help you eliminate it.
2. Organise your finances ahead of time
Once you know what your sources of stress are, the next step is to look at ways to organise your finances ahead of time.
That means keeping paperwork tidy and in order, and being prepared for key financial deadlines such as for the self-assessment tax return in January or the end of the tax year in April.
Try not to let paperwork build up or get too close to deadlines before you need to submit documents or information.
While it can give you the illusion of reducing stress by kicking something down the road, this will often come back to bite you when you are rushing around, trying to sort things at the last minute.
3. Create a budget
A simple and practical way for you to reduce financial stress is to create a comprehensive budget, detailing every element of your income and outgoings.
By doing so, you can build a visual image of exactly where your money goes each month. From there, you can decide where you would like to spend, save, or invest more of your income. You might even identify some areas where you can reduce unnecessary expenditure, too.
Knowing that you have a sufficient amount of money to cover the costs of your lifestyle can be hugely reassuring, limiting the stress your finances can cause.
4. Keep an emergency fund
As part of your budget, you should also put an emphasis on creating an emergency fund of cash that you can dip in and out of when you need to.
No matter how well you plan or how organised your finances are, some events are just entirely unpredictable. Unexpected repairs, perhaps on your car or home, can leave you with a bill in the thousands of pounds that you simply have not budgeted for.
As a result, it is often sensible to have an emergency fund of cash. This should be held in an easy access savings account so that you can dip in and out of it without needing to worry about incurring penalties or having to wait to use it.
A good target amount for your emergency fund is to have at least three to six months of expenses saved. Even if you never need to rely on it, just knowing that you have this pot of cash available can offer immense peace of mind.
5. Work with an experienced financial planner
Perhaps the very best way to cut financial stress out of your life entirely is to work with an experienced financial planner.
A planner can consider every aspect of your finances and build a plan for you that ensures your money is organised, with the right balance of saving and investing.
The main benefit of working with a planner is that they will also take your personal circumstances and goals for the future into account.
Rather than making one-size-fits-all suggestions, your planner will ask you what you want to achieve with your money, and then build your financial plan accordingly.
That way, you can be confident that you will have enough to live your desired lifestyle, whether that involves moving away to somewhere sunny or continuing coaching the next generation of players well into your later years.
At DBL Asset Management, we are an experienced team of qualified financial planners who specialise in working with rugby players. That means we have an insight into the specific issues you face in your life and career, and can make personalised recommendations for your wealth that suit you, your family, and your lifestyle.
So, if you would like to work with an expert to help you achieve complete peace of mind with your money, please get in touch with us today.
Email enquiries@dbl-am.com or call 01625 529 499 to find out how we can help you.
Please note
This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
