Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson has a message for “The Culture.” Spending money on unnecessary purchases to impress others for their validation or present an image of high value is the key to longterm poverty, not generational wealth.
The retired 6x Pro Bowler NFL player should know. He’s spent the majority of his famous football career seeing athletes go bust on jewelry, cars, and clothes. It helps that he’s also a former Morgan Stanley intern.
In an interview on Shannon Sharpe’s audio-visual podcast, Club Shay Shay, Ochocinco revealed that early on in his career he never was into spending money on frivolous purchases. In order to save his earnings, Ochocinco would wear fake jewelry from Claire’s, a popular mall retailer that specializes in teen jewelry, and stay at the stadium his first two years in the NFL to avoid renting.
The 45-year-old often wears outfits repeatedly, despite the unwritten rule that celebrities are expected to never wear the same outfit twice. The kicker, he chooses Spirit Airlines over private jets for travel.
“If you can get to a point in your career where your name becomes bigger than anything you can purchase, there’s your value,” Ochocinco said. “I’ve never bought real anything when I was playing. What was the point?”
Ochocinco admits that he’s less frugal when it comes to his spouse and children since he was able to save about 83 percent of his salary over the span of his career. The former Patriots wide receiver is able to be financially disciplined by learning from the examples of others who weren’t as wise, all while reminding himself not to compete with “scammers” on social media.
“Don’t try to live a lifestyle that you can’t afford,” he advised. “I’ve always been this way. I’ve been this way for the past 20, 25 years.”
Another wise word from Ochocinco, who doesn’t go to clubs or drink alcohol, he believes people should study personal finance themselves instead of relying on others to invest their money.
He adds, “The best investment person is yourself, do your homework. You don’t need all these people because if they knew, name one investment person that is rich…We put our money in too many people’s hands.”
