Your Favorite Holiday Classics Also Have Underlying Financial Lessons
The holiday season comes with a litany of time-honored, tinsel-tinted activities. Among the decorating, caroling, holiday parties and gift-giving, many of us also find time to curl up on the couch and watch Christmas movies. From “It’s A Wonderful Life” to “A Christmas Carol,” most of us know the lines and the messages. We can hum the tune to “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and many of us were probably introduced to the absolute masterpiece that is “Carol of the Bells” from “Home Alone.” But, did you know that you could also learn money lessons from holiday movies?
Valuable Money Lessons from Holiday Movies
When you rewatch a movie dozens of times, you may notice things you haven’t seen before or see the story from a new angle. So while you curl up with a mug of hot chocolate to watch “Miracle on 34th Street” or “White Christmas,” consider what financial advice you could take away from these winter classics. Sure, the heartwarming moments that leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside will still be the focus. However, Ebeneze Scrooge and George Bailey may have a few tips on how to live next year a little bit healthier and a little bit wealthier.
“It’s A Wonderful Life”: Prepare For the Worst
This one is considered a masterpiece of classic American film, produced and directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart in one of his most iconic roles. It’s been a staple of Christmas movies, and may in fact be considered the Christmas movie, since 1946. The story of George Bailey realizing all the good things he has in his life before it’s too late is always a heartwarming watch. But let’s turn to the plot and consider what started George Bailey’s crisis of faith.
If you know the movie, you know that the evil Mr. Potter has long tried to ruin George’s family business, Bailey Bros. Savings & Loan. The main conflict of the movie begins when $8,000 (equivalent to over $125,000 in today’s money) goes missing from the Savings & Loan’s accounts, thanks in part to Mr. Potter. From there, George panics until the town comes together to help him out.
However, George really should have planned better, given his history. Throughout his life, George had to sacrifice time and again as family emergencies, financial crises and life-threatening circumstances arose. That often meant spending to the hilt and dipping into his life savings. That’s where an emergency fund could have saved him.
While George’s heart was always in the right place, those circumstances always managed to catch him off guard. Yet, as a small business owner who supported a family of six in a large home, he should have put away a few dollars here and there. Emergency funds don’t have to be as large as you may think. It all comes down to finding ways to save even tiny amounts of money on a day-to-day basis while putting it away in a safe account.
“A Christmas Carol”: Make Your Money Work For You
Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the most famous literary characters of all time. He has been portrayed by over 135 actors since the first movie adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” that was made in 1901. The original novella, published by Charles Dickens in 1843, practically made Christmas as we know it today and is one of the most celebrated stories in the English language. The humbugging curmudgeon may not be able to give you a lot of great life advice, but if you want to learn how to make money, he is a great place to start.
In the story, Scrooge sits on a hoard of riches that would shame some dragons, but he is secretly miserable and scared of almost everything. His home is a drab, drafty house and he eats little better than his poor bookkeeper, Bob Cratchitt. Scrooge could probably make an excellent article about how to save money. Though he seems to have a few virtues as a businessman — for all his flaws, he’s honest, hardworking and always honors his contracts to the letter, always good, stirling virtues to have in business.
But Scrooge is probably sitting on a huge missed opportunity, and that is in investment. Scrooge never spends any money if he can avoid it, but he seems to have missed one of the most well-known phrases in finance: to make money, you have to spend money. Scrooge only hoards his money, and as a result, he’s miserable and missing out on almost everything else in life. But after the three ghosts do their work and he starts opening his heart and his wallet, Scrooge would be wise to consider investing his money to continue being jolly and bright well into his future.
Investing may always have a risk if your investment doesn’t pay out. However, there are many strategies to hedging your bets, from investing in property to diversifying your portfolio. Doing your homework is your best strategy before making specific investments, but if you want to avoid a visit from the ghosts of Financial Security Past, Present and Future, developing a passive income and slowly building it over time is a fantastic strategy.
“White Christmas”: The Perils of Small Business Ownership
For any and all holiday musical fans, “White Christmas” has you covered. This 1954 classic has a star-studded cast, including Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.
