Terrell Owens is, Among Other Things, Broke (1 Viewer)

[AmosMoses]

There is no way this guy should be broke after being an NFL superstar for so many years. You have to be really bad with money to blow multi-millions of dollars through not only football, but endorsements, and even his ####ty reality show. If you looked up moron in the dictionary, you would see his mug grinning from ear to ear.

It's pretty common that former players experience financial problems and you can see that Dez Bryant has been getting ahead of that curve while still in college.

You'd like to think that his father taught him money management skills.

 

[Christo]

$44K a month in child support? Ouch.You would hope that after getting burned 3 times you would start protecting yourself. Nope, not TO, he goes out and knocks up a 4th chick. I realize he isn't a Rhodes scholar but jeez...

Why does a woman need that much money a month to support a child?

It has nothing to do with the woman's need. TO's children are entitled to receive support commensurate with his income.

 

[madhatter]

I especially enjoyed the way everything was someone else's fault. Sounds just like my 11 year old nephew.

 

[mad sweeney]

There is no way this guy should be broke after being an NFL superstar for so many years. You have to be really bad with money to blow multi-millions of dollars through not only football, but endorsements, and even his ####ty reality show.

If you looked up moron in the dictionary, you would see his mug grinning from ear to ear.

It's pretty common that former players experience financial problems

and you can see that Dez Bryant has been getting ahead of that curve while still in college.

I believe it's somewhere around 80%. I had a HS buddy that made the Bengals as an undrafted FA, played 9 years in the league (would've been maybe 3 if he hadn't learned to longsnap), never made more than $1mil/season (usually vet minimum after his 1st contract was up) and has his future grandkids set up for life. All the info is given to these guys as rookies, including tons of financial education using broke former players (including ones bilked by financial managers) talking to them during the rookie symposiums (drugs too, featuring Koren Robinson!) including also warning them about women seeking financial anchor-babies. I'm sure most of you know this stuff. I just can't bring anything but pity to a guy like TO whose mouth got him kicked off 3 championship caliber teams, who has NEVER admitted that he was wrong or that he brought his ostracism on himself, throws everyone around him under the bus. Only people I feel sorry for is the kids. With 4 of them out there, I gotta believe that at least 2 of the mothers are near as screwed up as TO and deliberately got pregnant for the paycheck. It's really kind of sad considering he's NEVER been in trouble of any kind off the field.I also wouldn't be surprised about the gay theories. Being able to even admit it to yourself is a gigantic, painful mental struggle, much less be comfortable enough to take on the next gigantic, painful mental struggle of either hiding it from everyone or "coming out".

 

[massraider]

I especially enjoyed the way everything was someone else's fault. Sounds just like my 11 year old nephew.

This was my favorite part:

"I'm human; that's what people don't realize. I may be a public figure, but really, I'm just like a guy who could be in your family and have some difficult things happen to him."

Yes, yes, we had no idea you were human! I thought you were a super hero! From another planet, just here to play football at a superhuman level!! Clown. I am enjoying this thoroughly. I can feel sympathy for a person that has squandered a lot of money, I really can. But TO did nothing during his career to ever earn the benefit of the doubt from any fan. He was a DBag from Day 1, and the 'media' isn't the reason none of his teammates call him.

 

[Sam Quentin]

holding onto him on my dynasty team.

:reported:

 

[Joe Summer]

rodman needs to take him under his wing.

Funny but true.

 

[Jason Wood]

I'm not surprised, but I am really bummed to read this story. I had hoped Owens had made enough and had good enough advice to be on the winning end of a great career. Ugh. I always liked TO (but admittedly I also never had to be his teammate or coach him) and can't believe how many of these guys can blow through that kind of money. $80 million dollars. I mean, even if you make a few bad investments, it's HARD to spend $80 million in a lifetime, much less a 15 year span.

I wonder if stories like this hurt Rosenhaus. After all, you know Owens rubber stamped most of these relationships and business deals b/c Drew "knew" them.

