A professional athlete like beach volleyball star Geena Urango is always thinking of the future. What’s the next play? The next match? The next tournament? And, ultimately, the next phase of their career? It’s that ability to plan ahead that has served the AVP champion well, on the sand and the topic of money.
In the latest episode of Cash Class, accredited financial counselor and personal finance expert, Lissa Prudencio sits down with Urango to dig into her journey — from promising young athlete to podcast host and entrepreneur. The Mexican-American athlete needed a crash course in financial literacy at the beginning of her career. After turning pro, Urango learned she’d be solely responsible for filing her taxes, funding her career, and building her wealth. She sought advice from financial mentors — accountants, counselors, managers, and other pros — on how to navigate building her brand from the dollar up. And now, she’s hoping to help other young athletes do the same.
“Everything is on your own dime,” Urango tells Prudencio. “That’s the hardest part about a lot of these athletes starting to play this sport is, they’ve got to learn how to properly manage their finances. Ultimately, I just want to do whatever I can to help grow the sport and to encourage some of these younger athletes — to give them some advice on how to navigate this territory.”
That advice — from Urango and Prudencio — focuses on building a financial cushion, by saving, investing, spending less, and taking control of your debts. If you’re operating your own small business, tapping a professional to guide you through the process of tax write-offs and money management may be the best option. (It was for Urango.) But there are plenty of small changes all of us can make to ensure we’ve got a sturdy financial foundation to build upon.
To hear more of Urango’s story, how she’s helping the next generation of athletes and tips on how to better organize your own bank account, watch the full episode above.