海角大神

The face of major league baseball wears glasses? That was very nearly the case when, over the winter, the Oakland A鈥檚 bespectacled second baseman finished second in an online fan poll for the #FaceofMLB鈥攂esting the likes of former league MVP Buster Posey. Not bad for a guy who broke into a regular starting role just last year.

Eric caught our attention at NerdWallet for two reasons: his wearing glasses gave rise to the nickname 鈥淣erd Power,鈥� and it turns out he鈥檚 a great example of a professional athlete who鈥檚 financially responsible. On the eve of the 2014 season, we chatted with Eric and his financial planner, Brett Dimas from , about the lessons he鈥檚 learned about money, some of the first big purchases he made (including one pricey pup), and how he鈥檚 working today to set his family up for the future.

***

NerdWallet: When you were a kid, how did your mom and dad first teach you about money? Do you remember your first money lesson growing up?

Eric Sogard: It was a pretty basic one: money doesn鈥檛 grow on trees. My brother and I didn鈥檛 really have an allowance. If we wanted to buy anything, they taught us that we had to earn it, save up for it. That was the big lesson.

Did you have a first job, like a paper route, or put up a lemonade stand or anything like that?

Sogard: No, unbelievably I haven鈥檛 worked one job other than playing baseball. My parents were amazing like that, letting us really focus on sports and school, which was nice.

Did that focus ultimately pay off in a scholarship to college?

Sogard: Yeah, I got a little baseball scholarship [to Arizona State University], but also an academic scholarship because I had good grades in high school.

Was that really important to your parents, that you guys were able to land those scholarships?

Sogard: Absolutely. Growing up, sports were a huge part of our lives鈥攚e were always playing鈥攂ut my parents stressed that, 鈥淵ou gotta get good grades and keep working hard in school.鈥� And sure enough, the scholarships were one way that proved to us it paid off. I may never have been able to go to ASU if it wasn鈥檛 for that. I truly wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today without my scholarships.

What did your parents do while you were growing up?

Sogard: My mom was a pharmacist and my dad was a stockbroker before he was diagnosed with leukemia in 1989; he never went to work after that, but he would do some day-trading after that.

Given his financial experience, did he teach you any specific lessons, about money or investing?

Sogard: Yeah, he鈥檇 teach us that there鈥檚 always investment opportunities out there鈥攜ou never know when people will come to you asking for money to invest鈥攂ut just always look into it deep, really have your heart in it if you鈥檙e going to do something.

After you signed your first good-sized contract, did you treat yourself or buy something extravagant for yourself or a loved one?

Sogard: It was tempting to, obviously, when you see that amount of money in your bank account for the first time鈥攜ou want to go out and buy everything you want. But no, I had my sights set on buying a house, and I was able to do that and pay that off with my signing bonus [about $400,000]. This was in 2009, so the housing market in Arizona was starting to go down and we were able to get a good deal on a foreclosure. I took a good chunk of my signing bonus and just paid that house off immediately. And it鈥檚 been a great decision: I鈥檝e been able to rent it out since then, and it鈥檚 been a cash flow coming in, which has been great. As I look back on it now, that鈥檚 the smartest thing I鈥檝e done.

How did you resist going any more extravagant than that?

Sogard: I think having my mind set on the house, understanding how much that was going to cost, how much of my money that was going to take up, I kind of had to hold back in other areas. I鈥檓 sure there were probably a couple other things I didn鈥檛 need to buy. One thing I can think of: My girlfriend and I鈥攖hankfully, my wife now鈥攚e bought a dog from the mall. That dog probably cost us a good $1,700.

What kind of dog?

Sogard: It was a beagle. [laughs] Yeah, that was my big splurge.

So during the season, do you rent a place near Oakland?

Sogard: This past offseason, not even a month ago, we purchased a new house in Arizona, and Brett has helped me a lot throughout this process. But yeah, we rent a house up here. It鈥檚 actually one of my former teammates鈥欌�攈e was traded, so his place is open for the season. It kind of works out perfectly for both of us.