 

[Sam Quentin]

$44K a month in child support? Ouch.You would hope that after getting burned 3 times you would start protecting yourself. Nope, not TO, he goes out and knocks up a 4th chick. I realize he isn't a Rhodes scholar but jeez...

Why does a woman need that much money a month to support a child?

It has nothing to do with the woman's need. TO's children are entitled to receive support commensurate with his income.

kids of rich daddies cost much more to raise

 

[Dentist]

man I remember that place of his on mtv cribs was freakin awesome.

that's part of the problem.just because you make a lot of money sure doesn't give you the right to spend it.If i had just 3-4 years of his after tax, agent fees, etc. income (not even counting endorsements) i could live a very decent life forever!

 

[humpback]

man I remember that place of his on mtv cribs was freakin awesome.

that's part of the problem.

just because you make a lot of money sure doesn't give you the right to spend it.

If i had just 3-4 years of his after tax, agent fees, etc. income (not even counting endorsements) i could live a very decent life forever!

What?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

man I remember that place of his on mtv cribs was freakin awesome.

that's part of the problem.just because you make a lot of money sure doesn't give you the right to spend it.If i had just 3-4 years of his after tax, agent fees, etc. income (not even counting endorsements) i could live a very decent life forever!

I'm sure I could take one year of his salary and retire. About $4-5M right? No problem. Pay off the house, buy a cabin and then live off interest.

 

[Socrates11]

Won't somebody help this poor man?!

 

[Dexter Manley]

One of the themes of that story is that TO didn't really just totally waste his money like a lot of others do.

It seems to be a common theme with these athletes that they give their money to these random money managers who just blow it all. I find that very weird, but I guess it happens.

I think it just sucks overall to be dumb. The financial industry is a hard one to navigate without some intelligence. I can't imagine trying to do it dumb.

That being said... what's not hard is the theory that you only have to get rich once... staying rich isn't that hard.

those guys try to parlay those millions into tens of millions and they end up like Brunell and TO... just take that fat cash, save 60% and put it all in high quality munis.... success!

Yea, but it's not just dumb people that fall prey to these financial shysters. Billy Walters, for example, is regarded as the greatest professional sports bettor of all time by most people. He's anything but stupid and he's admitted to getting robbed blind by these "money manager" types. Most people don't think doctors are stupid, but countless doctors have gotten "robbed" by money managers and taken by other various scams. Heck, when I was in college, a guy I worked for at my summer job tried to rope me into a "great investment opportunity." Several doctors were among the biggest investors. The investment opportunity was a pyramid scheme.

Look at all of the people who got taken by Bernie Madoff. Most of those people aren't considered dumb.

Being dumb certainly doesn't help, but smart people fall for this crap all the time too.

 

[Da Guru]

I especially enjoyed the way everything was someone else's fault. Sounds just like my 11 year old nephew.

The sad thing about professional sports is that very few men who play these sports mature, they are locked into their teenaged or early 20s years forever. All of a sudden they are 40 and out of the spotlight. Many can`t cope with the reality of life out of the spotlight. This was a very predictable outcome for Owens.

 

[Dentist]

One of the themes of that story is that TO didn't really just totally waste his money like a lot of others do.

It seems to be a common theme with these athletes that they give their money to these random money managers who just blow it all. I find that very weird, but I guess it happens.

I think it just sucks overall to be dumb. The financial industry is a hard one to navigate without some intelligence. I can't imagine trying to do it dumb.

That being said... what's not hard is the theory that you only have to get rich once... staying rich isn't that hard.

those guys try to parlay those millions into tens of millions and they end up like Brunell and TO... just take that fat cash, save 60% and put it all in high quality munis.... success!

Yea, but it's not just dumb people that fall prey to these financial shysters. Billy Walters, for example, is regarded as the greatest professional sports bettor of all time by most people. He's anything but stupid and he's admitted to getting robbed blind by these "money manager" types. Most people don't think doctors are stupid, but countless doctors have gotten "robbed" by money managers and taken by other various scams. Heck, when I was in college, a guy I worked for at my summer job tried to rope me into a "great investment opportunity." Several doctors were among the biggest investors. The investment opportunity was a pyramid scheme.

