The Money Fit Show · Season 2, Episode 25
Diversifying Income and Skills
A career built around performance can come with periods of strong income followed by long stretches of uncertainty. Alvin Cowan joins Todd Christensen to discuss moving from football into entertainment, taking on debt after relocating to Los Angeles, cutting expenses, finding steadier work, building additional income streams, and adding writing and producing to his professional skill set.
Building more than one path to income
Play Season 2, Episode 25 directly through Spotify without leaving Money Fit.
Income diversification can begin with diversifying what you know how to do
Alvin Cowan expected football to be a major part of his future. When his athletic career did not develop the way he had imagined, he had to find another direction without having built much of a financial or career exit plan.
His move into entertainment eventually included acting, writing, producing, media production, coaching, and business ownership. Along the way, he also experienced what happens when irregular income and ordinary living expenses collide. After moving to Los Angeles, Alvin says he accumulated debt covering his lifestyle and then spent roughly two years digging out.
His response included reducing recurring costs, cutting entertainment spending, accepting less comfortable housing, finding steadier income through coaching, developing additional professional skills, and looking for income sources that were not dependent entirely on the next acting job.
Topics covered in this episode
- Alvin's unexpected transition from competitive football into acting, writing, production, and the entertainment industry.
- Working on country-oriented infomercials in Eastern Europe and gaining experience behind the camera as well as in front of it.
- How refusing to think about an exit plan from football helped maintain focus on the sport but left him without much preparation for what came afterward.
- Moving to Los Angeles with only a limited period of parental financial support and quickly learning how expensive the transition could be.
- Using debt to cover ordinary lifestyle expenses and then spending approximately two years working his way out of that debt.
- Canceling subscription renewals, reducing social and entertainment spending, and accepting less comfortable housing while rebuilding financially.
- Finding more dependable income through football coaching while continuing to pursue opportunities in entertainment.
- Alvin's interest in diversifying income, including rental property, so that his household would not depend entirely on irregular creative work.
- Diversifying professional skills by expanding from acting into writing and eventually producing.
- The encouragement and support Alvin received from his mother as his athletic, financial, and professional paths changed.
- Combining a family emphasis on saving with Alvin's growing belief in ownership and income-producing assets as possible tools for building financial stability.
Diversify your options before you need them
A second income stream can help, but diversification does not have to start with buying an investment property or launching a business. It can begin by developing another marketable skill, maintaining professional relationships, building emergency savings, reducing fixed expenses, or creating a backup source of income before the primary one is interrupted.
Alvin's current work and Money Fit resources
Alvin continues to work across acting, writing, producing, film, television, and audio storytelling. Simpatico Media also remains active in film, television, podcasts, new media, and project development.
Alvin Cowan
Alvin Cowan joined Todd Christensen as an actor, writer, producer, former collegiate quarterback, and entertainment entrepreneur.
Alvin was a record-setting quarterback at Yale and later had short professional football camp stints before shifting toward entertainment. His acting work has included American Sniper, This Is Us, Better Call Saul, and Westworld.
His career has continued to expand beyond acting into writing, film and television development, producing, and audio storytelling. Simpatico Media, the company associated with Alvin in this episode, remains active in film, television, podcasts, new media, and project development.
