Personal finance lessons can be seen anywhere you go even in the much-awaited movie Avengers Endgame. Before you read through, be warned that this article has spoilers for those who have not seen the movie. If you have been in the cinema and one of those fans who saw the movie while clapping, shedding a tear, and jumping from your seats with the twists and turns in the plot, then read on.
The movie has broken a lot of box-office records and has left people leaving the movie house more than satisfied. From the plot to the interweaving of stories only true fans will understand is a stroke of genius. There is no doubt that people are talking about it long after the movie. However, did you know that the plot offered more than just your dose of Marvel adventure?
There are personal finance lessons all over the movie from which you can learn from. From the very first scene, all the way to the end gives you a glimpse of money lessons. As you are taken for a ride not only with the drama, action, and plot of the movie, you can pick out valuable lessons you can use to manage your finances.
Here are a few of them you can find throughout the movie.
It is important that you have a goal to aim for
One of the personal finance lessons you can pick up from the movie even before it starts is the need to set a goal. Oddly enough, this lesson comes from the main villain in the movie Thanos. If you think about it, the storyline needed the endgame because the heroes in the movie needed a way to defeat the creature that wiped off half the living creature in the universe.
Thanos was able to do that because he stuck to his goal and worked hard to get there. He knew that he needed all the infinity stones to reach his goal and he got one after the other. At the end of the Infinity War movie, he snapped his fingers after getting all the stones and accomplished his mission of taking out half of all the living creatures.
You can do that with your own finances where you have a goal and you work hard to get it. It is a matter of setting a goal and putting in a plan of action to get to it. It may not happen as fast as you want. Take Thanos for example where he needed a couple of movies to plan for and get all the stones but he accomplished it at the end. You can reach your goals if you plan your financial decisions around it.
Life can throw you a curveball at anytime
The movie starts off with Clint spending time with his daughter Lila teaching her how to shoot an arrow. His wife was making snacks and everything seemed like an ordinary fun day for the family. However, in a blink of an eye, everything he held dear was lost. They vanished out of thin air without any inkling of things to happen.
Though people around you might not start to disappear slowly anytime soon, that scene shows how situations in life can change in an instant. This is where an emergency fund can come in to help. You could be enjoying your job and lifestyle at the moment but the next thing you know, you are being shown the door at work.
Though there was nothing Hawkeye could have done to prevent that scene from happening, you can put in some work to help you prepare for future emergencies. You can put together an emergency fund to help you address any unforeseen. This way if you are let go at work, you have enough money to tide you through your budget while you look for a new job.
One of the personal finance lessons from the movie is to create sources of income
If you want to have an easier time managing your finances, you might want to look for other income streams. This will help you cover your debt payments better as well as give you enough extra money to save for the future. This will also help you to continue earning even if your main source of income is affected by emergencies.
This was characterized in the movie during the fight scene between Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America going against Thanos. It helped in battle when Captain America was able to wield Mjölnir together with his shield. He also saved Thor from imminent death fro Thanos. Having a second alternative in times of need surely comes in handy.
Learn from your financial mistakes and build upon them
One of the most important personal finance lessons you can learn from the movie is to use your mistakes and learn from them. You have to understand that mistakes are inevitable because no one is perfect. The sooner you realize that fact, the easier it will be for you to forgive yourself for the mistakes you make.
The key ingredient in this situation is learning from your mistakes. If you remember at the early part of the movie when they found where Thanos was hiding. After finding out that Thanos destroyed the stones, a quick swoop to his head by Thor killed him. His reason, he did not go for his head in the Infinity War movie giving Thanos the chance to snap his fingers. Thor did not make any mistake and made sure that he killed the villain this time around
Retirement is inevitable so prepare for it financially
One of the personal finance lessons you will always encounter is being reminded to save for retirement. This is because retirement in inevitable (much like how Thanos said “I am inevitable” in the movie.) It might take you a few decades but retirement will come. That is why it is best to save up for it as early as possible Gallup shares that the average retirement age for Americans is 66 years old.
The part in the Avengers Endgame movie that shows how old age will eventually catch up on you is towards the end. When Steve Rogers volunteered to return all the stones to their respective realities, he was supposed to return after five seconds. However, he did not pop back up on the quantum device and instead showed somewhere else. He was sitting a bench as an old man who lived his life to the fullest. This goes to show you that if a super soldier grows old, so will you.
Get your finances in order
The genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice in the movie. He had got hold of all the stones from Thanos and used it to defeat his army. However, he prepared for that eventuality because he made sure he recorded his final message for the people that are closest to him.
If you are looking for personal finance lessons in the movie, this one teaches you the importance of planning for the inevitable. You need to make sure that your affairs are in order. One way to do that is by having a will and testament you can leave behind for your family. It will give them an idea of how you want your estate handled.
Try not to nickel and dime yourself to the point where you cannot enjoy life
Tony Stark told his father “no amount of money ever bought a second of time” when he went back in time. Taking off from that, you also need to make sure that you enjoy life to the fullest. Yes, you need to save for the future and even for emergencies but it does not mean you cannot have a great life at present. You just need to budget your money wisely to help give you that quality of life you are looking for.
There are a number of personal finance lessons littered all around the Avengers Endgame movie you can pick up and use for your personal life. You get to enjoy one of the best movies of all time and you learn some money management lessons as well.