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For many Individuals, a six-figure wage equals monetary safety. So it’s straightforward to imagine NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. has cemented his safety with an eight-figure, $100-million, five-year contract.
However on a current episode of The Pivot Podcast, the 33-year-old advised that residing off $20-million a yr is a problem.
“That’s a five-year span,” he mentioned. “Are you able to make that final perpetually?”
In spite of everything, Beckham argued, you need to keep in mind that it isn’t actually $20 million a yr after tax — extra like $12 million (1) “that you need to spend, use, save, make investments, flaunt, no matter.”
“Simply being actual, I’ll purchase a automotive, I’ll give my mother a home. The whole lot prices cash.”
Judging by the backlash, his followers and even some multimillionaire NFL friends assume Beckham could have misplaced contact with actuality.
“Getting paid extra in a single yr than most Individuals will earn in complete over the course of their working lives and nonetheless making excuses for blowing it’s wild,” one person posted on X (2).
Ex-NFL security Su’a Kristopher Cravens, initially drafted into the NFL for $4 million, questioned how anybody with a $100-million contract may run out of money.
Cravens famous that six years after leaving the NFL, he can “reside the life-style I need, whereas additionally saving cash and placing my children within the place to win later in life” (3).
“These guys that contact over 10 million and blow by way of it seems like pure person error on their finish,” he posted.
So is Beckham “being actual”? Seems one’s idea of a snug, safe life is topic to inflation, too.
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Some X customers have been fast to spotlight among the causes they imagine Beckham is perhaps struggling to handle his multi-million-dollar paychecks.
A number of identified that the star huge receiver usually wears a restricted version Richard Mille watch value practically $190,000 whereas enjoying (4)(5).
Additionally they shared media studies of his automotive assortment, value an estimated $2.4 million (6).
One other person identified his two-year ban from Louisiana State College for handing out wads of money to scholar athletes (7).
Merely put, Beckham’s monetary struggles could have much less to do with progressive taxes and extra to do with untamed way of life inflation.
That’s an issue that many high-income earners face lengthy earlier than they enter the seven-figure membership.
Almost half of Individuals in a Bankrate survey mentioned they’d want a $100,000 annual wage to reside comfortably, with 1 / 4 saying their threshold was $150,000 (8).
However those that really make $150,000 don’t essentially really feel comfy.
In truth, in 2024, roughly one in 5 Individuals incomes greater than $150,000 a yr mentioned they have been residing paycheck-to-paycheck, in response to the Financial institution of America Institute (9).
It’s referred to as way of life inflation. In different phrases, you possibly can’t outearn unhealthy spending habits.
Streamlining your price range may provide you with a way of economic safety and freedom whatever the dimension of your paycheck.
Dwelling inside your means is difficult, particularly when your revenue is quickly increasing. However there are methods to withstand the pure temptation of overspending.
Maybe the best technique is to set a hard and fast and automatic financial savings fee.
If you happen to’re seeking to construct your nest egg, a high-yield financial savings account is one other doable place to start. Whereas the nationwide rate of interest common is an APY of 0.40%, on-line banks can give you way more aggressive returns – in some instances as much as 10x extra.
You’ll be able to try the Moneywise listing of the Finest Excessive-Yield Financial savings Accounts of 2025 and discover a proposal that matches together with your financial savings aim.
You might additionally think about using a money-saving app that mechanically takes 10% or 15% of your month-to-month revenue for financial savings and investments. In case your money is just too tight for an automatic switch, think about an app like Acorns that may benefit from your spare change.
Even small quantities can develop over time with Acorns, an automatic investing program that rounds up every of your purchases to the closest greenback and invests the distinction for you.
Signing up for Acorns takes simply minutes: hyperlink your playing cards and Acorns will spherical up every buy to the closest greenback, investing the distinction — your spare change — right into a diversified portfolio.
With Acorns, you possibly can put money into a dividend ETF with as little as $5 — and, in the event you join at this time, Acorns will add a $20 bonus that will help you start your funding journey.
A 2022 examine revealed by the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau discovered that such assured financial savings guidelines considerably boosted the possibilities of savers hitting their monetary targets (10).
One other option to sort out way of life inflation is to delay main way of life upgrades for so long as doable.
If you happen to discover that your revenue immediately lets you transfer to a much bigger dwelling or improve your automotive, delaying that call by six months to at least one yr, for instance, may provide you with a interval of accelerated financial savings that may compound over the long run.
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Whether or not you make $80,000 a yr or $20 million, the battle towards way of life inflation is identical.
The numbers change, the psychology doesn’t. For this reason monitoring your spending is so vital. Conventional budgeting can really feel overwhelming at instances, however apps like Rocket Cash can simplify the method.
Rocket Cash tracks and categorizes your bills, offering a transparent view of your money, credit score and investments in a single place. It will possibly even uncover forgotten subscriptions, serving to you narrow pointless prices and save doubtlessly a whole lot of {dollars} yearly.
For a small charge, the app can even negotiate decrease charges in your month-to-month payments, making it a useful device for maintaining your funds on monitor.
We rely solely on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For particulars, see oureditorial ethics and tips.
The Pivot (1); X (2, 3, 4, 5); ClutchPoints (6); CBS Sports activities (7); Bankrate (8); Financial institution of America Institute (9); Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau (10)
This text supplies data solely and shouldn’t be construed as recommendation. It’s offered with out guarantee of any form.