Crosby and Kaye play two World War II veterans who come to visit a struggling inn run by their former commander, a general wondering what to do with the rest of his life now that he’s been drummed out of the military. The inn, located in Vermont, was supposed to be a gold mine that would leave the general comfortable and financially secure, but in a cruel twist of irony, the main attraction for the inn, the winter weather, has all melted away due to a freak heat wave in the build up to Christmas day.
The general, neither a stupid nor a desperate man, runs the inn as a pretty tight ship. But his talent for organization, good work ethic and good hospitality still can’t help him prepare for something like winter not showing up for his business which relies on snow. It’s a great example of the pitfalls a small business will face, especially in its first few years, and the movie shows the creativity or luck you need to overcome these challenges.
If you’re interested in creating a small business, especially as a retiree like the general, you will need to do a lot of research and a lot of preparation before you launch your new business. It will also require a lot of capital, as most small businesses will take two or three years to be profitable. However, with the right amount of passion, determination and flexibility, your small business can overcome challenges. Just don’t expect Bing Crosby to come to the rescue with a show-stopping musical number to draw in customers.
“Miracle on 34th Street”: Good Customer Service Pays For Itself
One of the most iconic depictions of Santa Claus, 1947’s “Miracle on 34th Street” is a lovely story about faith, holiday magic and the importance of good customer service. When the main character finds herself and her daughter befriending a kindly old man who steps in as Santa Claus at the last minute for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, he is quickly hired as Macy’s Department Store Santa with the twist being that, naturally, he is the genuine article.
In one of the movie’s iconic scenes, Kris Kringle points out to a mother that a toy her son wants is actually being sold at a lower price at one of Macy’s competitors. At first the store manager is horrified, but the mother later returns to say she’s going to be a regular customer. For anyone running a small business or working in the gig economy, the message is crystal clear: nothing can beat customer loyalty, and good customer service is one of the best ways to earn that loyalty.
If you’re working a side-hustle or a freelance gig, you only have one shot at winning over customers, without the recognition or notoriety of a big name. Moreso here than ever, going the extra mile to help customers or doing a little extra to stand out can make a huge difference. It’s what helps Uber and DoorDash drivers keep up their five star ratings and small businesses become local community institutions.
“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”: Be Careful With Your Budget
The 1989 comedy classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is one of only two National Lampoon Vacation movies worth remembering. It follows the Griswold family trying to capture a picture-perfect Christmas while literally everything goes wrong around them. The family patriarch Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, has a whopper of a Christmas gift for his family: a new swimming pool, which he has already put a down-payment for, relying on a Christmas bonus that hasn’t yet come.
As Christmas gets closer, Griswold gets more and more worried about his bonus, until it is finally delivered on Christmas Eve: a one year subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club. In one fell swoop, the Griswold family’s personal finances go up in flames, thanks not only to Clark’s stingy and uptight boss, but also to Clark’s own short-sightedness.
This lesson can be boiled down to the old adage: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Clark should be able to count on a monetary Christmas bonus, but he doesn’t know how much he’s going to get from that bonus. It’s an entirely unknown variable. As for putting a down payment on a pool, the only negative consequence for not paying for the pool is going a few extra months without the pool than he would have otherwise.
Budgeting is an important skill to develop, and there are lots of ways to budget your finances successfully. Remember to build up to big purchases slowly and not rely on money you don’t have yet. If Clark had budgeted his money correctly, he might have had enough money not only for the pool, but also to pay Cousin Eddie to never visit him again.
How Money Lessons from Holiday Movies Can Help You
There are some lessons from holiday movies that continue to elude us. Sadly, we may never know what Kevin McCallister’s parents did to earn a house like that, on top of a Paris Christmas vacation for over a dozen people. But the Holidays are always a challenging time, especially on a budget. There are still plenty of ways to save money, such as making your own Christmas decorations. Or, ways to earn money, such as running a business putting up Christmas lights.
Whatever and however you celebrate this holiday season, remember that it’s also healthy to sit back and relax, let the financial stress go for a few days, and enjoy the season with the people you love.
William Fewox has worked as a freelance writer since 2017, and his work is featured in literary magazines such as The Aquarian, The Navigator and The Historian. He has also self-published a handful of novels.
