Making Hay While the Sun Shines by Sarah Scrafford

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

A friend and I were recently discussing an actor who’s been doing the rounds in practically every single happening event in recent times. On his home turf, he’s making movies, hosting television shows, starting film production companies and appearing in product endorsement events and commercials. Besides this, he’s investing in game franchises and has just bought himself a team; not stopping at that, he somehow finds the time to be at every one of his team’s games and cheer his players on from the sidelines. As a direct result of more than a finger in each of his many pies, he’s being invited as a guest on various talk shows, interviewed by news and radio channels and doing public appearances as part of his various promotional duties.

Does this man even find time to sleep, we wondered! He must be totally exhausted hopping from city to city, living life in the fast lane in the direct glare of the cameras and spotlights. While I’m not too sure about his personal gratification from all these activities, I’m certain his bank balances are extremely smug and full of themselves.

And that’s where this man shows his shrewdness and acumen – he’s a star in a sphere that does not offer long-term financial security. He knows that he needs to extract as much as he can while the fickle public mind still remembers him as the main man rather than a has-been. So he’s doing what he needs to do to line his nest comfortably for the years to come, years when he will be an aging also-ran - he’s making hay while the sun still shines on him.

Now while some people may call him greedy and money-hungry, in my book, he’s a financial genius. Not only is he slogging it out to make some money, he’s doing it at the height of his popularity. And if he continues to be wise and makes sure that his money is invested well, he’s set for a cushy life no matter if he’s famous or not in a year or two down the line.

We don’t have to be actors to follow in this man’s footsteps; no matter what field we’re in, all we need to do is work really hard when we’re in our prime and put aside as much money as we can. Fame is a fair-weather friend, as we all know; well, so is money. When you have a job, all is well and you feel financially safe and secure. But if you’re suddenly unable to work for some reason or the other, you’ll find your cash supplies drying up faster than a puddle from a rare rainstorm in the Sahara desert. And that’s when you’ll be left high and dry.

Saving for the future is important, but just as important is the fact that you have to work really hard in the present to ensure that you make the most money you can.

By-line:

Sarah Scrafford is an industry critic, as well as a regular contributor on the subject of how to manage your money. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.