Financial lessons are all around you and you can pick them up if you pay attention. You can even get some valuable money lessons from the hit Netflix series “Squid Game.”
The series is already ranked No.1 not only in South Korea but even in the US. Morning Consult shares that about 1 in every 4 Americans have already seen the series. It revolves around the story of 456 people who are playing children’s games on a secluded island. But this is a do-or-die survival game and the winner takes all money worth almost $40 million.
Millions of people all over the world have seen the series and if you look closely, there are a lot of financial lessons you can pick up from it. At the very beginning, personal finances play a crucial part in why all of the players were persuaded to join the game. Each of the players has financial problems that made them want to play for the money.
Even throughout the series, money lessons can be picked up from how the games are played and the strategies they use. Even with the storyline where most of the people are going through financial hardships, it shows how finances play a big part in life. It dictates a lot of areas in your life that some goals are purely financial in nature.
The show is widely successful mainly due to its unique story and characters. But the financial lessons across all the episodes can help you in managing your own finances. Here are a few of them worth checking out.
Financial lessons from the series touches on debt payment
The main character is a gambler through and through and even when he had money on hand, he chose to gamble it away. He did this to a point where he would even steal money from his own mother just to be able to gamble. You know you already have a problem with gambling when you resort to stealing just to feed your habit.
Rather than gambling, it is better to simply focus your efforts on paying down your debt obligations. The lure of gambling is that if you hit the jackpot, you will have more than enough to not only pay for your debt but even get the things that you want. But to get there, you need to spend and if you do not have that amount, you will borrow and be in debt. And in most cases, that jackpot is elusive, and as they say in gambling, “the house always wins!”
If you have funds or money on hand, it is better to use that to pay off your debt. You don’t have to put all your money into it but chipping away on your debt makes it more manageable in the future. The more you bring your debt down, the more funds you free up. And when you do that, you start to find better use of that money like investing it for your future. This is one of the financial lessons from that popular series.
Be mindful of who uses your card
One of the best financial lessons in the series is being more mindful of your cards. It can be your credit card or even your debit card. In the series, the lead star stole his mother’s card and took money from the ATM so he can gamble it away. Without knowing it, his mother lost money and she does not even know about it. What if she needs it for an emergency? It is important to take note that the average card debt for US families is about $6,270 according to Value Penguin.
The lesson in this is that you need to secure your finances. And there are times that you need to do that to keep your money safe from family members. The first thing you can do is keep your PIN private. Do not let other people know about it. If you have to ask for help taking money out, you can always change it at any time.
You can also take a look at the statements your bank gives you. This shows you not only the balance you have but the movement of your money. If any amount was deposited, withdrawn, invested, or paid to billers, it will reflect in your statement. Be sure to check it always so you can stay on top of your finances and bank accounts.
Avoid loan sharks
The lead star owed money to a lot of people including loan sharks. He was even beaten up because he was unable to make his payments. The interest alone on the money you borrowed can make it difficult to repay back the amount. You might end up just trying to pay the interest every month barely making a dent on the principal amount you borrowed.
If push comes to shove, you can take out loans from credible sources such as the bank. You can also consider taking an equity loan against your property if you own it. The upside to that is the interest will be considerably low. The downside though is your extending your lender’s lien on your property. But in most cases, you have more payment flexibility with the bank when compared with a loan shark.
Financial management begins with a small amount
The main character gambled away even with what little money he had left. This is a problem for a lot of people believing that you should start managing your money when you have a lot of it. But the reality is that you will never be able to handle huge amounts when you constantly mismanage even the smallest dollar amounts.
So even if your pay is not yet that big, you need to start managing your finances properly. This also helps you build up that habit as long as you are consistent with the action. You get to carry this habit over to when you are already earning a lot. The more you manage your finances well, the better the results can be.
Diversify your investments
One of the biggest financial lessons you will get from the popular tv series is how you need to diversify your investments. In one of the games, one of the characters suggested they all split up to increase their chances of getting through that round. Though it was for an entirely different and selfish reason, that piece of advice is useful when managing your money.
The reason for diversification is mainly to spread out your risk. If one of them does not pan out and even gives you negative returns, it will not affect all your investments. You could still be earning from other investments even when one of them is at a loss. This is the reason why you need to diversify your investments.
Make informed decisions
If you remember the bridge game, one player was carefully looking at the glass before jumping on. This helped him know if it will break or not. If you take that concept, that is one of the best financial lessons you can take away from the series. It has a lot to do with making informed money decisions as you manage your finances.
The key thing in making informed decisions is having accurate and timely data on hand. To start with, your household budget is a great tool you can use. Before you make a purchase decision, you can use your budget to know if you can afford that time. If you are going to put it in installment, do you have the extra cash every month?
The bottomline is to carefully look at and study money decisions you are about to make. This is because it will have a ripple effect on all other areas of your finances. You might suddenly find the need to skip some card payments to make ends meet.
These are some of the financial lessons you can pick out from the tv series “Squid Game.” It can help you manage your money better and bring you closer to your goals.