You could decide to bet on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to beat the New Orleans saints today. With the rise of online sports betting these days, from DraftKings to Fan Duel, it’s easier than ever to bet on a sports game. At least one of the players for the Bucs will be taking a different approach, however. Ndokukung Suh will keep adding to his investments, with the guidance of Warren Buffett. Choosing to invest instead of gamble on sports is a much better strategy for building wealth. This might seem obvious, but gambling addiction can skew that perspective.
Suh first linked up with Buffett while a student at the university of Nebraska, Buffett’s alma mater. Suh was able to leverage his star status to secure a meeting, but he clearly impressed the oracle of Omaha enough to engage in a sustained relationship. In fact, Warren had this to say about Suh: “This guy is smart, believe me.” You might not be able to arrange a one-on-one meeting with Buffett, but if you subscribe to my YouTube channel (Paul Clark Taking Stock Investing), you can leverage that for a one-on-one meeting with me! Okay, I’m not as impressive as Warren Buffett, but at least I’m available!
There are seemingly endless tales of sports stars going broke over mismanaging their money, so hearing about Suh’s story is refreshing. The good news is you don’t need to have a multi million-dollar income to capitalize on the advice administered by Warren. The formula continues to be to live on less than you make and find investments you understand to compound your savings. Making sure that you actually understand the investments is key. Suh talks about being hands on and ensuring that he believes in and understands the investments he’s making.
Suh has called out hospitality and restaurants as sectors he’s bullish on. Early in 2020, a lot of names in that space were beaten down and represented what turned out to be great buying opportunities. Opportunities remain, but certainly not in the abundance afforded to us in 2020. At least not yet. “There’s going to be a bigger demand as the vaccine is rolling out and people more open to being out in public,” Suh said. “Deliveries and the opportunity to grab and go; I’ve seen a lot of success in those spaces.”
I grew up a Lions fan, so I followed Suh’s career early on. When he started playing for Florida teams, some articles talked about how lucky he got to land in a state without state income tax. It turns out, he purposely pursued teams with no state income tax. Luck is often mistaken for skill or planning, and that appears to be the case here. He knew the variables and pursued a smart financial strategy to maximize his wealth.
If you find yourself regularly betting on sports, I challenge you to plunge some of those funds into investing instead. I once upon a time found myself focusing on finding a gambling system that could payoff, but it just led to a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. In the last couple of years, I’ve finally changed my approach, and now manage an investment portfolio worth over $60,000 and I’m just getting started! If you want to learn more about getting started with investing in the stock market, this is the blog for you!