Are You Buying It Because You Want It… Or Because You Feel You Should?

 

Not long ago I was delivering a financial education workshop with a group of young athletes and the conversation took an interesting turn. It wasn’t about tax or pensions, and it wasn’t about investment strategies. Instead, we found ourselves talking about spending and the expectations that can come with it.

When young players begin to earn money in sport, sometimes quite significant sums at a relatively early age, there can be an unspoken pressure around how that money should look. The high-performance car, the designer clothes, the watches, the gifts for friends and family. None of these things are wrong in themselves. Enjoying the rewards of years of dedication and sacrifice is something every athlete deserves to do.

But the discussion we had centred on a slightly different question: are you buying these things because they genuinely bring you happiness, or because you feel like you should?

Sport can be an extraordinary environment. It builds confidence, ambition and resilience, and for many young people it provides opportunities they might never have imagined. But like any world where success can come early and very publicly, there can also be pressure. Pressure to perform, pressure to succeed and, at times, pressure to look successful as well.

Social media only amplifies that feeling. Scroll through any platform and it can appear as though everyone is driving the newest car, wearing the latest watch or living a lifestyle that seems to be the benchmark for success.

The reality, of course, is rarely that simple. Social media rarely shows the planning that sits behind financial decisions, the saving that takes place quietly in the background, or the thoughtful conversations people have about their future.

One of the key things I try to explain when working with athletes is that sport has a very unusual financial timeline. Many players will earn more money in their twenties than most people do across an entire career. That can be exciting, and it should be, but it also means that financial decisions made early in life can carry long-term consequences.

Sporting careers can be unpredictable and, for many, relatively short. Contracts change, injuries happen and opportunities evolve. Enjoying the present while also thinking about the future isn’t contradictory; it’s simply part of making the most of the opportunities that sport provides.

During the workshop, one of the young players made a comment that stayed with me. He said that sometimes it feels as though people expect you to spend money in a certain way once you become a professional athlete. That observation prompted a different way of thinking about spending. Instead of asking the question, “Can I afford it?”, perhaps a better question might be, “Is this something I actually want?” or even “Is this the best use of my money right now?”

Sometimes the answer will still be yes. Enjoying success and celebrating achievements is part of the journey. But sometimes the answer may be different once the pressure of expectation is removed from the decision.

Financial education is often misunderstood as being about restriction, as though the goal is to stop people enjoying their money. In reality, it is about creating choice. When someone understands their finances, they gain the freedom to decide what matters to them rather than feeling compelled to follow someone else’s idea of success. That might mean buying something special, supporting family members or planning carefully for the future. The important thing is that the decision belongs to them.

What I have found through working with athletes over many years is that the most valuable conversations are often the simplest ones. Young players ask thoughtful questions about tax, contracts, savings and life after sport, but sometimes the most powerful question is also the most straightforward: are you making a decision because it genuinely brings you happiness, or because it feels expected?

It is a small question, but one that can change the way people think about money entirely. Want to talk more?