12 Ways the Olympics Can Impact Your Finances

Olympics and Money Management

What do the Olympics and money management have in common? Plenty! As I was watching the opening ceremonies and the first few events this weekend, I saw lots of ways to improve your finances.

Here’s the financial tips that I found. Feel free to add more lessons that you see during the next couple weeks!

1. International Diversification. The parade of nations in the opening ceremonies should be a reminder of how big the world really is. Be sure to have an appropriate asset allocation, with enough international diversification.
2. Prepare for the worst. Unfortunately death and illness can happen far from home, even at the Olympics. You may want to check your insurance policies for transportation back to your home country in the event of an emergency.
3. Teach your children. Learning about foreign nations is a great opportunity to teach kids about foreign money.
4. Budgeting. If watching all the fanfare makes you want to attend the next Olympics, here’s how to see the Olympics on a budget.
5. Savings goals. If you want to go to one, start saving now for 2012 in London or the Winter Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver.
6. Age is just a number. Dara Torres shows us just that as a 41 year old competing in Olympic swimming. If your goal is to retire in your 40s, or even your 30s don’t let people tell you that you can’t!
7. Technology is amazing. It really is! You can watch the Olympics online and catch all your favorite events.
8. Business is booming. Even though our economy may be in a recession, the most expensive Olympics ever will have sponsors shelling out big bucks.
9. Sports are expensive. The time and money involved to train the athletes is enormous. If you are a die hard sports fan, but don’t have any sponsors, save money by finding creative ways to get inexpensive sports equipment.
10. Generate multiple income streams. An injury for an athlete could mean a loss of millions of dollars in advertising revenue. Hopefully they have a back up plan. Do yourself a favor and diversify your income.
11. Limited opportunities in your lifetime. The Olympics only come around every four years for the athletes. The same is probably true of opportunities in your life, some come very infrequently and some come only once in a lifetime. Always be ready to take advantage of one.
12. Get back to basics. Athletes repeatedly focus on the fundamentals. Do the same for your finances with the five fundamentals of financial success.

Photo: 2008 Olympic Games countdown by http2007.

This article included in: Carnival of Personal Finance

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