Introducing our newest partnerships, Olympians Maggie Steffens & Dagmara Wozniak
By Emily Elmore | March 22, 2020
Athletes are impressive because of their discipline, aptitude, and performance in spite of adversity. They push their bodies and their minds to the limits of each, and those capable of representing their country on the highest stage earn national admiration. Their feats are inspiring; some might call them heroic.
And yet, surprisingly, they are altogether human. Women athletes suffer from the gender pay gap and access to mentors and resources just like women in other industries. Many athletes are young and focused on their education and performance in their sport. Financial literacy is low on their priority list until adulthood hits, and then some feel like they are in a losing position. Olympians don’t like losing.
With the right team, mentors, and resources these athletes can overcome any obstacle…including those around their finances. Water polo great Maggie Steffens started her own company. Fencer Dagmara Wozniak wants to feel confident she has the resources to train both herself and future generations of fencers. Both know the value of financial literacy to ensure their goals are funded. That’s why we’re so proud to announce that Nav.it has officially partnered with Maggie and Daga.
There’s a lot of uncertainty swirling around Tokyo 2020 as Coronavirus upends travel and sports. Now, more than ever, is the time to review our personal finances so we can be confident that our money moves are setting us up for success.
Daga admits that even under the best circumstances, finances can be a little scary.
“My relationship with my finances is a scary one. I try my best to budget to figure out how I can afford some of the things that I want/need, like I said, to take me to the next level, such as sports massage or being able to afford high-quality food to train and to recover. “
Daga is one of the best fencers in the world, and yet she finds compensation comes more often as the joy in what she does, versus monetary resources.
“There are so many ways that people can be compensated. Compared to other athletes and compared to other sports, we don’t have a lot of financial endorsements that are helping us with our training.
“But, you know, hearing adults and kids come up to you and say, ‘you’re my idol’ — that is something that is much more powerful and fulfilling than a lot of money.”
Still, she does want to enable her goals, and she knows that Nav.it is the right teammate for the job.
“Nav.it helps me prioritize what’s important to further my training, and also at the same time, look at what is going to come after being a pro-athlete. I think that it’s smart to plan, and I think that it’s scary, but it has to be done and I would like to be more educated so I don’t finish [competing professionally] starting from zero. “
Maggie Steffens, on the other hand, recognized early that financial compensation was lacking in her sport, and she started her own company to make up the shortfall. She’s confident in her money moves, but she knows she has blind spots and wants the help of a team to mitigate them.
“I could not be an individual professional athlete, I would seriously struggle. Being a part of a team is really important to me and to what we do.”
It’s so important, as it turns out, that part of her business model is developing others around her.
“I started a company. I would love to see that grow even more and see where we can take that. I would love to be a part of helping other companies grow. That’s something that’s really important to me. “
Her goals with Nav.it are to understand her finances as they change with her goals.
“I want to have a successful life. I want to be financially stable. I want to be mentally stable, physically stable, whether that means I go through ups and downs. I understand that. But I definitely want to be still trying to achieve dreams when I’m older as they change and while I’m doing it trying to live a happy and more or less stable life. “
Nav.it is here to enable your journey. We don’t want to define your success, we want to empower it, on your terms. No matter your industry, your goals, or how far along you are to reaching those goals, we hope you’ll take us along for the ride.
Let’s Nav.it!
We’re changing the narrative around money but change can’t happen with a one-sided conversation. That’s why we’re excited to bring different voices and experts to share their wisdom. Send us an email and let us know what you think. And remember the nav.it money app offers you free tools for checking in and managing your money moves.
You can download it at Google Play and the Apple Store.