When we were talking with Brett last week, he mentioned that the financial planning he does at OFS is an 鈥渙pt-in鈥� service. Eric, what led you to opt in?

Sogard: When you sign, you鈥檙e really with the agent at first. Once I got up to the big leagues, and started making more money, it鈥檚 nice to have someone to help you keep track of it, really set a budget鈥攂ecause when you see that money in there, you think you can buy things here and there and feel like they鈥檙e not going to leave a dent or anything. But in the long run, you鈥檙e going to have to plan and save up.

I鈥檓 curious about the day-to-day, do you have a spreadsheet or an app to keep track? How do you keep to the budget? Do you keep your receipts and dump them all in Brett鈥檚 lap and say, 鈥淗elp me figure this out鈥�?

Sogard: We usually get together with Brett two or three times a year and go over everything that鈥檚 coming in and everything that鈥檚 going out and where it鈥檚 going out, just so we can see if we鈥檙e on the right page. And if we have to cut back, we do in the areas where we believe we can. And if there鈥檚 room we can go out and get a couple more things.

Brett Dimas: All the spending comes through one account, and those expenses get itemized between business expenses, personal expenses, tax-deductible expenses. We鈥檒l categorize it all, so when I meet with Eric, we鈥檒l sit down and go through that report and say, OK, here鈥檚 a recap of all your spending, broken down by different categories. We鈥檒l review that, and if things don鈥檛 look in line with the budget we set three months ago, we鈥檒l adjust. And then, big-picture-wise, on an annual basis we鈥檒l always do one major review where we鈥檙e looking at the entire financial plan, including the net worth statements, to make sure the net worth is growing at an appropriate rate, and that鈥檚 kind of like our report card to make sure we鈥檙e on track for financial success.

Have there been times where Brett鈥檚 maybe called you up and been like, 鈥淗eeyyy, sooooo鈥︹��

Sogard: Thankfully, he hasn鈥檛 made that call yet.

Dimas: They鈥檙e pretty responsible, they鈥檙e not too hard to get under control.

Sogard: There鈥檚 still been a couple times, though, when we鈥檝e sat down and I didn鈥檛 realize we were spending that much on a monthly basis, and it just kind of opens my eyes and my wife鈥檚 eyes that we didn鈥檛 think we were going too crazy but there鈥檚 probably some place where we could cut back.

Eric, is there anything you do on the side to educate yourself about finances. Is there anything you read or watch or follow online that helps you stay on top of that stuff?

Sogard: I鈥檓 a fan of the Wall Street Journal, getting what I can from that. When working through these things with Brett, whether it鈥檚 taxes or these home purchases, I try to be involved as much as I can so I can learn along the way instead of just letting him and his team handle it all.

Dimas: One of the things I try to make sure of is that clients are educated along the way, so I鈥檓 not just pushing all the buttons without input from my clients.

Do you talk about money with teammates? When you got started, did you look around the clubhouse for a veteran to ask questions about this stuff?

Sogard: I鈥檝e definitely gone to guys who have a few more years in the league than I have. We鈥檙e all in the same situation as ballplayers, we all have the same goal鈥攚e want to continue to make money and invest smartly. These guys, I can always go to and ask questions, just kind of pick their brains about things they鈥檝e done.

More specifically, what do you guys talk about? Investment ideas? Or just things you鈥檙e working on with your respective advisors?

Sogard: A lot of it has been more on the real estate side. Some of them own three or four, six or seven properties. It seems to be one of the favorite ways to go.

Do they also rent them out, to keep that steady income stream?

Sogard: Yeah, exactly. They鈥檙e definitely making money off it.

