Why do so many NFL players go bankrupt?

[irish]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I don't think the intelligent people here would.

You can't be both of reasonable intelligence AND prone to pissing away a few mill. Those are mutually exclusive.

Pissing away millions = stupid. Plain and simple.

That said, we do have stupid people on this site!

They are not mutually exclusive, one need look no further than the 2008 economic meltdown to see that intelligent people will do foolish & risky things with money.

Pissing away millions is stupid but intelligent people do stupid things all the time.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by irish

They are not mutually exclusive, one need look no further than the 2008 economic meltdown to see that intelligent people will do foolish & risky things with money.

Pissing away millions is stupid but intelligent people do stupid things all the time.

Thereby proving themselves to be no longer considered intelligent.

[irish]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Thereby proving themselves to be no longer considered intelligent.

It sounds like to you anyone who ever made a mistake can no longer be considered inteligent so to you must no intelligent people in the world.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by irish

They are not mutually exclusive, one need look no further than the 2008 economic meltdown to see that intelligent people will do foolish & risky things with money.

Pissing away millions is stupid but intelligent people do stupid things all the time.

Agreed

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by irish

They are not mutually exclusive, one need look no further than the 2008 economic meltdown to see that intelligent people will do foolish & risky things with money.

Pissing away millions is stupid but intelligent people do stupid things all the time.

The folks you speak of, the ones who got crunched by the economic meltdown, were largely the ones who speculated on the real estate market. Perhaps they were flipping houses, or buying places to rent them out, etc.

They made a couple big mistakes which, when combined, I would classify as stupid:

- They assumed real estate prices would continue to go up, even though they had already gone up way more than historical norms.

- They went into huge amounts of debt to finance it, leaving themselves on the hook for large sums of money in the event real estate prices actually came down.

You don't bet a lot to win a little. These people were taking out $400K loans on these houses and trying to sell them for an $80K profit. If you can't assess the risk inherent in that, you're a moron.

Others got hammered by economic events beyond their control. I feel sorry for those folks, but not the morons I mentioned above.

[irish]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

The folks you speak of, the ones who got crunched by the economic meltdown, were largely the ones who speculated on the real estate market. Perhaps they were flipping houses, or buying places to rent them out, etc.

They made a couple big mistakes which, when combined, I would classify as stupid:

- They assumed real estate prices would continue to go up, even though they had already gone up way more than historical norms.

- They went into huge amounts of debt to finance it, leaving themselves on the hook for large sums of money in the event real estate prices actually came down.

You don't bet a lot to win a little. These people were taking out $400K loans on these houses and trying to sell them for an $80K profit. If you can't assess the risk inherent in that, you're a moron.

Others got hammered by economic events beyond their control. I feel sorry for those folks, but not the morons I mentioned above.

They did assess the risk, in fact being risk averse was priority but the models they used to assess their risk was flawed. Hindsight is always 20/20. It seems stupid now that we know the end result.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

The folks you speak of, the ones who got crunched by the economic meltdown, were largely the ones who speculated on the real estate market. Perhaps they were flipping houses, or buying places to rent them out, etc.

They made a couple big mistakes which, when combined, I would classify as stupid:

- They assumed real estate prices would continue to go up, even though they had already gone up way more than historical norms.

- They went into huge amounts of debt to finance it, leaving themselves on the hook for large sums of money in the event real estate prices actually came down.

You don't bet a lot to win a little. These people were taking out $400K loans on these houses and trying to sell them for an $80K profit. If you can't assess the risk inherent in that, you're a moron.

Others got hammered by economic events beyond their control. I feel sorry for those folks, but not the morons I mentioned above.

First off, I think you're talking about individual investors in the real estate market. Sure, some of them took a serious beating, but countless others have inventory that they are holding onto & waiting for the market to appreciate it, i.e. good long-term investing. The people you speak of are part of the financial crisis, but the biigger problem were mortgage backed securities on wall st.

Your example of risk assessment is pretty much calling thousands of successful developers & real estate investors a "moron." (btw, $80K profit is really good for a $400,000 investment, that's 20%)

Capitalism requires risks. If no one took the risks you speak of, there wouldn't be much entrepreunership in the US, and in turn we'd have a lot fewer goods & services.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by irish

They are not mutually exclusive, one need look no further than the 2008 economic meltdown to see that intelligent people will do foolish & risky things with money.

Pissing away millions is stupid but intelligent people do stupid things all the time.

Which proves there is such thing as an educated fool. A fool and his money will soon part ways. You're right! Some people will do any and/everything for money, then not know what to do with it after they get it.

[irish]

I think any 20 yr old that becomes an overnight millionaire would have trouble controlling their spending habits especially when it seems like the gravy train will roll on forever (even though it wont).

I dont think hip hop has anything to do with it but I do think that when someone comes from a poor background and they suddenly have a lot of $ it seems like they could be more prone to start over-enjoying a lifestyle they never dreamed they'd have.

[CRedskinsRule]

I am willing to be a guinea pig if anyone wants to throw a mill or two at me. I will let you know how stupid I turn out to be

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

I am willing to be a guinea pig if anyone wants to throw a mill or two at me. I will let you know how stupid I turn out to be

Same here. As a case study we could look at how CRedskinsRule handles the money as compared to how I would.

Money has different effects on different people. A lot of people who grew up dirt-poor never forget that and do not spend frivolously. Others thinking it never ends and getting caught up in fantasyland without regards to the future and the economy spend like there's no tomorrow.

Even smart people have lost money. We all make mistakes. A lot are made due to ego or immaturity. That's life. Usually if you keep yourself in check, your checks will last longer and most of your decisions will be productive ones. I've never been rich so that's JMO.

[firstdown]

I did not read the links or other post but I can sum it up pretty easy. Just because you can play a sport does not make you smart. Most of these guys came from nothing and would be nothing without a sport and they spend money like a drunk sailor.

[SmootSmack]

Schneed, have you never done anything dumb in your life?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Schneed, have you never done anything dumb in your life?

Sure, but nothing that results in such drastic consequences.

The thing that makes these athletes so dumb is the consequence of their actions. They have the chance to set themselves up for life, to have the financial freedom to work in just about any field they want without worrying about money like the rest of us. But they give that all away with careless handling of their assets. It's a huge mistake.

Now, is it the worst thing in the world to return to a life where you need to get a job to support yourself? No, that's the life I'm living now, and I'm happy.

But think about where they could be. That's what's so dumb.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Sure, but nothing that results in such drastic consequences.

The thing that makes these athletes so dumb is the consequence of their actions. They have the chance to set themselves up for life, to have the financial freedom to work in just about any field they want without worrying about money like the rest of us. But they give that all away with careless handling of their assets. It's a huge mistake.

Now, is it the worst thing in the world to return to a life where you need to get a job to support yourself? No, that's the life I'm living now, and I'm happy.

But think about where they could be. That's what's so dumb.

No you're wrong.If you invested $1000 and I play football and invest 1,000,000 in the same thing and it goes bad ...you think I'm dumber then you or did I just have more money to invest?
Point, if I had 5 million and I go to a finacial counselor and he hooks me up with Emron ,AIG and Benie Madoff.........5 years ago ....I'm smart ,but after last 2 years I'm dumb according to you.