Greatest money lesson movie

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
User avatar
Topic Author
indexmonkey
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:51 pm

Greatest money lesson movie

Post by indexmonkey »

What movie do you think had a great money message? Good or bad.....

My vote would be for "the treasure of the Sierra madre"
Grt2bOutdoors
Posts: 25617
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: New York

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

^ Especially when he starts going nuts in the mountains.....
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
User avatar
HomerJ
Posts: 21246
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:50 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by HomerJ »

Rounders
User avatar
cfs
Posts: 4154
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:22 am
Location: ~ Mi Propio Camino ~

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by cfs »

Good lessons

It’s a Wonderful Life (one of the oldies from 1946), with James Stewart, et al.
~ Member of the Active Retired Force since 2014 ~
midmoder
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:27 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by midmoder »

Lost in America.

"Say it, say it! Say 'I lost the nest egg.' Go on, say it!"
pantsmachine
Posts: 55
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2015 11:21 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by pantsmachine »

Mary Poppins
User avatar
celia
Posts: 16764
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am
Location: SoCal

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by celia »

The Money Pit (A young couple buys a house and everything goes wrong with it!)
A dollar in Roth is worth more than a dollar in a taxable account. A dollar in taxable is worth more than a dollar in a tax-deferred account.
Pizzasteve510
Posts: 635
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 3:32 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Pizzasteve510 »

Scrooge aka "A Christmas Carol"

"Trading Places" isn't bad either.
gkaplan
Posts: 7034
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 7:34 pm
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by gkaplan »

Hombre
Gordon
basspond
Posts: 1500
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 3:01 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by basspond »

Indecent Proposal
User avatar
climber2020
Posts: 2703
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 8:06 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by climber2020 »

indexmonkey wrote:What movie do you think had a great money message? Good or bad.....

My vote would be for "the treasure of the Sierra madre"
This was the first movie that came to mind as well. Excellent movie. One of the very few that I own.
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52105
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by nisiprius »

The Sting. Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw (1973). Great performances and a great lesson on how a con game works. Remember it if someone tells you that they have inside information, and that you are a lucky person who is being invited into an inner circle to assist in using that inside information to cheat someone else.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
GoldenFinch
Posts: 2728
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:34 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by GoldenFinch »

A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
LeisureLee
Posts: 164
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:52 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by LeisureLee »

My favorite is a video game rather than a movie: Fable 3. You earn money to buy equipment, like in many games, but in Fable you can buy houses and rent them out instead of spending. If you work a little early on and keep reinvesting your rent, later you can afford everything effortlessly. That game was the most like real retirement saving felt to me.
User avatar
StormShadow
Posts: 1005
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 5:20 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by StormShadow »

Brewster's Millions 8-)

Trading Places, Rounders already mentioned.

Wall Street.
User avatar
Sents
Posts: 124
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 12:24 am
Location: Nomad

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Sents »

Wolf of Wall Street?
Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets. For it and knowledge can raise men to the divine. | L. Beethoven
Ninegrams
Posts: 557
Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2014 6:12 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Ninegrams »

midmoder wrote:Lost in America.

"Say it, say it! Say 'I lost the nest egg.' Go on, say it!"

+1



I'll add: All My Sons.
mholdi1540
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 10:21 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by mholdi1540 »

"...Greed is Good !!" by GG
User avatar
JupiterJones
Posts: 3620
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:25 pm
Location: Nashville, TN

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by JupiterJones »

indexmonkey wrote: My vote would be for "the treasure of the Sierra madre"
Along somewhat similar lines, ending-wise, "Ocean's 11" (the original from 1960).
"Stay on target! Stay on target!"
Fallible
Posts: 8795
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:44 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Fallible »

Among the greatest, "The Maltese Falcon."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hp7130Bjec4
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
User avatar
parsi1
Posts: 282
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 8:03 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by parsi1 »

This is not a movie and it is available on youtube: The Retirement Gamble-Frontline-PBS (documentary)
User avatar
mmmodem
Posts: 2628
Joined: Thu May 20, 2010 1:22 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by mmmodem »

An episode of Saved by the Bell before it was called that had the kids learning about the stock market.
http://www.tv.com/m/shows/good-morning- ... eet-34124/
It was 1988. The lesson plan had the children buy real stocks for $2 and see how it performs. Zack needed some quick money and decides to hack the computer and buy stock on margin. He was using the teacher's account and winds up losing her money.

