You may not be a Major League Baseball fan or care about the ups and downs of former players. But Jose Canseco's announcement that he will walk away from a $2.5 million home in suburban Encino may mean more to you than you know.

Canseco made millions in his prime. To most middle- and low-income Americans that kind of money means you're set for life. No more worries about paying bills or sending your children to college.

So it would be understandable if those same people - you and me? - scoffed when Canseco explained to the media that a $35 million career gross doesn't necessarily stretch all that far. The government took 41 percent, he said, and former wives - two - demanded another $15 million between them. That doesn't leave much when "you're taking care of your whole family."

To his credit, Canseco admitted that his situation "was a little more different than most." Or was it? The former MLB slugger is walking away from a nice home because it didn't make financial sense to keep paying the mortgage. Many Americans who make far less money are now doing the same. Banks throughout the nation now have a surplus of foreclosure properties, and bus loads of would-be investors are taking a tour of the damage seeking a diamond in the rough. I bet they'll have a lot to choose from. But buyer beware: Jose can you see the moral of the story?

Money management matters. Not the amount, though I assume most of us wish we had more, and not the manner in which it was accumulated. Management matters even for those lucky enough to make millions. In fact, sorry to say, it may matter even more as your income increases, despite the sense among the uninitiated that a windfall is like a big new jar of Smucker's blueberry jam - there's plenty to spread around.

Living large becomes a loser's game when lack of cash flow results in too many scoreless innings. In a sense, the subprime loan crisis is the story of minor leagues players - all those good people who technically could not qualify for loans - suddenly being allowed to join The Big Game, the majors. No one seemed to care that they lacked the skills to hit one out of the park: i.e., their income was basically fixed and not substantial enough to cover all the bases.

You may say, what's done is done. Easy to look over your shoulder, see the mess, then philosophize about how it could have been avoided: like a player who swings and misses when the count is 3-2, then kicks himself for not doing the opposite. What purpose does it serve?

Lessons learned are money in the bank. Swinging for the fences sometimes works but mostly fails. Stretching a double into a triple sometimes works but mostly fails. Next time some financial statistician suggests that playing with the numbers will suddenly make you a viable candidate for the major leagues, do your own math. Canseco can afford to walk away from his real estate. He has other irons in the fire. But your home is not an investment. It's that special place you return to every day after rounding the bases in whatever league you choose to compete in. It's not just a house, it's home plate. Hold onto it.

Copyright 2008