Lauryn Williams became a professional track and field athlete at age 20. Suddenly, she found herself earning six figures and, despite studying finance in college, she ended up working with two financial planners who took advantage of her inexperience. In this episode, Lauryn speaks candidly about her mistakes — especially buying more house than she could afford — and how she now tries to provide frank, accessible advice to her clients as the founder of her own financial planning firm, Worth Winning. 

“Shed what society says about what you need to be. Sit down and talk to yourself and your family members about what you want to be. Shape your financial goals and your financial values around the things that are important to you, and govern yourself accordingly.”

Lauryn’s goal is to educate and empower her clients, to the point that they feel comfortable enough with their financial plans that they can discuss them over drinks with friends. 

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Lauryn Williams, CFP® is the founder of Worth Winning, a virtual financial planning firm that helps young professionals and athletes answer their essential financial questions. She is a 4-time Olympian and 3-time Olympic medalist, and was the first American woman to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Lauryn also hosts a podcast, Worth Listening. She lives in Dallas with her husband. 

Contact Lauryn:

Lauryn’s firm, Worth Winning: www.worth-winning.com 

Lauryn’s podcast, Worth Listening: www.worth-winning.com/podcast

Twitter: @lauryncwilliams

Lauryn’s book, The Oval Office: https://www.lauryn-williams.com/the-oval-office

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• As a college junior, Lauryn became a professional athlete and found herself suddenly making six figures. Although she was a finance major, she realized she needed support and hired her first financial advisor. After several bad experiences with advisors, Lauryn decided to enter the profession herself. 
• Lauryn says her story is common among professional athletes. They find themselves earning large amounts of money at very young ages, and there isn’t much advice available to help athletes organize their finances and help them develop a strong foundation. 
• Lauryn says her biggest mistake was buying more house than she could afford. She could afford the mortgage at the time she bought the house, but never stopped to wonder how she would continue paying the mortgage for 30 years despite athletes’ careers typically lasting a very short time.
• Lauryn earns money as a speaker and presenter, running a boutique virtual financial planning firm, an author, and a student loan planner. Lauryn currently has around 25 clients and plans to max out around 50. She lost more than $10,000 in speaking income during the COVID-19 pandemic, so she has invested in her student loan revenue stream instead. 
• Lauryn calls herself a “financial educator.” People who haven’t grown up around wealth are especially susceptible to get-rich-quick schemes and bad advice, and she seeks to interrupt that cycle and connect her clients to reliable, accurate information. 
• Lauryn’s money script starts from the idea that “nothing is given; everything is earned.” From a young age, she was entrepreneurial, whether it was selling penny candy at school or getting straight As in exchange for a cash prize. Although she and her husband are a two-income household, she struggles to let go of the idea that she will always need to work. 
• Lauryn used to feel a lot of shame around her financial decisions, and she tries to channel that into productive conversations with others, in an effort to keep them from making the same mistakes she did or to move forward from their mistakes. 
• Lauryn’s clients come from diverse backgrounds and appreciate her frank, accessible advice. She also works with a lot of professional athletes. 

WORDS OF WISDOM: 

“Seeking wise counsel from someone who knows and understands this is so, so valuable, so you don’t make a mistake that is going to be incredibly costly over the long term.” 

“One of the things you have to be very diligent about when you’re thinking about earning income from multiple streams is, how much time do I have to dedicate to each? Where’s the highest-value, lowest-impact things so that I can earn what I need to in order to meet my financial goals?”

“Now more than ever, we’re seeing things go to 100% virtual or part virtual, and working from home has become the norm for a lot of people. If you don’t have some sort of stream of income that doesn’t require you to be in-person with people, now is the time to think about what you could do that would be interesting and fun and stimulating for you but also a stream of income.” 

“If your advisor is not educating you, you are going to be left in the dark and be dependent on someone else forever. I stress all the time that I am not here to enable you; I am here to educate you and empower you to make decisions.” 

“Everybody is one financial mistake away from catastrophe and turmoil when they don’t have any plans or emergency escape routes in place.” 

“I always tell my clients, ‘I want you to be able to talk about your financial plan over drinks with friends.’ I’ve automated my savings already with my financial planner; I already have my retirement contributions nailed down; I’m spending from my free money account right now.” 

“Shed what society says about what you need to be. Sit down and talk to yourself and your family members about what you want to be. Shape your financial goals and your financial values around the things that are important to you, and govern yourself accordingly.” 

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If you loved this episode, here’s another I think you’ll enjoy: Episode 30: Values-Based Financial Life Planning with Scott Frank