7 of the Top Financial Conflicts Couples Face (and How To Overcome Them)

7 of the Top Financial Conflicts Couples Face (and How To Overcome Them)

January 11, 2025

Money matters are a significant source of stress in relationships. According to a 2024 Fidelity study, 45% of partners argue about money at least occasionally, and 27% admit to being frustrated by their partner’s money habits.

Understanding and addressing money conflicts is essential for maintaining a healthy and harmonious partnership. Here are some of the top financial conflicts couples face and effective strategies to overcome them.

Different Spending Habits

One partner may thrive on the excitement of spontaneous purchases and enjoy spending freely, while the other prefers saving and meticulously managing the budget. This difference can quickly lead to frustration and resentment.

In order to overcome this, foster open communication about financial behaviors, ensuring each partner understands the other’s perspectives without judgment. According to MyWellbeing, establishing common financial goals, such as saving for a vacation or purchasing a house, can align spending priorities.

Additionally, try to create a balanced budget that allocates funds for both saving and discretionary spending to satisfy both partners’ needs.

Saving vs. Spending Priorities

Couples often clash over financial priorities, with one partner emphasizing the importance of saving for the future and the other preferring to enjoy the present moment. This fundamental difference can create tension and disagreements about money management, leading to frustration and misunderstanding.

To address this, try allocating a portion of the income to savings and another portion for spending on shared interests and activities. Additionally, commit to regular check-ins to reassess and adjust financial priorities as needed, ensuring both partners remain aligned.

To have a productive conversation, Desert Financial Credit Union recommends creating a safe and comfortable environment, having a set cadence, and practicing active listening and empathy.

Debt and Financial Obligations

TO READ MORE:  https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/relationships/top-financial-conflicts-couples-face-how-overcome/

50 Habits That Will Prepare You for a Comfortable Retirement

50 Habits That Will Prepare You for a Comfortable Retirement

Lydia Kibet   Wed, September 10, 2025   GOBankingRates

A comfortable retirement isn’t built overnight and it doesn’t require a six-figure salary. What makes the difference are the small habits you build over time. Whether you’re in your 20s or 50s the right habits will help you build the kind of retirement you want.

The 50 habits below will set you up for a comfortable retirement.

Saving and Investing

1. Start saving and investing early. Time is your greatest asset. The earlier you start, the more time your savings and investments have to grow.

2. Automate your finances. Set up automatic transfers to your savings, investing and retirement accounts.

3. Build an emergency fund. Save at least three to six months’ worth of living expenses to avoid tapping into your retirement accounts during emergencies.

4. Take advantage of employer 401(k) match. This is free money. Always contribute enough to your 401(k) to get the full employer match.

5. Contribute to an IRA. Use a traditional IRA or Roth IRA to grow your retirement savings tax-efficiently.

6. Diversify your investments. Don’t invest in one asset class. Spread your money across stocks, index funds, ETFs and bonds to reduce risk.

7. Invest consistently. Use dollar cost averaging to invest consistently regardless of where the market goes.

8. Rebalance your portfolio regularly. Review your portfolio year and adjust asset classes based on your risk tolerance and goals.

9. Understand your risk tolerance. Pick investments that align with your risk appetite.

10. Avoid emotional investing. Stick to your plan despite the market swings.

11. Increase your retirement contributions annually.

12. Don’t panic during market downturns. Don’t panic sell your investments when the market is going down.

13. Stay invested long-term. Time in the market beats timing the market.

4. Shop for insurance annually. Compare rates for auto, home and health insurance to ensure that you’re getting the best rates.

15. Use catch-up contributions. Contribute more to your retirement accounts once you hit the age of 50.

16. Avoid early withdrawals. Don’t tap into your retirement accounts unless it’s an emergency that deserves the withdrawal penalty.