Look at all of the people who got taken by Bernie Madoff. Most of those people aren't considered dumb.

Being dumb certainly doesn't help, but smart people fall for this crap all the time too.

touche.

good point.

you are absolutely right that there are a lot of "smart" people that get scammed.

but i'd argue they could be financially dumb even if they are job smart.

I know a TON of smart peeps that are financially dumb.

they read hundreds of books on their profession to learn how to MAKE money, but won't read even ONE decent book on personal finance and investing on how to keep, invest, and use their money wisely.

They are ripe for those types of scams.

A fool and his money are soon parted

 

[LarryAllen'sJockstrap]

Owens is the true definition of a man-child. Physically and mentally, he is in the 0.0000001% of human beings with the innate gift to be an elite athlete and parlay that into a financially successful career. On the flipside, outside of being able to run fast, jump high and catch the football, the guy seems reckless, irresponsible and juvenile, as evidenced by the way he handles himself in the media, having multiple children he shows no responsibility for and blowing through his money. If he had put even 10% of the effort he puts into keeping in shape into being a more responsible person, he would have been set till the day he dies.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Owens is the true definition of a man-child. Physically and mentally, he is in the 0.0000001% of human beings with the innate gift to be an elite athlete and parlay that into a financially successful career. On the flipside, outside of being able to run fast, jump high and catch the football, the guy seems reckless, irresponsible and juvenile, as evidenced by the way he handles himself in the media, having multiple children he shows no responsibility for and blowing through his money. If he had put even 10% of the effort he puts into keeping in shape into being a more responsible person, he would have been set till the day he dies.

spot on

 

[roadkill1292]

He was brought up very poorly, it appears. Unlikeable as he is, I have a hard time judging him with my own experiences as the basis for doing so. A propensity for repeating mistakes, however, seems to be a big negative for his character, regardless of his upbringing.

 

[mr roboto]

Greed. It can override 'smarts' any time. Take Bernie Madoff. He was investing for some very smart, very successful people. But they wanted the returns he promised, to hell with investigating where the money was 'invested.' Their greed took over their smarts.

I got a finance major in college solely for the personal education. I never wanted to work in finance, banking etc. Of course it would provide a fall-back if necessary. One of the biggest lessons we learned was that psychology plays a much larger role in personal finance than knowledge.

When people get greedy, prideful, impatient etc, they override sound principles and give their money to people and institutions who promise more than they can deliver.

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

 

[Flyin Pigs]

Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Ignore Me

...his off-and-on girlfriend, Kari Klinkenborg, a six-foot-tall, 26-year-old former college volleyball player-cum-model

Say what?

 

[culdeus]

When he was in Dallas he lived in a really basic condo downtown. Couldn't have run him more than 2k a month. He worked out in a low-tier gym and never went out with the other players. If that is how he normally carried himself I don't see how it is possible he ran through all his cash.

 

[Bronco Billy]

Another sad, sad story of the 99%

 

[Christo]

When he was in Dallas he lived in a really basic condo downtown. Couldn't have run him more than 2k a month. He worked out in a low-tier gym and never went out with the other players. If that is how he normally carried himself I don't see how it is possible he ran through all his cash.

The house he's living in in LA only cost him $499k. If he'd just used his "expense" strategy with his investment strategy he'd probably still be rolling in dough.I know we've discussed this in the FFA several times before. IIRC, most recently after Mark Brunell's bankruptcy. If these guys would just have gone to some reputable financial planner who'd spread the money around like we're all told to do most would be set for life and a lot would have generations of their families set. But safety with a decent return just isn't what these guys want.

 

[General Malaise]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

 

[roadkill1292]

When he was in Dallas he lived in a really basic condo downtown. Couldn't have run him more than 2k a month. He worked out in a low-tier gym and never went out with the other players. If that is how he normally carried himself I don't see how it is possible he ran through all his cash.

