7 Financial Lessons from Mickey Mouse

                                                   

Today is Mickey and Minnie Mouse’s birthday. They are cartoon characters created by Walt Disney.  Mickey Mouse was developed in 1928 by Walt Disney at the Walt Disney Studio. Mickey Mouse has become one of the most recognizable cartoon characters ever created. Mickey Mouse is also a symbol of financial success for Walt Disney and the Disney Companies. 

Walt Disney said of his most popular character, “Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence. He was a means to an end. He popped out of my mind onto a drawing twenty years ago on a train ride to Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner. Born of necessity, the little fellow literally freed us of immediate worry. He provided the means for expanding our organization to its present dimensions and for extending the medium of cartoon animation toward new entertainment levels.”

I believe you can always find lessons and financial blessings in the smallest, overlooked or most unusual places.

There are certain attitudes and behaviors that are reinforced repeatedly by your actions. Look at your past and current financial behaviors, where did you learn your financial habits? What habits are you inadvertently developing?

We constantly pick up positive and negative financial habits and inadvertently pass them on to our children, friends and relatives.

Get started with the basics such as creating a budget to track your spending daily or weekly. Review your budget before you go on vacation or before you go shopping. If you want to purchase something and don’t have the money, save up for it. Pay cash for items instead of using credit cards. 

When going shopping remember, purchasing quality items are more expensive. If you go shopping in the morning and buy something at 10 am, you will have to haul it around all day. If you misplace your bags, you lose your money and will have to replace the items. This also aligns with the voluntary simplicity movement, which focuses on only buying needs, and reducing the amount of stuff you own that has to be cared for, stored and maintained. Here are seven financial lessons you can learn from Mickey and Minnie Mouse. 

1. See. See what is going on in your life to determine if any changes need to be made.
2. Identify. Identify any issues you need to address regarding your finances: late fees, bounced check, overdrawn accounts, overspending, bad credit, etc.
3. Stop and think. Stop and think about your thoughts, attitudes, behaviors and actions regarding money. Before you decide to spend money, think about how it will affect your current and future financial goals.
4. Decide on a course of action. Once you have identified the areas you want to improve create an action plan to solve the issues.
5. Start small. Start by making small changes to improve your finances. Small steps lead to bigger steps and bigger outcomes.
6. Follow the plan. Once you have created an action plan, follow the plan to solve the financial issues you are experiencing. If you need assistance, contact a financial coach, counselor, advisor or planner for assistance.
7. Reap the rewards. Once you have followed your action plan, reap the rewards by treating yourself to a small gift that cost $50 or less if it is in your budget. If not, save up for your gift to reward yourself in the future. 

  Remember, you can’t always have or get everything you want when you want it.