17. Harvest tax losses. Strategically realize losses to offset gains and reduce current tax liability

Spending and Budgeting

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/50-habits-prepare-comfortable-retirement-185504786.html

How Happy Couples Handle Money — Even When They Disagree

How Happy Couples Handle Money — Even When They Disagree

September 4, 2025  Top 100 Money Experts

What’s the best way to manage money with a partner? 

You’re sitting at the breakfast table with your partner. Gazing into their eyes, you think about how much you love them, how much they — to quote “Jerry Maguire” — “complete you,” and how fortunate you are to have them.

Just as you’re about to fall even deeper in love, they open their mouth to tell you they might have, ahem, put a little more on the credit card than they planned. Or perhaps to chide you for not taking your employer match on your 401(k).  

Ah, love. Ain’t it grand? It still can be — even if your money habits clash — when you learn how to balance different financial styles. That process might sound complex and uncomfortable, but according to Emma Johnson, founder of Wealthy Single Mommy and author of “The 50/50 Solution” and “The Kickass Single Mom,” it starts with something simple: listening to each other.  

GOBankingRates caught up with Johnson to get her take on how happy couples can stay happy couples when it comes to managing money together.

YOU TUBE VIDEO:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqyl46S4HvM&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gobankingrates.com%2F&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ 

Respect Each Other’s Financial Independence  

One of Johnson’s first pieces of advice is to recognize that you and your partner are, well, your own people. You each had fully formed identities and managed your own money before you got together. Acting like a parent or boss with your partner’s finances can only breed resentment.

Each partner needs some financial autonomy – money you can spend without checking in first,” Johnson said. “You’re both adults.” 

Therapists back this up. Given how often couples argue over money, it’s not surprising that services like Ascencion Counseling include financial advice right on their websites. To keep your financial independence while managing joint responsibilities, you and your partner need to communicate and plan together.

One common approach is to open a joint account for major shared expenses like rent, utilities and groceries, while keeping separate accounts for personal spending. Once you agree on how much each of you will contribute — ideally based on income rather than splitting everything 50/50 — you can still maintain individual control over your own separate accounts.  

This kind of setup gives each partner more confidence in their financial abilities while also minimizing potential resentment. That’s a win-win.

Love Each Other Through Your Differences  

TO READ MORE: https://www.gobankingrates.com/saving-money/savings-advice/one-saves-other-spends-financial-pro-manage-money-couple/?hyperlink_type=manual

How To Protect Your Financial Windfall

How To Protect Your Financial Windfall

Mike Crisolago Updated Sep 6, 2025 Money Wise

The (PCH) Publisher’s Clearing House saga is a cautionary tale for anyone who comes into a large sum of money — whether it’s a sweepstakes giveaway, a lottery win or an inheritance. Without a plan, that money can dry up faster than you think.

Oregon man won ‘$5K a week forever’ in 2012, spent cash like he was set for life — but Publishers Clearing House went bankrupt. Now he might lose home

An old sweepstakes TV commercial once promised, “Only Publishers Clearing House can make you so rich, so fast!”

But, as some unlucky winners discovered this year, the opposite is also true: Publishers Clearing House (PCH) can make your fortune disappear just as quickly.

That’s what happened to John Wyllie, a 61-year-old Oregon man who won $5,000 a week for life from the PCH Prize Patrol in 2012.

According to NBC affiliate KGW8 [1], Wyllie received an annual check for $260,000 every January. The money let him retire and buy a house on six acres in scenic Bellingham, Washington. But this year, the checks suddenly stopped. A few months later, Wyllie learned why: PCH had filed for bankruptcy without warning him or other winners.

Wyllie told KGW8 the turn of events “feels like a nightmare,” made worse by the fact that he hasn’t worked in more than a decade and can’t find a job now. With bills piling up, he’s sold off big-ticket items like a jet ski and trailer, but still expects to lose his home.

For anyone who’s ever daydreamed about a life-changing win, Wyllie’s story is a harsh reminder that easy money isn’t always forever. It’s a reality check that could strike anyone who finds themselves scrambling to offset the loss.