That鈥檚 smart. Hanging around the locker room, are there any mistakes you鈥檝e heard of people making? Especially when they suddenly sign a big contract鈥攚here you鈥檙e like, 鈥淲ow, that doesn鈥檛 sound like a good idea.鈥�

Sogard: Yeah, you鈥檙e going to see that around the league. You have guys who see this money in their account and they鈥檙e going to go out and buy whatever they want. I鈥檝e heard stories of guys going out, their first year in the big leagues, and buying a car and then a house in the offseason. You鈥檙e not going to be playing this game forever鈥攜ou could stop playing this game in the next year, and you鈥檙e hit with all this debt.

We鈥檙e playing only six months of the year, and those other six months we really have no income. If you鈥檙e going to go spend all the money you make during the season, you鈥檙e going to be stuck in the offseason, thinking of what you have to do for money because you blew it all. Having someone to help me along, to set a budget, was very helpful.

What are your major financial goals right now?

Sogard: Right now, buying this new house, getting that paid off, and with the other house as a rental that鈥檒l be helpful. And we鈥檝e set up a college fund for our four-month-old baby girl, Saydee; we wanted to get that started early. And just continuing to save up for the future, so when I stop playing this game hopefully my family and I will be financially comfortable and I won鈥檛 have to worry about getting back to work.

Brett had mentioned that after this season you鈥檙e arbitration-eligible, meaning there鈥檚 the potential to go to the next level in terms of compensation. What opportunities intrigue you?

Sogard: My wife and I definitely want to become more involved with charities; that鈥檚 something we haven鈥檛 really hit on much yet, but it鈥檚 something we look forward to. You know, the more success you have in this game, the more opportunity you have to help others who are less fortunate.

What sort of charities or causes would you like to get involved with?

Sogard: With me wearing glasses, and that being a big part of me, I鈥檇 like to find a charity that works with children and helps them with their vision. Also, with my dad being a survivor of leukemia, I鈥檇 like to find a leukemia charity we could work with.

Dimas: We鈥檝e talked about a timeline for charitable giving. The next step would be to open a donor-advised fund and have it work through there. So, essentially, he would have his own foundation under the umbrella of a donor-advised fund, and we would start reaching out to charities to find something that Eric would be interested in鈥擡ric and Kaycee [his wife] too, because Kaycee鈥檚 really involved in a lot of this.

Something like 78% of former NFL players are bankrupt or under financial stress within two years of retiring, and 60% of former NBA players are broke within five years of leaving the court. What do you think of when you hear stats like that?

Sogard: It鈥檚 crazy. It opens your eyes that you need to be aware that any one of us playing this game could fall into that trap as well. I think having six months off during the year really helps open my eyes for the future. I hope to play for as long as I can and not have to work after I鈥檓 done playing, and getting paid for only six months and then having six months with no pay kind of helps me realize that if I鈥檓 not going to work again, I鈥檓 going to have to save up quite a bit.

Dimas: We鈥檝e talked about that, and 鈥渓iving within your means鈥� is what he told me, and I think that鈥檚 a really good lesson. It doesn鈥檛 matter how much money you make, but being able to live within that鈥攜ou could make $100 million a year, but if you spend $120 million a year you鈥檙e eventually going to end up broke.

So, just generally, what does the term 鈥渇inancially responsible鈥� mean to you?

Sogard: Just have control of your money. Make sure you鈥檙e saving for yourself, and make sure there鈥檚 more coming in than going out. I think really just understanding your needs and buying in relation to your needs, and not just buying in relation to what you want.

You鈥檇 mentioned earlier the players you鈥檇 heard of who run out and buy a car first thing. In the A鈥檚 players鈥� parking lot, how does your car stack up? Are you still driving the car you had in college, or did you step it up a bit?

Sogard: Well, we bought a car last year, a Tahoe, but that鈥檚 more my wife鈥檚 car because she鈥檚 always driving the kid around. So, believe it or not, I鈥檓 still driving the 2000 Lexus that I was driving in college.

That鈥檚 living within your means and then some!

Sogard: There you go!

***

If you鈥檝e ever had a question for a financial advisor, or could use a little help with your own budgeting decisions, head on over to , where you can get free professional advice.

Also, be sure to follow Eric鈥檚 adventures throughout the season on Twitter .