The house he's living in in LA only cost him $499k. If he'd just used his "expense" strategy with his investment strategy he'd probably still be rolling in dough.I know we've discussed this in the FFA several times before. IIRC, most recently after Mark Brunell's bankruptcy. If these guys would just have gone to some reputable financial planner who'd spread the money around like we're all told to do most would be set for life and a lot would have generations of their families set. But safety with a decent return just isn't what these guys want.

It is curious indeed why so many of these cases involve the kinds of investments that shoot for the moon. I wonder if there's some sort of "go for it" mentality at work here that isn't a standard part of working schmucks like me.

 

[General Malaise]

When he was in Dallas he lived in a really basic condo downtown. Couldn't have run him more than 2k a month. He worked out in a low-tier gym and never went out with the other players. If that is how he normally carried himself I don't see how it is possible he ran through all his cash.

The house he's living in in LA only cost him $499k. If he'd just used his "expense" strategy with his investment strategy he'd probably still be rolling in dough.I know we've discussed this in the FFA several times before. IIRC, most recently after Mark Brunell's bankruptcy. If these guys would just have gone to some reputable financial planner who'd spread the money around like we're all told to do most would be set for life and a lot would have generations of their families set. But safety with a decent return just isn't what these guys want.

It is curious indeed why so many of these cases involve the kinds of investments that shoot for the moon. I wonder if there's some sort of "go for it" mentality at work here that isn't a standard part of working schmucks like me.

I think it's more like these guys are easy marks...they know as much about quantum physics as they do about investing money. Even the Mark Brunells of the NFL are easy marks.

 

[culdeus]

When he was in Dallas he lived in a really basic condo downtown. Couldn't have run him more than 2k a month. He worked out in a low-tier gym and never went out with the other players. If that is how he normally carried himself I don't see how it is possible he ran through all his cash.

The house he's living in in LA only cost him $499k. If he'd just used his "expense" strategy with his investment strategy he'd probably still be rolling in dough.I know we've discussed this in the FFA several times before. IIRC, most recently after Mark Brunell's bankruptcy. If these guys would just have gone to some reputable financial planner who'd spread the money around like we're all told to do most would be set for life and a lot would have generations of their families set. But safety with a decent return just isn't what these guys want.

It is curious indeed why so many of these cases involve the kinds of investments that shoot for the moon. I wonder if there's some sort of "go for it" mentality at work here that isn't a standard part of working schmucks like me.

I think it's more like these guys are easy marks...they know as much about quantum physics as they do about investing money. Even the Mark Brunells of the NFL are easy marks.

Mike Modano (a hockey player here) got cleaned out for 9 million as well in a similar scam. Then his wife left him and took the rest of his money. Dude is left shilling anything he can around here.

 

[Da Guru]

I remember seeing an interview with Warrick Dunn a few years back talking about why many NFL players who have made millions end up broke.

Dunn said he could have probably retired off of his first contract. Dunn went on to say when you see second, and third rd draft picks buying Bentleys and Rolls Royces it is no wonder they are broke. Dunn gave himself a living salary of 150K a year for his first contract and banked the rest. Driving a brand new 25K car instead of owning 3-4 100K cars. Did not invest in risky real estate or a bar/restaurant. All safe investments where the return is smaller and has steady growth but there is no risk. Now Dunn is a multi-millionaire who is able to give much $$ back.

Dunn was wise beyond his years.

 

[Bronco Billy]

I don't understand how people are not supporting TO. He's followed a genius blueprint - run up as much debt as possible because no one will ever ask you to repay it, and remember that your resources are infinite. How could this have gone wrong?

 

[Buck Bradcanon]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

Again, how many of us grew up in harsh conditions with only a grandmother to take care of us? It is hard to feel sorry for him financially. I do feel sorry for him from an emotional/psychiatric standpoint. And i think the financial and teammate issues stem from that.