From bankable to bankruptcy

KGW8 reported that Wyllie is one of at least 10 winners still owed money they’ll likely never receive.

That’s because ARB Interactive, which paid $7.1 million to buy PCH, announced it would only honor prizes won after it took over in July. For past winners still waiting on payments, The Wall Street Journal [2] noted they’ll “have to seek payment from the bankruptcy estate.”

To Read More: LINK 

Here’s Why You Always Want to Know Your Net Worth

Here’s Why You Always Want to Know Your Net Worth, According to a Financial Expert

August 25, 2025   By  Jordan Rosenfeld

How do I calculate my net worth, and why does it matter?

If net worth sounds like something only the uber-rich have to think about, it’s time to think again. Everyone has a net worth — though some are certainly higher than others — but you might be surprised to learn that you’re worth more than you think. More importantly, your net worth is one of the clearest snapshots of your overall financial health.

Dr. Preston D. Cherry, a financial planner who calls himself “a life designer in the world of wealth,” is the founder of Concurrent Wealth Management and author of “Wealth in the Key of Life.” He explains how to calculate your net worth, why it matters more than you might realize, and how tracking it over time can help you achieve your biggest financial goals.

Do This Simple Math

Calculating your net worth doesn’t require any complicated technology or sifting through boxes of paperwork; it’s a lot simpler than people think, Cherry said. “It’s just what you own minus what you owe.” To calculate your net worth:

• Add up your assets: This includes cash, retirement and brokerage accounts, investments, your home and even business equity if you have it.

• Then subtract your liabilities: These include credit card balances, student loans, auto loans, your mortgage or any other outstanding debts.

A Snapshot of Your Financial Story

Once you calculate that number, Cherry encouraged a mindset shift: don’t think of it as a static figure, but as “a snapshot of your financial story.” In his words, “It gives you a sense of where you are and a guide to where you’re going.”

Think of your net worth as your personal financial narrative. “It tells you where you stand, how far you’ve come, and your aspirational future,” Cherry said. In other words, don’t use it to compare yourself to others, but to measure your progress against your own goals.

Tracking your net worth regularly, such as quarterly or annually, can reveal whether you’re headed in the right direction. It can also highlight blind spots, like lingering debt or underutilized savings opportunities, and bring clarity to future decision-making.

A Reflection of Your Financial Choices

Another way to think of net worth, according to Cherry, is as “a reflection of how your financial choices support your well-being.” If your net worth is on the low side, that may show up as struggling to make ends meet or falling short of your goals.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.gobankingrates.com/net-worth/worth-more-than-you-think-wealth-expert-calculate-net-worth/?hyperlink_type=manual

4 Practical Yet Genius Money Tips From Tony Robbins

4 Practical Yet Genius Money Tips From Tony Robbins

Kristopher Kane  Wed, September 3, 2025   GOBankingRates

Managing your money isn’t always intuitive, and it can present significant challenges, especially if you’re just starting out. But no matter where you are in your financial journey, a few words of sound advice can never hurt. When it comes to financial wisdom, you could do a lot worse than listen to someone like Tony Robbins.

Over the years, the financial guru and motivational speaker has offered a lot of practical advice that can help just about anyone, regardless of their current situation, set and achieve their financial goals. Keep reading for four essential tips from Robbins that you can use to move toward your own financial success, one step at a time.

Harness the Power of Compound Interest

When it comes to long-term objectives like retirement savings or saving for a child’s college education, compound interest can be your most powerful financial ally — in fact, Robbins wrote in a blog post that it gives you an “unsurmountable edge” in making your investments grow.

The amount you need to set aside for these kinds of goals can sometimes seem too large to be realistic, but relying on the power of compound interest can make a huge difference.

If you know how to leverage compound interest, major goals become much less intimidating and a lot more doable. In a nutshell, by reinvesting the interest you earn on the initial amount of money you put in (the principal), you increase your total savings, as well as the amount you earn in additional interest over time.

