Money in the Mattress

The World Series wrapped a few weeks ago with the Astros bringing home their second Major League title in six years. However, the person attracting the most attention from the win may not be a player or a coach but a Houston furniture store owner named Jim McIngvale, who won $75 million when his local team clinched the victory.

McIngvale, better known by his nickname, “Mattress Mack”, won the largest-ever sports gambling payday after placing bets of more than $10 million at different times during the season. He has become famous for his enormous gambles. In 2022 alone, the 71-year-old has lost millions betting on the Super Bowl and the Kentucky Derby.

From the outside, betting eight figures on the outcome of a sporting event seems wildly reckless, but McIngvale has a different goal that doesn’t involve sports at all. He wants to sell furniture.

Mack uses his bets to reduce risk from promotions he runs at his Texas stores. Customers who spend $3,000 or more can get their money back or sometimes double their money back if Mack’s team wins and his bet hits. He has created a win-win scenario where he either loses and makes millions on furniture sales or wins and uses his winnings to pay customers back. His bets are essentially advertising for his stores and have proved quite successful. A week before the World Series finale, he told media members that he had already sold over $50 million as part of this current promotion.

Mack’s story reminds us to separate our real goals from the tools that get us there. In Mack’s case, his goal is not to win the bets; it’s to get customers to spend money at his furniture stores. The bets are simply a way to achieve that outcome.

This is similar to how we, as investors, can think about the investments we hold as a tool to achieve our actual goals. For most of us, that doesn’t involve maxing out our risk level to make as much money as possible. Instead, the final goal may be to create family financial security, build the ideal flexible life, or leave a lasting legacy.

It is easy to focus on the investments and their day-to-day movements and how each new current event will affect our accounts, but ultimately they are a tool. As fiduciary advisors, it is our job to ensure clients are equipped with the right tools to accomplish their goals.

We would love to hear what that big goal looks like for you and help design the path to get you there. Let us know. We are here to help.