I remember watching that show and not understanding much of it besides don't ever buy on margin whatever that meant. Why write a show about the stock market to elementary school kids? Then my 6th grade teacher ran the exact same experiment except obviously, the computers were not connected to the stock market, everything we bought was pretend. I made some good money on pretend IBM.
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by abuss368 »

Wall Street and Gordon Gekko "Greed is Good"!
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
dumbmoney
Posts: 2419
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:58 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by dumbmoney »

Fargo
I am pleased to report that the invisible forces of destruction have been unmasked, marking a turning point chapter when the fraudulent and speculative winds are cast into the inferno of extinction.
User avatar
JPH
Posts: 1427
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:56 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by JPH »

The Money Pit
While the moments do summersaults into eternity | Cling to their coattails and beg them to stay - Townes Van Zandt
User avatar
SmileyFace
Posts: 9080
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:11 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by SmileyFace »

The Boiler Room (don't know if the greatest but since no one mentioned it yet...)
avocadorunner
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2015 5:07 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by avocadorunner »

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) wih Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas. This is a must see for anyone considering building a new home.
investingdad
Posts: 2126
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:41 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by investingdad »

LeisureLee wrote:My favorite is a video game rather than a movie: Fable 3. You earn money to buy equipment, like in many games, but in Fable you can buy houses and rent them out instead of spending. If you work a little early on and keep reinvesting your rent, later you can afford everything effortlessly. That game was the most like real retirement saving felt to me.
Dude!

Do you have any idea how rich I got in that game by practicing Bogle theories and ALMOST sharing the experience on here? But I thought people would think I was nuts. :happy
Fallible
Posts: 8795
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 3:44 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Fallible »

dumbmoney wrote:Fargo
If it's not the greatest movie about money, this surely is one of the greatest scenes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8cOlwnJ24AE
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
orlandoguy
Posts: 91
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by orlandoguy »

Glengarry Glenross. Learn how aggressive salespeople ply their trade.
User avatar
sometimesinvestor
Posts: 1271
Joined: Wed May 13, 2009 6:54 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by sometimesinvestor »

Man with a million starring Gregory peck from the mid 50s . Like trading Places but based on a story by Mark Twain Two guys make a bet about what will happen to Gregory Peck if he is given a million pound (currency not weight)note. It sometimes shows up on TCM but I doubt its available elsewhere
UncleBen
Posts: 325
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 7:43 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by UncleBen »

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.
User avatar
Crimsontide
Posts: 729
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:32 pm
Location: DFW Metromess

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Crimsontide »

In the documentary category, "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room".
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by abuss368 »

The Wolf of Wall Street!
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
bs010101
Posts: 303
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 11:08 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by bs010101 »

In terms of direct relevance to the average person's life, I would say The Company Man.
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by abuss368 »

I.O. USA with David Walker, CPA, Comptroller General of the United States under President Clinton and President Bush.
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
ny_rn
Posts: 492
Joined: Sun May 11, 2014 7:09 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by ny_rn »

bs010101 wrote:In terms of direct relevance to the average person's life, I would say The Company Man.
I agree.
User avatar
mlebuf
Posts: 1916
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:27 pm
Location: Paradise Valley, Arizona

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by mlebuf »

parsi1 wrote:This is not a movie and it is available on youtube: The Retirement Gamble-Frontline-PBS (documentary)
Another PBS documentary worth watching is "Trillion Dollar Bet" that covers the story of Long-Term Capital Management. To those not familiar with the story, some Nobel Prize winning economists believed they had discovered a sophisticated formula for investing that eliminates risk. They created a hedge fund limited to people with at least $10 million to invest. At first it worked brilliantly and then things went terribly bad. They darn near wrecked the world economy and lost enormous amounts of money. They would have done well to heed an old saying from show business: The day you buy your own act, you're dead. They ignored the obvious fact that nobody knows the future and paid dearly for it. It's a great lesson about what the late Peter Bernstein told us:
Risk is about the consequences of being wrong.
Best wishes, | Michael | | Invest your time actively and your money passively.
User avatar
JoMoney
Posts: 16260
Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:31 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by JoMoney »