This compounding effect isn’t linear, and it can exponentially increase the amount of money you’re able to save over long periods. Whether you have your money in a high-yield savings account, bonds or mutual funds, the key is to start early, stay consistent and be patient enough to let time and compound interest work their magic.

Know the Difference Between Pretax and Post-Tax Retirement Plans

Choosing the right retirement plan is especially important, and Robbins emphasizes the need to understand how pretax and post-tax retirement plans differ, and which might be best for you. He wrote on his blog, “While millions of Americans have a retirement account in place, the scary truth is, they have not considered the impact of taxes in retirement.”

With a pretax retirement plan — like a 401(k) or traditional IRA — you contribute a portion of your earnings before any taxes are taken out, which effectively lowers your taxable income for that year.

TO READ MORE: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/4-genius-practical-money-tips-160039018.html

Why So Few People Feel Secure About Money — Even When They Have Lots of It

Why So Few People Feel Secure About Money — Even When They Have Lots of It

And why the neighbors of lottery winners are often worse off.

Yahoo Creator  Sean Kernan  June 21, 2024

I’m not rich by any means. But I’ve done well enough to be comfortable, mostly because I saved aggressively early in my career. Yet I still feel like I’m only a stone’s throw from being in poverty, which is slightly irrational.  I remember having no money and having to budget until my next paycheck or risk groveling to my parents for help. It wasn’t a good life. And it still feels like yesterday, even though so many years have passed. Sadly, many people feel this way.

And to some extent — this stress can be constructive. It can mitigate risky spending. You’ll certainly never catch me with problematic expensive hobbies. But I wish I could feel more at ease about my station in life. Many of my friends are in this same psychological boat too. My buddy Brian is a software engineer, who has been making north of $180K per year — for years on end — while living in a low-cost area, and he’s still as cheap as he’s ever been.

So Why Are We Like This? How Do We Level Up And Counteract This Financial Anxiety?

The Origins Of The Problem

People tend to downgrade their financial standing. For example, per a survey by the financial firm Ameriprise Financial, only 13% of American millionaires classify themselves as wealthy. Even among those who had more than $5M in total assets — many still said they didn’t feel rich.

These weren’t people living in Silicon Valley, where $5M only gets you a shack. These were everyday people from all around the United States — still feeling underfunded.

Part of this is because of the disappearance of pensions — and fear that we’ll live on our savings and social security to get us through to old age. Both of my grandfathers had pensions, with one of them having two full separate pensions (military and government). But we are now the 401K generation — in a system that is more stressful than ever.

Why do people who have so much still feel sad about their financial standing?

Elizabeth Dunn, psychology professor at The University of British Columbia, and co-author of Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending, looked into this very question. She found that social comparison, in particular, drives much of our financial dissatisfaction.

How we compare our income to others of similar age, education, and region of residence, greatly shapes our self-perceptions and satisfaction. Unsurprisingly, those who compared themselves to groups of higher income, tended to be less happy and more anxious about money.

Unfortunately, a majority of people tend to do upward comparisons. The severity of this impact was most notable: “The income of the reference group is about as important as one’s own income for individual happiness.”

It pains me to admit it: I’m 100% a victim of this statistic. I often watch videos of lavish mansion tours on YouTube, despite knowing the likelihood of me ever owning such a property is slim (unless I somehow write the next iteration of Atomic Habits).

But I still enjoy oohing and aahing over the stunning architecture, classy furniture and paintings hanging on the walls. It’s entirely possible this admiration is only heightening my anxiety about money.

Yet I know as well as you that the person in that mansion isn’t likely to be happier than the rest of us. Within a year of becoming rich, or facing tragedy, the vast majority of people return to their baseline happiness.

