Posted by Lending Club :: February 12, 2008 @ 2:36 pm

When I was growing up, I dreamed of one day being a contestant on American Gladiators. I dreamed of rolling around in those metal-spheres in "Atlasphere." Of hitting a bull’s-eye in "Assault" with my crossbow. Sadly, by the time I was old enough to compete, the show was gone.

With the new American Gladiators show back on TV, it got me thinking about all the lessons the original series taught me growing up, and how applicable these lessons are to my current financial situation.

Whoever said TV just rots your brain obviously never saw American Gladiators.

1. Sometimes, just hang on

In "Hang-Tough," the goal is to cross a set of gymnastics rings with a Gladiator aiming to tear you down. Once a Gladiator gets hold of you, you're pretty much sunk. But you can still earn points by just hanging on.

Sometimes when you are in debt, or financial distress, you just need to hang on. Keep paying your bills as best you can, hunker down, and with time the situation just might improve. You may not quite reach the goal, but you're at least still in the air. Sometimes that's the best you can do.

2. Be prepared for disaster

It's amazing how a big lead in American Gladiators can disappear in the blink of an eye. One misstep in the Eliminator and your lead is gone. Fortunately, in real life, we can prepare for catastrophes. Have you funded an emergency fund yet?

Not having an emergency fund is like climbing the wall without a harness. One slip, or takedown from Turbo, and you're in a heap of trouble.

3. Don't rush. Think.

In "Powerball," the goal is to put your colored foam ball into the scoring cylinders while avoiding tackling Gladiators. The event always seemed to favor the smarter of the contestants. While the bigger, more macho competitors would immediately rush to score, the smarter ones had a strategy. While the first contestant went hog wild, they held back and surveyed the scene. Sure, it cost them a few seconds, but then they had a 1 on 1 vs. a Gladiator while two chased their competition. Smart.

Are you thinking about where your money is invested? Or do you just rush into an investment whenever you have the money? Take the time to research the various options: CDs, mutual funds, person-to-person lending, etc.

4. Don't mess with Laser (Wall Street)

Laser is a big, huge, mean Gladiator whose sole purpose in life is to break contestants into little tiny pieces. You don't want to mess with Laser. Laser is a lot like Wall Street. Mess with him and you'll get torn to shreds.

Leave the day trading to the professionals. Fund your Roth IRA each year, or your 401K, and invest for the long term....and Laser won't eat your kid's college fund.

5. Take risks when you can

In Assault, the most difficult way to hit the target and defeat the Gladiator comes at the beginning of the event. Although it's difficult from long range, if you can hit the target, you win.

When your goal is a long way off (say you want to retire in 30 years), you can afford to take a little more risk with your investments. Who knows, you might just hit your target early!

6. Team up whenever possible

It was fairly rare to see the competitors team up, but when it did happen successfully, it was a thing of beauty. When two Gladiators would team up, it was absolute destruction. Two is always better than one.

When it comes to managing your money, two is also better than one. Whether it's your spouse, a close friend, or your financial adviser, two heads are better than one. If you don't have a person you can talk about money with (comfortably), find someone!

7. Follow what works

After watching a few seasons of AG, you started to get a pretty good sense of which strategies work for each event. It shocked me how many competitors would get on the show, and then completely ignore successful strategies used in the past.

Saving automatically works. Budgeting works. Diversifying your investments works. Refinancing high-interest debt works. Many people have successfully traversed financial obstacles, so why not follow the steps they took? You don't need to invent a better mousetrap to be successful with your money.

Try person-to-person lending, for example. Sign-up as a lender today and build a diversified portfolio on Lending Club. It’s a heck of a lot safer than trying to get past Nitro!

“I will destroy you!”

Yikes. Scary.