Joe DiMaggio Vs MC Hammer On Home Budgeting

However once Joe DiMaggio passed away in 1999 his money had grown to $45 million dollars. How can a baseball player save so much when he's in an industry in which the stereotype is that players squander their money? How can a person who didn't do any real great paying work after his baseball career, not run through a good portion of his money? And how did he manage to grow his money from the time he left baseball until 1999, a 48 year period?

Well Joe was extremely good at something else as well as baseball. He was frugal and watched his dollars like a hawk. In fact Joe wrote down every single purchase he made to make sure he wasn't overspending. Only by tracking every dollar did he know where his money was going. He lived below his means and purchased smaller houses than you might expect from a man of his wealth and background. And he kept reading budgeting books. Can you believe it? One of his favourite books was a budgeting book which was only published one year prior to his death. So right up to the end he kept educating himself. Joe knew the trick to happiness; live below what you earn.

MC Hammer

MC Hammer was known as one of the greatest pop rap stars of all time. His album 'Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Them' stayed in the charts for a record-beating 12 weeks. He won 3 Grammy's and 7 other Music Awards. He also had his own cartoon and MC Hammer doll.

He started his rap career in 1987 and hit a high in 1992. In 1991 he was reported to be making $33 million a year and he was extremely successful with his records prior to 1992. He sold over 25 million copies of his albums. In fact by our calculations he earned around $40 million dollars between 1987 and 1992.

But unlike our friend Joe, when you fast forward to 1999, MC Hammer was bankrupt with nearly nothing to his name. MC just did not consider that he had to be frugal with his money. He once said "If we don't spend it, we might just drown in it". He used to employ over 200 people and have a house with a ten-car garage. He would hire private 747s to take him and his staff to his concerts. Plus he even installed his bedroom with a dishwasher. You can even search on YouTube to see footage of him in the early 1990s buying $800 jackets from expensive clothes stores. He didn't want to deprive himself of the good life and spent above and beyond what he earned. MC just really didn't think he would ever have to worry about a budget again.

The moral of the story is this; no matter if you are on Australia's minimum wage or a superstar's wage, you need to spend less than you earn. You must track each dollar and make sure your budget works.

Had you been able to make a bet on MC Hammer vs Joe DiMaggio as to who would have more money when Joe died in 1999, MC Hammer would have been short-priced favourite and most people betting just on paper would have put their money on him. His prime earning years were only eight years prior to 1999. Joe's were 48 years. Joe had to support himself for 48 years on no or low wages. MC Hammer only had to support himself for eight years on low to no wages. In dollar terms over his career, MC Hammer earned far more than Joe DiMaggio ever did. But Joe not only beat MC Hammer, but beat him by $45 million dollars. Regardless of what you earn you need to watch your money and make a budget.