What’s most telling is that winning the lottery can significantly impact your neighbor’s wellbeing. One study in Canada found that as the magnitude of someone’s lottery winnings went up, their neighbors odds of financial distress and borrowing increased alongside it.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/why-so-few-people-feel-secure-about-money--even-when-they-have-lots-of-it-212029309.html

Dollar ALERT: Foreign Central Banks Now Own More Gold Than USD

Dollar ALERT: Foreign Central Banks Now Own More Gold Than USD

Notes From the Field By James Hickman  (Simon Black)  September 2, 2025

For centuries, the Byzantine Empire’s gold coin, known as the solidus, had been the backbone of global trade in the medieval world; nearly pure gold, the solidus was trusted by merchants from Baghdad to London.

But by the 11th century, multiple emperors had chipped away at its gold content—watering it down to pay for wars, bureaucracy, and the costs of an empire in decline.

By the time Alexios I took power in 1081, the solidus was barely 40% gold, and merchants never knew which version they were getting or how much real gold it contained.

Alexios tried to restore confidence by minting a new coin in 1092, one he called the hyperpyron—which literally means “super-refined” in Greek.

At 85% purity, it didn’t have the same purity as the old solidus, but the hyperpyron was credible enough to restore trust... for a little while.

But then history repeated itself over the next century; later emperors debased the hyperpyron, just as their predecessors had debased the solidus. And by the late 1200s, there was no more trust in the currency.

When Venice launched the ducat in 1284— at over 99% pure gold— it also came with a pledge that the Venetian government would never debase it.

Combined with Venice’s trade power and rapidly growing wealth, the ducat quickly became the literal gold standard for international trade.

So much, in fact, that by the mid-1300s, the once-mighty Byzantine Empire was pawning its imperial jewels in exchange for Venetian ducats.

(It would be the loose equivalent of the US government selling off national parks in exchange for Swiss francs...)

That was the moment it became obvious to everyone that the Byzantine Empire was no longer the world’s dominant superpower... and that the world’s reserve currency had changed hands.

This pattern repeats itself throughout history. Most reserve currencies have a long, slow decline, as well as clear moments that stand out.

Today, the US government isn’t quite pawning Mount Rushmore for Swiss francs... but we are witnessing a clear moment that demonstrates a loss of confidence in the US dollar:

Foreign governments and central banks now own more gold than they own US Treasury securities.

That means that foreign nations trust in gold more than they trust in the US government.

We’ve been saying this for years: foreign central banks are selling their dollars, and using those dollars to buy gold.

Why? Because the US government’s massive debts make it a less trustworthy lender. While it’s unlikely that the US would outright default, it is very likely that Uncle Sam will eventually turn to the money printer as the “solution” to its debt challenge.

And any foreign central bank which owns a ton of US debt doesn’t want to be paid back with inflated dollars. Better to minimize that exposure now and pare down their dollar holdings.

What do they buy instead? Gold.

Not because central bankers are ‘gold bugs’. But because gold has a 5,000 year history of maintaining value. Because it is dense wealth they can hold physically in their vaults. And because there is a large enough global market to be able to buy or sell metric tons at a time.

This growing gold demand from foreign central banks has been the main driver of gold’s massive bull run— from $1,700 per ounce just three years ago, to over $3,500 per ounce today.

I take no pleasure in pointing this out, but it is becoming clear that foreign governments and central banks simply no longer have the confidence in the US that they once did.

You can see the momentum building; just this week in China, Putin, Xi Jinping, and India’s Modi stood before the world urging trade in national currencies and laying the groundwork for a new financial system designed to chip away at the dollar’s dominance.

And it’s not hard to figure out why.

According to its own projections, the US Treasury will need to sell over $22 trillion in new debt over the next ten years. That’s not a worst-case scenario—that’s the baseline forecast.

Foreign governments and central banks are traditionally one of the largest buyers of US government debt. Yet they’re clearly starting to back away from Treasury bonds... and the US dollar.

This means that the Treasury Department will struggle to find lenders over the next several years... which very likely means relying on the Federal Reserve to ‘print’ the money they need... which of course would be highly inflationary.

