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.

Financial Lessons from Dick and Jane

                                                                 

Millions of people enjoy watching movies. Over 20 million consumers pay the largest cable providers to watch cable.  I don’t watch television shows but love watching movies. I love watching the movie “Fun with Dick and Jane” starring Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni.  This movie shows the determination, sacrifice, humility, courage and perseverance a married couples displays to turn their life around after a citywide economic disaster. Movies impact most of our lives. You can learn some great life lessons from watching movies.  Here are 14 financial lessons you can learn from watching the movie “Fun with Dick and Jane”.

1. Rise to the challenge.  Don’t get depressed or continually focus on the problem. Focus on solutions. You are smart, use your brain and challenge yourself to find ways to get over your hurdle.
2. Don’t complain. Don’t constantly complain about your situation. Complaining doesn’t change your situation, taking action does.
3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. In the movie, Dick and Jane put all their money in the company stock which is always a bad choice because you can’t control and don’t know if a company will be a success or failure. Always have a backup plan. Try to have a plan A, B, C and D to prepare for unexpected events such as a job layoff or illness.  Develop what-if scenarios and develop possible solutions for each scenario.
4. Tap your relationships. Due to their good relationship with their nanny, Dick was able to get a job lead.
5. Pay attention. Pay attention to your surroundings. Dick lost his wallet which caused all kinds of problems. Keep items such as your wallet in a safe place and know where it is at all times.
6. Prepare for the unexpected. Life happens. Nothing last forever.  The ones who survive are those who plan for the worst and those who don’t give up. Develop a plan to deal with unexpected events.
7. Scale back your lifestyle.  Let go of your ego and pride. Face reality and scale back your lifestyle. Forget what anyone thinks. You should only be concerned about what you think. Do the best you can until you can do better. If you believe you can do something then do it. Don’t doubt yourself.
8. Use teamwork. Seek help from family, friends, your church, social service organizations, non-profit agencies, etc. that offer help to those who are in need of assistance.
9. Get advice from your social network. Reach out to your social network to get advice about whatever issue you need help with such as: employment, financial resources, financial aid, etc.
10. Be flexible. Don’t focus on getting the same type of job you had.  Expand your search.  Dick waited in line all day for a job. Continue your search. Never give up. If you give up on yourself everyone else will give up on you too.
11. Look for non-traditional jobs. There are several non-traditional jobs such as food service delivery, cooks, drivers, street vendors, babysitters, cashiers, bartenders, etc. that can provide income until you are able to get the job you desire.
12. Learn from others. Their neighbors were not financially ruined because they didn’t put all their eggs in one basket and had financial reserves.  They were able to maintain their lifestyle even though the job market tanked.
13. Stay calm. Dick got excited and emotional during various times in the movie which prevented him from making rational decisions. Don’t make decisions when you are emotional. Wait until you calm down to make decisions.
14. Be supportive. Even though Dick’s ideas sounded outrageous, his wife Jane supported him in all of his crazy efforts to generate income and Dick supported Jane in her efforts to get a job.