"To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realize; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks." - Benjamin Graham
GoldenFinch
Posts: 2728
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:34 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by GoldenFinch »

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945).
User avatar
Clever_Username
Posts: 1915
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:24 am
Location: Southern California

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Clever_Username »

Not surprisingly, one of my favorite movies of all time, Layer Cake (2004), has some great money lessons. Of course, a large part of the plot revolved around the protagonist preparing for retirement.

"What was true then is true now. Have a plan. Stick to it."

I guess that's the big one, but there's this line that stuck with me too:

"Everyone wants to walk through a door marked 'private.' Therefore, have a good reason to be affluent."

I guess the second one isn't really a financial lesson.
"What was true then is true now. Have a plan. Stick to it." -- XXXX, _Layer Cake_ | | I survived my first downturn and all I got was this signature line.
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52105
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by nisiprius »

GoldenFinch wrote:A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945).
Really? It's been a long time since I read the book--I'm not sure I've ever seen the movie--I remember loving it, but not much about it--"there is a tree that grows in Brooklyn which some people call the Tree of Heaven..." What's the money lesson?
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52105
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by nisiprius »

abuss368 wrote:Wall Street and Gordon Gekko "Greed is Good"!
Always remembering, of course, that the point of that scene is to show us the emptiness and amorality of Gordon Gekko.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
User avatar
MNGopher
Posts: 564
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 1:44 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by MNGopher »

A lesser known recent movie that I really enjoyed was Nebraska.
aj44
Posts: 309
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 11:22 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by aj44 »

Friday

If you don't have a $200 emergency fund your entire day can get seriously messed up.
User avatar
bengal22
Posts: 2146
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: Ohio

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by bengal22 »

Moneyball - At the end of the day even if you are successful with your investments and you look like Brad Pitts - family still ranks number 1
"Earn All You Can; Give All You Can; Save All You Can." .... John Wesley
User avatar
jabberwockOG
Posts: 3084
Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 7:23 am

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by jabberwockOG »

"Scrooge" and "It's a wonderful Life".

Both movies demonstrate the most important lesson about money is that it is a tool that can be used to do good or evil. True generosity comes back to the giver many times over while greedy selfish behavior produces nothing in the end but misery and sadness.
User avatar
Frobie
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:56 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Frobie »

Already been mentioned a couple of times, and I don't know that overall it's an especially great money lesson movie, but this exchange from Trading Places tells me everything I need to know about speculating in commodities (which is why I don't):
Randolph: Now, some of our clients are speculating that the price of gold will rise in the future. And we have other clients who are speculating that the price of gold will fall. They place their orders with us, and we buy or sell their gold for them.

Mortimer: Tell him the good part.

Randolph: The good part, William, is that, no matter whether our clients make money or lose money, Duke & Duke get the commissions.

Mortimer: Well? What do you think, Valentine?

Billy Ray: Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies.

Randolph: I told you he'd understand.
User avatar
TheBezzle
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:20 pm
Location: Ohio

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by TheBezzle »

nisiprius wrote:The Sting...
This scene from The Grifters my favorite. It's a more modern take on the long con, and the big store is a stockbroker's office, instead of a bookie parlor.

https://youtu.be/Rlwhv7m3CSI

"Machines! Machines, Gloucester! I have got a whole room full of machines back here. You want to see 'em? Come here."
User avatar
Dutch
Posts: 1277
Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2013 2:12 pm

Re: Greatest money lesson movie

Post by Dutch »

orlandoguy wrote:Glengarry Glenross. Learn how aggressive salespeople ply their trade.
ABC

Always Be Closing
Post Reply