 

[roadkill1292]

I remember seeing an interview with Warrick Dunn a few years back talking about why many NFL players who have made millions end up broke.

Dunn said he could have probably retired off of his first contract. Dunn went on to say when you see second, and third rd draft picks buying Bentleys and Rolls Royces it is no wonder they are broke. Dunn gave himself a living salary of 150K a year for his first contract and banked the rest. Driving a brand new 25K car instead of owning 3-4 100K cars. Did not invest in risky real estate or a bar/restaurant. All safe investments where the return is smaller and has steady growth but there is no risk. Now Dunn is a multi-millionaire who is able to give much $$ back.

Dunn was wise beyond his years.

Sometimes when I catch myself shaking my head in disbelief at stories like TO's, I suddenly remember what an idiot I was in my twenties. If I had been raking in the loot at 23, good-looking women with dubious morals would have gotten all of it that I didn't smoke up.

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

Again, how many of us grew up in harsh conditions with only a grandmother to take care of us? It is hard to feel sorry for him financially. I do feel sorry for him from an emotional/psychiatric standpoint. And i think the financial and teammate issues stem from that.

Do you know what it's like to fall in the mud and get kicked... in the head... with an iron boot?

 

[Dentist]

I remember seeing an interview with Warrick Dunn a few years back talking about why many NFL players who have made millions end up broke.Dunn said he could have probably retired off of his first contract. Dunn went on to say when you see second, and third rd draft picks buying Bentleys and Rolls Royces it is no wonder they are broke. Dunn gave himself a living salary of 150K a year for his first contract and banked the rest. Driving a brand new 25K car instead of owning 3-4 100K cars. Did not invest in risky real estate or a bar/restaurant. All safe investments where the return is smaller and has steady growth but there is no risk. Now Dunn is a multi-millionaire who is able to give much $$ back.Dunn was wise beyond his years.

always like Dunn... now he's my favorite buccaneer ever.

 

[culdeus]

I don't understand how people are not supporting TO. He's followed a genius blueprint - run up as much debt as possible because no one will ever ask you to repay it, and remember that your resources are infinite. How could this have gone wrong?

What debt did he run up except child support obligations?

 

[Socrates11]

I don't understand how people are not supporting TO. He's followed a genius blueprint - run up as much debt as possible because no one will ever ask you to repay it, and remember that your resources are infinite. How could this have gone wrong?

Ahh, the 'Too Big To Fail' investment strategy. He should be expecting a check from the Government any day now.

 

[General Malaise]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

Again, how many of us grew up in harsh conditions with only a grandmother to take care of us? It is hard to feel sorry for him financially. I do feel sorry for him from an emotional/psychiatric standpoint. And i think the financial and teammate issues stem from that.

Probably a lot more of us grew up with a grandmother under harsh conditions than signed contracts in our careers worth 80 Million dollars (and how much more in endorsement deals?). He's not the only human being to grow up in harsh conditions. He could have used his money to seek both personal and financial counseling to better himself. He didn't. He listened to the wrong people and became the poster boy for selfishness....calling out teammates, throwing fits and bestowing us with the "I LOVE ME SOME ME" garbage. I don't feel a bit sorry for him and I don't care if he was raised by wolves in Yugoslavia. Warrick Dunn's mother was murdered and he raised his family (siblings) when he turned 18. He's not broke. He also didn't run around saying "I LOVE ME SOME ME".

 

[massraider]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

Again, how many of us grew up in harsh conditions with only a grandmother to take care of us? It is hard to feel sorry for him financially. I do feel sorry for him from an emotional/psychiatric standpoint. And i think the financial and teammate issues stem from that.

Or maybe he is just a self-centered tool.DBags can come from tough backgrounds. They are still DBags.

 

[Gachi]

Us normal folks making 40-90k can't put ourselves in the shoes of these super rich athletes and celebrities. I'm not defending him, but they live in a different world than most people. How the hell can you blow 80 million dollars, I have no idea. But this is very common. T.O. isn't the first, nor will he be the last. There's a story up now that Whitney Houston is 'broke as a joke.'

