A life lesson from Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz
Even amid the glory Hidilyn Diaz gave to the Philippines after bagging the gold in the 2020 Summer Olympics for women’s 55kg weightlifting category, she knows she also serves as a role model for her fellow athletes in terms of saving money.
“For athletes like me, it’s very important to have savings,” she said. “You should save in a bank so your money is in a more secure place, rather than store them inside your piggy bank where it might get lost or you might just get tempted to get some money from it to buy some stuff.”
Hidilyn added that saving is a good strategy to prepare oneself especially during times of emergency.
“If I have savings, I know I have some money to give my family during cases of emergency, or I know I have something to spend for myself. I won’t have to worry where I’ll get it or even consider borrowing from someone. I won’t be an athlete forever, I won’t be a champion forever. While there’s still time, I know I should save,” she said.
What served as a big eye-opener for Hidilyn was when she failed to qualify for the 2014 Asian Games because of a knee injury. At that time, she admitted that she began to doubt herself and her capability to bounce back.
“I thought I was finished then,” she admitted.
Armed with a mindset that she needs to have savings so she can help her family, Hidilyn made a major comeback.
“I needed to get back to competing and be successful again so I could earn and save. I needed to have emergency funds so that no matter what happens, even after my career is over, I have something to fall back on,” she stressed.
Hidilyn expressed hope that she can share to her fellow athletes the lessons she has learned from BDO Unibank in terms of financial education.
“We won’t be athletes forever and we won't be successful forever. That’s why I can’t stress it hard enough that athletes, even at the beginning of their career, should make it a habit to save,” she said. “They should learn to differentiate between needs and wants. Learning how to save will benefit them even after their career is over.”
Hidilyn is committed to sharing her advocacy on the importance of financial education and savings to the unserved and underserved markets that don't have access to basic banking services.
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