Have you seen Netflix’s number one miniseries, “Squid Game,” yet? This absorbing thriller is about 456 game show participants trying to survive dangerous contests to win the ultimate cash prize. I found valuable money lessons to share that can teach us through this series.
Each started off by playing the ddakji game with a well-dressed man who knew of their respective financial hardships. They won some money and received a few slaps when they lost. The recruiter told them he had more games with higher stakes than the game they played with him, and they would have the opportunity to make boundless wealth that would resolve their problems.
1. High-Risk High Reward Proposition
Like investing, rewards are proportionate to the risks you assume and seek similar rewards. Typically, investing in stocks yield higher risks than bonds, with average stock market returns of about 10% over the long term.
2. Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket.
In the second episode, participants have to pick a shape and stand in front of it. When deciding which form to choose, Sang-woo tells the group around him to split up and pick different shapes rather than the same one, saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
3. Pay off Your Debts
In the opening salvo of the series, we meet the main character Seong Gi-hun, who lives with his mom, is divorced, a gambler, and is in deep debt with his loan shark breathing down his neck.
4. Save Money
A more realistic approach would be to work a steady job, add hours or more work, and spend less money than he earns so he may be able to be the father she wants. Make your savings work for you by investing the money.
5. Establish An Emergency Fund
Gi-hun and his mom should have socked away some money in an emergency fund so that she could get the surgery. Emergency funds are essential when you are facing unexpected expenses such as hospital bills without sufficient medical insurance.
6. Protect Your Financial Accounts
It is imperative that you carefully secure your accounts with complex passwords, use a password manager, two-factor verification, and review your accounts and credit reports for possible errors or fraud. Report anything out of the ordinary to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to limit your liability.
8. Economic Inequality
One of the big themes in the series is the economic inequality that the participants face in their outside world. The game’s design is for each player to have an equal chance to compete for the prize money while they are participants and potentially correct their dire financial situation.