Those of you who are regular readers might remember the story I shared about the big league ballplayer who lived with his parents while making a $400,000 annual salary. Reactions ranged from “it’s a great idea” to “it is time for him to move out and grow up”, with a variety of thoughts in between.
Now, along comes a story about a ballplayer who goes even further with his frugality – at least in my view (you may disagree). Yahoo! Sports had an interesting article about a major league player who took a money-saving approach when sent down to the minor leagues. He has since been recalled, but he clearly took measures to save himself some money while his major league career was on hold.
Apparently, the player had been on the big league club last year, and had leased an apartment for himself and his family (wife and daughter) in Pheonix. After being in the big leagues in 2009, and with the major league minimum salary at $400,000 this year, it seems that it shouldn’t be much of a problem for any player to get a nice rental in Phoenix that’s within his budget. On top of that, one would think that he would have plenty of money to spare, especially after earning a fat paycheck last season.
That may be the case, but nevertheless, Roberts was sent down to the minor leagues earlier this season, to the team’s Triple A affiliate in Reno, Nevada. At that point, it appears that despite having the potential to be called up to big leagues later this season -which did in fact end up happening – he seems to have pulled out all the stops to protect his cash flow.
What did he do? Well, since he already had that rental for his wife and daughter back in Arizona, he decided not to rent a place for himself in Reno. Yes, he was basically a homeless professional athlete – and by choice!
The guy apparently slept in the locker room when the team was in Reno. He had showers right there, and was able to make sandwiches from the supplies in the kitchen. Since he already had one apartment lease payment, he didn’t want to spend anything on a lease in Reno. When he was on the road, he stayed in hotels with the team.
That reminds me of a guy from my college fraternity, who described his living plans for one year as just “crashing on a friend’s couch”. Yep, no fraternity house (and fees), no apartment lease = no cash outflow for that guy. Ultimately, he moved back in to the fraternity, as one would have expected. He was actually a very smart guy, oddly enough. He just didn’t have the money, apparently.
That’s what makes this interesting to me.When a college fraternity guy won’t even do that, it’s interesting how a professional ballplayer, particularly one who spent a chunk of time earning a big salary, was able to take the step to do it.
Anyway, I think the ballplayer’s approach may have been over the top, as he might have been able to rent an extended stay hotel room instead, but I commend him for his frugality. At least he apparently realizes the value of maximizing your income minus expense gap, and is willing to make sacrifices to keep that going. In spirit, I think that’s pretty cool, even if he was excessive. Hundreds of millions of people live in far worse conditions. At least his wife and child were resting comfortably in their Arizona rental:)
What do you think? Is this a nice example of smart frugality?
I thought the professional athlete living with his parents may have been being selfish, but this guy seemed to be doing just fine and not putting anyone out in any way, so I think it was fine. He still had a place to sleep and eat…just free. I’d do it too if I wasn’t imposing on anybody, lol. 🙂
BFS – I agree, he wasn’t exactly imposing too much on people, and his family was taken care of back in Phoenix, so why not? The only thing I can think of, after typing my original post, is that if everybody on the team decided to do that, there would be an issue. I’m not a fan of freeloaders at all! So, in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t a big deal as long as nobody cared – which appears to be the case from what I have read.
I agree with BFS. I commend him for being responsible and not blowing his money. Especially for baseball players, who are on the road for such a lengthy amount of time during the season, and the season is long.
Now I want a sandwich. (From reading about how he made sandwiches from supplies in the kitchen.)
Everyday Tips – I agree that he was trying to be responsible with this money. For that, I’m impressed with his resolve, even if it was a bit over the top.
Professional athletes have shorter shelf-life careerwise and not a lot of them makes superstar money. It is good to see that this athlete is really trying to save as much as he can because he just never know the time when he’ll never gonna get called back by the major league.
Ken – thanks for visiting and commenting. I agree with you that their careers are often short. They can have a small window of opportunity to succeed. If they suffer an injury, they could be quickly replaced and their careers can fade to obscurity in short order. I think is especially true for football players, actually, with the nature of the salary structure in that sport and the high rate of injury.
This is an awesome story! Amazing stuff by Roberts and shows you’re never too big to be frugal. He realizes how volatile life in the big leagues can be and his opportunity might be short-lived.
Andrew – thanks for stopping by. Pro athletes career spans are indeed volatile as you put it, so I commend him for having the self-control to avoid spending money, even if it was a bit excessive
I think he’s just being frugal and smart. He was likely to be on the road a LOT, so why pay for a place he’s probably not going to spend much time in anyway.
True, he would be on the road 1/2 the time. Maybe a low cost extended stay hotel could have worked for him, but he pulled it off. The good thing is that his wacky living arrangement didn’t impair his ability to get back up to the big leagues!
Smart Frugality: he’s very conscience of his incoming pay. And defintiely living under his means (no doubt). He actually sounds like a guy who cares about his family and their future. But, living in a locker room and eating “sandwiches” from the communal ‘frigerator …. well, that sounds a little like something else is gong on. but then, they say Warren buffet was a “brown bagger” for lunch, instead of going out to eat with everyone else. I’ve been bring my lunch to work (leftovers, and sometimes items from 4-5 days earlier) … I’ve been doing that for over 10 years now. With our budget, we make sure the savings go to where it belongs. Plus, I don’t waste gas driving anywhere, nor put myself in harms way on any roads. (extreme example, but …). Making $400K a year and living n a locker room … that definitely squeeek’s of someone who’s micro-managing their money. Bravo. Well done. Little things do add up and eventually become a BIG chunk of Change.
Looking back over the years and potentially how much money we’ve saved? Unbelievable amounts … and because of it, we’re positioned quite well to take on the future.
If just goes to show that even something as small as brown bagging can really save money. Real Money, not pocket change, over a period of time. And looking at the reverse of that? How much debt can one get themselves into without really even knowing they are slowly digging their own financial grave. All because they want a little tast of the good life … right now, and now, and now, and then the next day all over again, and again, and again. Day after day after day ….! it’s mind boggling when I see a business like Starbucks with lines out the “Drive-thru” ….
Having said that, the originators of Starbucks are genius’ … they know how and WHERE to make the money. (mostly from those who want to look and act the part of ones who are truly wealthy. the wealthy can afford to buy their own cappicino machine and custom ingredients and do it even cheaper from their home – time s money, why waste their time sitting in a long line)
Incredible story!
This is one guy you won’t read about being broke after his career in baseball is over!
I applaud his courage in performing such a frugally unique action!
First of all, it’s a clubhouse, not a “locker room”.
Second, every minor league team has a billeting program: players can essentially find a free place to stay during the year, usually with an old retired couple who have a spare room and like the idea of a pro athlete staying with them (and being on the road half the time.) Thousands of minor leaguers do this every year, and a guy in AAA must know that.
This guy is way past frugal, he’s flat-out cheap. I mean, the clubhouse is for all 25 players and the coaches and manager. It’s a place of business. If another player wants to use the batting cages early one morning, he has to risk waking up a teammate? Retarded.
Haha that’s very frugal.. Rather then being negative I see it as inspirational.. A great encouragement to save money.. As long as you’re the only one and its not your family who are suffering then it’s great lol