 

[17seconds]

I always looked at him as a dedicated, talented, hard working player who had public/social ######ation. He tried to enhance his image through various acts on and off the field and failed miserably every time.

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

Us normal folks making 40-90k can't put ourselves in the shoes of these super rich athletes and celebrities. I'm not defending him, but they live in a different world than most people. How the hell can you blow 80 million dollars, I have no idea. But this is very common. T.O. isn't the first, nor will he be the last. There's a story up now that Whitney Houston is 'broke as a joke.'

A lot of people make poor financial decisions (hell I'm one of them). It doesn't matter if you make minimum wage or $10mil a year...there are plenty of ways to go broke.Bottom line for me is that nobody is going to write an article about one of us if we go broke.

 

[Fennis]

Us normal folks making 40-90k can't put ourselves in the shoes of these super rich athletes and celebrities. I'm not defending him, but they live in a different world than most people. How the hell can you blow 80 million dollars, I have no idea. But this is very common. T.O. isn't the first, nor will he be the last. There's a story up now that Whitney Houston is 'broke as a joke.'

damn it

 

[Gachi]

Us normal folks making 40-90k can't put ourselves in the shoes of these super rich athletes and celebrities. I'm not defending him, but they live in a different world than most people. How the hell can you blow 80 million dollars, I have no idea. But this is very common. T.O. isn't the first, nor will he be the last. There's a story up now that Whitney Houston is 'broke as a joke.'

damn it

What?

 

[eoMMan]

Us normal folks making 40-90k can't put ourselves in the shoes of these super rich athletes and celebrities. I'm not defending him, but they live in a different world than most people. How the hell can you blow 80 million dollars, I have no idea. But this is very common. T.O. isn't the first, nor will he be the last. There's a story up now that Whitney Houston is 'broke as a joke.'

damn it

What?

We're not all pulling down 40k, Rockefeller.

 

[Buck Bradcanon]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

Again, how many of us grew up in harsh conditions with only a grandmother to take care of us? It is hard to feel sorry for him financially. I do feel sorry for him from an emotional/psychiatric standpoint. And i think the financial and teammate issues stem from that.

Probably a lot more of us grew up with a grandmother under harsh conditions than signed contracts in our careers worth 80 Million dollars (and how much more in endorsement deals?). He's not the only human being to grow up in harsh conditions. He could have used his money to seek both personal and financial counseling to better himself. He didn't. He listened to the wrong people and became the poster boy for selfishness....calling out teammates, throwing fits and bestowing us with the "I LOVE ME SOME ME" garbage. I don't feel a bit sorry for him and I don't care if he was raised by wolves in Yugoslavia. Warrick Dunn's mother was murdered and he raised his family (siblings) when he turned 18. He's not broke. He also didn't run around saying "I LOVE ME SOME ME".

Point taken and well said. Good response. Im pretty much a pushover so I tend to feel sorry for everyone. But the Warrick Dunns of the world should definitely be celebrated.

 

[Dexter Manley]

When he was in Dallas he lived in a really basic condo downtown. Couldn't have run him more than 2k a month. He worked out in a low-tier gym and never went out with the other players. If that is how he normally carried himself I don't see how it is possible he ran through all his cash.

The house he's living in in LA only cost him $499k. If he'd just used his "expense" strategy with his investment strategy he'd probably still be rolling in dough.I know we've discussed this in the FFA several times before. IIRC, most recently after Mark Brunell's bankruptcy. If these guys would just have gone to some reputable financial planner who'd spread the money around like we're all told to do most would be set for life and a lot would have generations of their families set. But safety with a decent return just isn't what these guys want.

It is curious indeed why so many of these cases involve the kinds of investments that shoot for the moon. I wonder if there's some sort of "go for it" mentality at work here that isn't a standard part of working schmucks like me.

