The Four Quarters of Your Financial Life
9 minute read time.
Brandon Copeland is by all accounts, a success. He graduated from an Ivy League school, spent 10 years in the NFL, is a professor at his alma mater and today, reportedly boasts a more than $200 million real estate portfolio. But, he wasn’t always at the top of his game when it came to managing money. It took him getting to the NFL to realize just how much he didn’t know when it came to personal finance.
“I remember when they sat us all down during my rookie year and walked us through a budgeting template, taxes, investment options, and retirement plans, and it felt like a huge smack in the face,” says Copeland. While he was grateful the team had taken an interest in helping him manage his money, Copeland was left asking a lot of questions. “Why was I just now getting this information? Why did I have to make it all the way to the NFL for someone to finally give a damn about my financial well-being and show me what to do with my money?”
It was that experience that helped Copeland realize one of his life’s other passions, aside from football: teaching others about the complex world of personal finance and how to make their money work for them. Now retired from the NFL, Copeland continues to arm people with the know-how they need to be successful when it comes to their money, whether that be through his “Life 101” class (offered at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as online) or his new book, “Your Money Playbook: How to Earn More, Build Wealth and Win at Life.”
In true football fashion, “Your Money Playbook” breaks down a person’s financial life into four quarters: The Art of the Hustle, The Power of Growth, The Commitment to Smart Spending and The Power of Legacy, each with its own strategies to help you get to the end zone, AKA, retirement.
WATCH Your Money Map: A conversation NFL Veteran brian copeland
NFL veteran Brandon Copeland has gone from tackling opponents on the football field to tackling the complex, often misunderstood world of personal finance. How, and why, did he do it? He breaks it down in his new book, Your Money Playbook. On the next episode of “Your Money Map,” Copeland sits down with host Jean Chatzky to talk about his journey from NFL linebacker to an Ivy League professor whose mission is to help people secure their financial futures.
The First Quarter: The Art of the Hustle
Whether it’s on the field or off, Copeland knows a thing or two about working hard. As he explains, he’s always been a fan of the side hustle. “At the same time I was building my primary career as a professional athlete, I was also working as an educator, a media personality, a real-estate developer, and a venture investor,” he says. “There was no blueprint that showed me how to juggle my schedule, nor a fully paved pathway to get where I wanted to go.”
For anyone wanting to boost their retirement savings with a side hustle, the key, Copeland says, is “putting in the work every day” and understanding what opportunities are a good fit for your life, both now and in the future. For those nearing retirement, a passive income stream can help provide a financial cushion for the years ahead. Just don’t assume passive means completely hands-off, warns Copeland.
“As you seek to scale, you might create passive streams like a virtual course, e-books, or even an app that new people seeking your services can access 24/7 without your direct involvement,” he explains. “But it’s going to take work to build the course or app or write that e-book. You’ve also got to promote it. And update it. And promote it some more. And update it again. So don’t clear your calendar completely, because there will still be things to do.”
The Second Quarter: The Power of Growth
When it comes to planning for retirement, you might think you wouldn’t have anything in common with the way an NFL veteran prepares for his non-working years. That said, according to Copeland, the guiding principles he uses to plan for retirement can be put into practice by anyone. “I focus on how much I can put to work for my future self—the version of me a few years down the line who might be tired of the daily grind,” he shares. “Investing is about putting some of the smartest people at some of the best companies in the world to work for you.”
Specifically, in the “second quarter,” Copeland says he looks at short-term investments (3, 5 or 10 years) through a brokerage account, as well as longer-term investments. “This means contributing to a 401(k) or 403(b) and at least maxing out to the company match if possible—because the company match is free money in addition to your salary contributing to your future.”
As he puts it, “Either you put money to work for you, or you’ll be working the rest of your life to make money.”
The Third Quarter: The Commitment to Smart Spending
Copeland credits his time in the NFL as an undrafted free agent with teaching him the importance of frugality, a topic he tackles in the “third quarter.” “After being fired multiple times, told I wasn’t good enough, and going through periods without a paycheck, I learned the importance of never taking any income for granted. For me, a paycheck isn’t real until it’s in the bank.”
Today, when he gets paid, he makes sure to have a plan for where every dollar goes and makes sure he has his fixed costs covered first. “Then, I set aside a portion for emergencies, ideally in a high-yield savings account,” Copeland shares. “While some recommend saving 3-6 months of expenses, my goal is to help you reach 6 months of savings before deciding whether to aim for a full year or start allocating additional funds to investments.”
The concept of covering the basics first is something people can put into practice in retirement, too. For a growing number of Americans, annuities can provide a protected income stream that covers your essential needs.
The Fourth (and “most important”) Quarter: The Power of Legacy
The fourth quarter of our financial lives has to do with enjoying the efforts of your hard work, and also protecting your legacy.
As Copeland explains, one of the most critical elements of the “fourth quarter” is protecting your assets by establishing a will; something that he says many families don’t think about until it’s too late. If you don’t, “Instead of benefiting from your legacy, your family will end up paying the price,” writes Copeland. He likens not having a will to making it all the way to the Super Bowl, then not showing up on game day. “This is what it’s like when you don’t protect all of the things that you’ve worked so hard and for so long to build.”
Topics, like establishing a will or getting on the same page about where you want to live in retirement, are best tackled with clear, honest and open communication, says Copeland. “It’s crucial to have honest conversations with your partner, family members, or anyone connected to your finances to ensure everyone is on the same page. These discussions are like talking about wills, estate planning, or wedding invite lists—tense and awkward at times, but necessary.”