The Eagle's Running Back Dilemma vs The Investor's Dilemma

The Eagle's & Investor's Dilemma

By: Brendan Magee

On top of a record of three wins and four losses, Chip Kelly has a huge running back dilemma on his hands. He is faced with a very difficult decision. By all accounts, it looks like between running backs Ryan Mathews and Demarco Murray, Mathews should be getting the ball more often. Mathews has more yards per carry than Murray and, as his 62 yard touchdown run against the Carolina Panthers showed, he has an explosiveness to his running that Murray doesn't appear to have.

So what's the problem in starting Mathews as opposed to Murray? Nothing,  if you are an Eagle's fan. You want the best player on the field. However, if you are newly appointed general manager and head coach, Chip Kelly, you might not have it so easy. You are not the one who decided to give Murray a $40 million contract with $21 million being guaranteed. Eagle's owner Jeff Lurie might have a problem with you giving a running back so much of his money to sit on the sidelines. Now if you don't play Mathews more, your 3 and 4 record could go to three wins and five losses when you play the Dallas Cowboys in two weeks and Kelly could be looking for a new job at the end of the season. There just isn't that many jobs paying $7 million a year floating around out there.

So Kelly has a dilemma. He has a problem and the two most obvious answers could lead to bigger problems. The same type of dilemma is one that investors deal with every day. You have a problem and the two most obvious answers could make the problem you are trying to solve worse. You are trying to build up your nest egg for retirement. You can't stand the thought of becoming a ward of the state and relying on the government to take care of you. So you start to invest and this is where the dilemma hits you.

This is you life's savings. When you retire, this is it. You cannot go back and make up for 40 years worth of work. You look at your investment options and are trying to make as sound a decision as you can. You need to be safe with your money, but you also need your money to grow. Go down to the bank and the safe investments don't even give you enough in interest to beat the rising cost of living. At that rate you will have to work until you are 80 and that doesn't quite cut it.

You look to investments with a higher return like stocks and stock based mutual funds and that looks a little more appealing. Since their inception stocks have a double digit annualized return. Compared to the banks this is more like it. But wait! This is a bit of a downer. The stocks and stock based mutual fund's returns aren't guaranteed. "My money won't be as safe as I would prefer. I will be incurring a risk, and look at the decade of the 2000's. Investors lost almost $17 trillion dollars due to stock market crashes. That's downright scary. What am I to do?"

What am I to do? Is what both Chip Kelly and investors grapple with on an every day basis. This is the dilemma, and to deal with it, both have to ask the right questions. Chip has to ask what's best not only for himself, but, more importantly, the Eagles. The answer may take courage to follow through with, but it won't come at all unless he asks the right questions. Investors won't solve their dilemma without asking the right questions, either.

The most important being, What is my true purpose for money? What is it that is most important to me in my life and how do I want to use my money to fulfill on what is most important to me? Again, the questions may reveal answers that take courage to implement, but they won't come at all without the right questions. For the Eagles sakes and your family's sakes let's hope the right questions are being asked.

Brendan Magee is the founder and president of Inevitable Wealth Coaching. With questions or comments brendan@coachgee.com or call 610-446-4322. For more educational material go to www.coachgee.com.