Basketball occupies a short window in an NBA player’s life. The average pro spends roughly five years in the league, and the income from their playing days often doesn’t last long into retirement. Many people start new business ventures to bring in money. Paul Pierce is one of the fortunate athletes to earn nearly $200 million throughout his 19-year career and is still living comfortably off those earnings. He has an idea for a new app, but his main goal isn’t about bringing himself more money; it’s to help those in need.
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In the United States, a staggering 40-50% of marriages end in divorce. If there are any children between the two partners, in most instances, the mother receives custody. In today’s economy, it has become extremely difficult to raise a child as a single mom.
Pierce has witnessed the struggles of single mothers throughout his life. He’s noticed that, although many receive child support, they lack education about properly handling finances, and that puts them in a worse situation.
“A lot of times, the money where I think it should go as a man, I think that you should open up a life insurance policy for the kids,” Pierce said on Truth After Dark. “Put money into that bank account. But unfortunately, it goes towards the women’s lifestyle.”
The Boston Celtics legend has realized the discrepancy between what many people use child support for versus what it should go toward. Those monthly payments are supposed to provide for the child’s essential needs, but they sometimes get spent elsewhere.
Pierce isn’t speaking solely from an outsider’s point of view; he is currently a father who pays child support for his three kids. He doesn’t have a problem with single mothers trying to enjoy life, but the kids should always come first.
“School supplies, shoes, clothes, the girls are starting to ask for extra money for that … Cause the money ain’t saved up. As a man, you’re like, ‘Damn, where the money going for the child support then?'” Pierce said.
The Hall-of-Fame forward doesn’t want to blame the mothers for their financial habits. Instead, he wants to create a space where they can learn how to balance all these expenses.
“Maybe I should open a baby mama’s app. Show what you need to do with your cheese because a lot of them don’t do the right thing,” Pierce revealed.
It seems Pierce came up with the idea on the spot, but he has the framework for it. “The app would be helping single mothers who get child support on what to do with the money to invest and grow it.”
Pierce is surrounded by the right people and may be able to turn his idea into a great tool.
