Photo Caption: Kingston College Manning Cup Head Coach Vassell Reynolds (left) engages in conversation with Tivoli Gardens Football Club (TGFC) Captain Keno Simpson (right), as JN Bank Duke Street Sales and Relationship Manager Kaye Ricketts (second left) and JN Money Marketing and Sales Manager, Cedrica Reid, listen during a JN Money motivational session with TGFC, held at the Jamaica National Group’s Corporate Offices on June 19.
A receptive Tivoli Gardens Football Club were recently urged to take control of their financial future by developing smart money habits as financial discipline is key to turning their talent into long-term success.
The advice came from Kaye Ricketts, sales and relationship manager at JN Bank, who was one of the presenters at a JN Money motivational session hosted for the footballers at The Jamaica National Group Corporate Office on June 20. Mrs Ricketts advised the players that budgeting, saving and investing are essential for achieving financial independence.
“When you are financially wise, it enables you to break free from financial bondage, become financially empowered and financially stable. What this means is that it ensures that your money works for you and one of the first ways to ensure that your money works for you is to budget.”
Mrs Ricketts said although budgeting is difficult, it is an essential part of money management. “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went,” she said quoting an American radio personality, Dave Ramsey. “There are many times when we receive money and later wonder what we did with it. This does not have to be the case. If you have a budget, you can track how you spent your money and not be worried later about how it was used,” she explained.
The sales and relationship manager emphasised that when creating a budget, one should follow the 80:20 principle, a simple guideline for how to spend and save money. “When budgeting, you need to ensure that you have an 80 to 20 ratio. The 20 per cent means you are paying yourself with 10 per cent and paying tithes or doing something charitable with the other 10 per cent. This money should be the first amount that is taken from what you earn. The other 80 per cent should be used for bills, food, taking care of yourself and covering your other expenses,” she informed.
Mrs Ricketts told the footballers that in addition to budgeting, they should also prioritise investing and saving a portion of their earnings to build long-term financial security, noting that a career as an athlete has its limits.
“When building wealth, you need to look at the different savings and investment options. Savings is different from investing. If you have extra money, you should look to invest it because you will not earn as much from it when it is in a savings account. You should invest it where you get a higher yield and return on your investment. Your money also grows faster when you invest it,” she advised.
She also urged the footballers to minimise their debt especially as they work to accumulate assets, such as a house or car. “You want to ensure that you manage your debt to build a good credit score because when you have a good credit score, you pay less fees. You also benefit because you can own your home and car faster,” she said.
As Mrs Ricketts emphasised financial discipline to the footballers, guest speaker, Vassell Reynolds, coach of Kingston College’s winning Manning Cup team, also encouraged discipline and good sportsmanship on the football pitch.
“Sportsmanship teaches us how to play by the rules and how to support our teammates and respect the opponents. It’s not just about being good in sports, it’s about being a good human being. One of the first things we need to learn is how to accept defeat. Sports is not always about winning. Sportsmanship enables us to be fair and helps with teamwork and leadership,” he advised.
And as the footballers were urged to commit to upholding discipline, Cedrica Reid, marketing and sales manager, JN Money, the sponsor of the Tivoli Gardens Football Club, affirmed her company’s commitment to the team, noting that the motivational session was part of the remittance company’s effort to support their continuous improvement.
“JN Money has been partners with Tivoli Gardens Football Club for the past three seasons. During that time, we have seen them grow from finishing tenth in our first year to making the quarterfinals for the second year running after finishing sixth in the regular season” she pointed out.
“We believe that this motivational session is one way to show them that we are proud of their growth while encouraging them to go for the ultimate prize of winning the Jamaica Premier League next season. However, we do not want them to be successful only on the field, we want them to be successful off it [too],” she added.
Founded in 1970, Tivoli Gardens have been five-time champions of Premier League and have been quarterfinalists for the last two seasons, following a 10th place finish in the 2022-2023 season. They have also achieved numerous semifinal berths and are one of the league’s established clubs, since their promotion in the 1990s.
Keno Simpson, captain of Tivoli Gardens Football Club thanked JN Money for the session and its support for the club. “Every single time we appear on a football field, we truly appreciate all that you have done for us. We are grateful for the advice we received. The advice will help us throughout our lives as we strive to be successful. We are confident that what we were told here will help us focus on the goal of winning the JPL next season,” he said.