This isn’t a doomsday prediction. It’s not a partisan argument. It’s just the reality that America is facing.

Most likely nothing catastrophic will happen tomorrow. Or this month. Or this year. But America is clearly running out of time.

This is not a time for panic; in fact it’s critical to understand that there are rational ways to prepare for the challenges down the road.

We’ve been suggesting gold (and silver) for a number of years, both of which have proven to be excellent shelter.

At $2,000 gold we said this was just the beginning. At $3,000 gold we said that the story was still in its early days. At $3,500 gold, I’m still telling you that this story has much longer to play out.

Nothing goes up or down in a straight line, so there will always be pullbacks and corrections. But the case for gold easily goes to $5,000... and potentially well over $10,000.

That’s not based on any idolatry or fanaticism... but rather a cogent, rational understanding of how global central banking works.

The bottom line is that the world is losing confidence in the US dollar as the global reserve currency. And, right now, there is no alternative. Except for gold. And for that reason central banks (over the long run) will keep stockpiling it... and driving the price higher.

To your freedom,          James Hickman  Co-Founder, Schiff Sovereign LLC   LINK

Why Keeping The Money Isn’t The Right Move

Why Keeping The Money Isn’t The Right Move

Will Kenton  Tue, September 2, 2025

Someone I don’t know deposited $500 to my Zelle account — is there any harm in just keeping it?

Your phone pings, and you open Zelle to find $500 sitting in your account, but it isn’t from your employer, a friend or anyone you recognize. Instead, it’s from a stranger, sent through Zelle with no explanation. At first, it feels like an unexpected windfall. Who wouldn’t be tempted to think of it as free money?.  But that surprise transfer may not be a lucky break. Money sent to your account by someone you don’t know often signals a mistake or, worse, the beginning of a scam.

And if you decide to keep or spend the funds, you could quickly find yourself in trouble. Understanding why these “accidental” payments happen and how scammers exploit them can help you protect your account and your wallet.

Why Keeping The Money Isn’t The Right Move

Unexpected deposits through payment apps are not gifts. Under federal rules like the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, unauthorized transactions can be reversed if they are reported. That means the money you see in your account could disappear just as suddenly as it appeared, especially if it was tied to fraud. Spending it can leave you in financial and legal trouble.

There is also a strong chance that what seems like a mistake is actually part of a scam.

Internet scams have become widespread. In the FBI’s latest 2024 Internet Crime Report, more than 859,000 complaints were filed with the Bureau, and reported losses to Americans increased 33 percent from 2023 to an eye-watering $16.6 billion.

How the scam works

The way the fraud typically unfolds is simple but effective. Here’s the basic play:

• A scammer sets up a payment app account with stolen credit card information.

• They send money to a random person (in this case, you) making it look like a lucky mistake.

• Shortly after, they reach out, often with a friendly or urgent message: “Hey, I sent you $500 by accident, can you send it back?”

• If you return the money, it doesn’t go back to the stolen card. The scammer has already switched their account to a real card they own, so your “refund” goes straight into their pocket.

• Meanwhile, your bank eventually realizes the first payment was fraudulent and reverses it. That $500 disappears from your account, but the money you sent back is gone for good.

TO  READ MORE:  https://news.yahoo.com/news/finance/news/someone-don-t-know-deposited-120000474.html

You Worked Hard To Build Wealth — Use This 3-Step Checklist To Protect It

You Worked Hard To Build Wealth — Use This 3-Step Checklist To Protect It

June 13, 2025  by  Laura Bogart  GoBankingRates

To say you’ve worked hard would be an understatement. You’re no stranger to pulling a 5 to 9 after your 9 to 5 ends. You’ve met with financial advisors and investment professionals to figure out how to stretch your money and grow it through passive income. What you’ve accomplished at this point in your life is impressive — and now, you’re starting to think about what the next phase might look like.