This isn't unique to football players and other pro athletes, this is very common with everyday people as well.I know plenty of people who graduated college (back in the late 90's) and got nice paying jobs (for regular people) who blew all of their money too, and to this day have no real savings. Unlike pro athletes, however, they can at least work in their field for another 30+years.

Also, I'm not ashamed to admit I was pretty financially irresponsible right after I graduated. I got a small inheritance (30K) a couple months after graduating. I've got great parents. They are savvy and conservative investors that don't do anything reckless, and they preached this to me throughout my life, so I don't have the same excuse the T.O.'s of the world have.

What did I do with the 30K? Let's see:

- Paid 6K down on a car I bought for 12.3K (this actually may have been my best investment as I paid off the rest of the car in 3 years and drove it for over 8 years after that).

- Paid 4K in credit card debt (the problem with this is over 3K of that credit card debt was after I got the inheritance).

- Invested 20K in the stock market in individual stocks (This was my worst decision. The year was 1998. I had studied Buffet's way of investing and was convinced that gold would be a great long term investment, as the bull market couldn't go on forever and gold was priced very low. So what did I do? I couldn't resist the potential big returns of individual stocks, as at that time the stock market was on a crazy bull market run. I invested in Sonus, Pfizer, Level 3, Xerox, and Brigham Explorer (the only oil stock in this bunch) and bought no gold. I might have forgotten another dog stock or 2 I invested in. I lost my ### on all of those, sans Pfizer which I still hold.

What am I left with today? Some pfizer stock which is worth 2-3K (haven't looked at my statements in a while) and a newer car which I bought with the money I got for selling my old one.

I don't even want to know what 20K of gold back in 1998 would be worth today.

Then there's the fact that I had roommates in my house for about 3 years (about a decade ago), and I was making $600/month for their rent. So I saved that cash money right? Nope. I partied all of that money away! (At least it was fun though. Much better return than my Level 3 stock )

There's a saying that youth is wasted on the young, and this definitely is applicable to investing. Most young people in general make poor to horrible financial decisions. By the time they learn from their mistakes (if they ever do) they've lost a lot of money and several years if not a decade or longer of positive growth from good investments.

 

[cstu]

The event in TO's childhood that I find had the biggest impact on him was when he was 11 and had a crush on girl across the street. He was made fun of by the girl's father who told him that he couldn't date her because it was his sister. His father had lived across the street and never had contact with him before or after that. No wonder he's ####ed in the head.

 

[Reg Lllama of Brixton]

The event in TO's childhood that I find had the biggest impact on him was when he was 11 and had a crush on girl across the street. He was made fun of by the girl's father who told him that he couldn't date her because it was his sister. His father had lived across the street and never had contact with him before or after that. No wonder he's ####ed in the head.

According to MOP's theory this would have made T.O. gay.

 

[General Malaise]

OMG I feel horrible for hiim. Is there something we can do to help????

Again, how many of us grew up in harsh conditions with only a grandmother to take care of us? It is hard to feel sorry for him financially. I do feel sorry for him from an emotional/psychiatric standpoint. And i think the financial and teammate issues stem from that.

Probably a lot more of us grew up with a grandmother under harsh conditions than signed contracts in our careers worth 80 Million dollars (and how much more in endorsement deals?). He's not the only human being to grow up in harsh conditions. He could have used his money to seek both personal and financial counseling to better himself. He didn't. He listened to the wrong people and became the poster boy for selfishness....calling out teammates, throwing fits and bestowing us with the "I LOVE ME SOME ME" garbage. I don't feel a bit sorry for him and I don't care if he was raised by wolves in Yugoslavia. Warrick Dunn's mother was murdered and he raised his family (siblings) when he turned 18. He's not broke. He also didn't run around saying "I LOVE ME SOME ME".

Point taken and well said. Good response. Im pretty much a pushover so I tend to feel sorry for everyone. But the Warrick Dunns of the world should definitely be celebrated.

You ever read about Vince Young's childhood? Ooooooof.