Personal Finance
- Dobromir Risov
- Apr 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 12
Dobromir Risov · April 2025
Intro
Shortly after I had decided to launch this project I met a man in a pub in Dublin. We started chatting, enjoyed a pint. We talked some politics, then shared a bit about our backgrounds. He confided some business struggles. I shared with him my project. He reacted by saying, “ah well that´s for people who have money.” I thought about his answer for a second, I was not seeing it that way: today I´d say I share knowledge which applies equally to 100€, 1.000€ or 10.000€. Back then at the pub I didn´t know what to answer to him. It´s unlikely I will meet him again.
Main
According to an article from the American Bankruptcy Institute:
"78% of NFL players and 60% of NBA players
face serious financial hardships after retirement."
For those who are not interested in sports - these are the professional leagues for Basketball and American Football in the United States. We talk about sports professionals who are very successful in their particular sports field, they are high earners. Even with astronomical salaries. However once they retire, a majority of those struggle financially. After all, many of them became multimillionaires. I conclude they did not know how to manage their own personal finances. They could have been amongst the best in their particular field but they didn´t know how to keep their funds. This data supports the opinion of my companion from the pub.
Those sports professionals did not know how to keep their wealth nor how to invest it well. And when they lack that knowledge, then probably others (not wealthy) lack that knowledge too? Both can benefit from knowledge presented at this website. This is not an exclusive club for millionaires. True, the results may be different but the knowledge remains unchanged.
I want to provide structure to personal finances with the content here. What you do with little money, you will probably continue doing with a lot of money. Structure provides a good chance of doing better over time. Why? You apply knowledge to your personal finances. While some luck/chance is necessary to become wealthy, skills are sufficient to do better.
When I looked for a picture for this blog I was proposed the wooden core of a house. Structure gives a house stability. Structure gives your finances the same. I am not saying a house with no structure will collapse, but a house with structure stands a better chance of NOT collapsing. These are two completely different things.
I think another challenge to successfully dealing with personal finances is the hidden expectation of magic. This woman blowing these "things" reminded me of magic dust. Like things happening out of nowhere. With fairy dust and magic (tricks) there is excitement attached to it. Structure is the opposite of excitement. This is another common trait with successful personal finances.
Further there may be people who assume personal finances are rocket science. I remember one of the famous investors, Warren Buffet, saying something of the sort: “to be successful in investing you need not more than average IQ. More is probably harmful to investment success.” I´d say that is true for personal finances too.
Summary
I talked about the statement "you need to be wealthy to deal with personal finances". Chances are many others have the same take on personal finances and wealth. I find this perspective to be counterproductive to improving one´s financial situation.
I addressed also two beliefs others may be facing too: that some magic or some high level education is needed to do better. Both beliefs are counterproductive too.
The content at Camel Personal Finance is for people who want to learn about and apply structure to their personal finances. Structure is not “fancy”. Structure is also not “making” you rich. Structure provides stability and clarity. Check out my Courses (List) or continue reading more blogs.
Sources:
How Athletes Go Bankrupt at an alarming rate (ABI)
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