That next chapter should start with protecting what you’ve built. Just as you mapped a master plan to build your wealth, you’ll need a strategy to safeguard it. While personalized advice from your financial advisor is always smart, these three essential steps can help you prepare now.  

Create an Estate Plan  

An estate plan is a cornerstone of protecting your financial legacy — helping ensure the hard work you’ve put in today will continue to bear fruit long after you’re gone. One of the most powerful ways to protect your assets is to keep them in the family and make sure your loved ones can access them easily and responsibly. 

Start by working with a trusted financial and legal team to create a will or a revocable living trust. A revocable trust allows you to manage your assets while you’re still around and to lay out clear instructions for how those assets should be distributed after your death. It can be changed or revoked at any time, as long as you’re making competent, voluntary decisions. It also spares your heirs the time and expense of probate.

To reduce the emotional and financial burden on your family in a crisis, you should also set up an advance healthcare directive and designate durable powers of attorney for both medical and financial matters. These documents ensure your wishes are honored and take difficult decisions off your family’s shoulders.  

Make Sure You Have the Right Life Insurance  

At a minimum, life insurance is designed to protect your family’s financial future if something happens to you unexpectedly. A policy can help them pay off debts, cover day-to-day living expenses and continue pursuing long-term goals like college or retirement savings.

TO READ MORE:  https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/financial-planning/you-worked-hard-build-wealth-checklist-protect-it/?hyperlink_type=manual

Avoid These 4 Common Mistakes When You Get Rich Overnight

Avoid These 4 Common Mistakes When You Get Rich Overnight

Laura Bogart  Sun, August 31, 2025  GOBankingRates

You’re about to score a financial touchdown. Maybe you’ve crushed it at work and landed a sweet promotion. Perhaps you’ve won a lottery or stumbled into a side hustle that suddenly pays off. As you near the end zone, heart pounding, head full of dreams, you can’t afford (literally) to fumble. Whether you’re blindsided by unexpected taxes or tripped up by bad financial advice, you have a lot to lose if you drop the ball.

If there’s one thing Brandon Copeland, former NFL linebacker turned financial expert, knows, it’s how not to fumble good fortune — whether that’s a game-changing play or a sudden influx of cash.

As founder of Copeland Media and Athletes.org, and the author of “Your Money Playbook,” Copeland now dedicates his time to making financial education more accessible for everyone, from high earners to those just trying to get a handle on their first paycheck.

His financial expertise, shaped both by personal experience and by watching fellow NFL players navigate big contracts, has taught him what to do — and, crucially, what not to do — when you come into some money. As part of GOBankingRates’ Top 100 Money Experts series, he answers Question #16: Why do so many people fumble a windfall, and what moves should I make if it ever happens to me?

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ2DcWPD7qw

1. Not Taking the Time To Learn About Money

When Copeland is outside tossing the pigskin with his five-year-old son, the little guy doesn’t catch it every time. And despite being a force on the field himself, Copeland doesn’t expect his son to be perfect — after all, he’s still learning. He sees a clear parallel to how most of us approach money.

“Most things in life take practice, and unfortunately when it comes to money, many of us never had the chance to learn or practice those skills,” he said. “We just start earning it. So, it’s not absurd to think, ‘Hey, I’m not going to be perfect at this.'”

To Copeland, a windfall doesn’t just reveal your financial blind spots — it magnifies them. That’s why he’s so passionate about financial education, both in the classroom and through his foundation.

“My goal is to help a younger version of myself,” he said. “I think of the problems I had growing up, where I wanted money, but nobody taught me about it. I was blessed to have a high school football coach who ran a hedge fund and invited me to intern with him.”

That mentorship gave Copeland his first real playbook for success in life — and in finance. It’s one he would carry into teaching financial literacy at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the nonprofit he started with his wife, Beyond the Basics.

2. Giving in to the Urge To Splurge

TO READ MORE: https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/avoid-4-common-mistakes-rich-131819561.html