Cinema: Get Smart With Money
As technology, mobile banking, and cryptocurrency have begun to change how people bank and
invest their money, it has never been more important for people to become financially literate.
Get Smart Making Money (2022) from director Stephanie Soechtig seeks to educate viewers
about money management through four stories and various types of financial strategies.
However, the film is prefaced with the message: “This is not a substitute for individual assistance from a financial professional.”
The film starts at square one where we are introduced to Lindsay, Jalen (Teez) Tabor, Ariana,
along with Kim & John. Each of these people and their families are in different stages of their
lives, navigating different financial hurdles as they receive advice from financial professionals
on budgeting, investing, and planning for the always coveted early retirement. Throughout the
film Paula Pant, Ro$$ Mac, Tiffany Aliche, and Mr. Money Mustache provide their clients along
with audiences the supposed path to “financial freedom”.
There is no one true path to achieving financial independence, getting out of debt, or changing
your spending habits. Throughout the film, the audience is exposed to many different
approaches, terms, and informational tools to teach audiences about how money management
influences every aspect of life. Get Smart Making Money explores and informs on many basic
concepts of finance that young Americans are never taught.
Lindsay is a starving artist living paycheck by paycheck in Austin, Texas. Her financial advisor
Paula Pant gives Lindsay great advice on investing in yourself and utilizing one’s own creative
skills and ingenuity to provide additional sources of income is something all viewers can take
away from the film. Everyone has a side hustle. It’s about turning your side hustle, passion
project, or hobby into an additional source of income and understanding your earning potential to support your goals. You can make your goals a reality by investing in yourself through education, tools, and using your time efficiently.
Teez Tabor is an NFL player who has nearly blown through his $1.6 million dollar rookie
contract. Tabor learns from advisor Ro$$ Mac so that he can support his family and the future of
his daughter. Ro$$ gives investment strategies to Tabor that will allow him to “build wealth over
time.” Ro$$’s says that achieving wealth over time can be done through investing in stocks, and
the diverse portfolios of the S&P 500 & NASDAQ.
Ariana starts the film being $108,000 in debt due to student loans debt, reckless spending, and
major credit card debt. Tiffany Aliche teaches Ariana the importance smart spending choices and not being emotional with your money. Money is a tool that can lead to success but can also be a detriment if you don’t use it properly. Understanding that money is a tool means that you shouldn’t buy things just to buy them. Each purchase you make should serve you in a way that benefits your lifestyle and well-being. You should need and love the goods you buy instead of liking and wanting them. When spending money, fulfilling your needs to survive and be independent should be your number one priority.
Mr. Money Mustache helps Kim and John plan for retirement as they attempt to reach their goal
of saving up 25 times their current living expenses. A target ‘FIRE’ number would allow Kim
and John to retire early, which can seemingly be achieved through reducing your monthly
expenses on Housing, Transportation, and Food (The Big 3 as the show proclaims them) and
limiting impulse online/amazon purchases.
Get Smart Making Money is a typical documentary film with a paint-by-numbers style template
that follows the four different families as they meet up with their financial advisors over the
course of nine months. Using traditional one-on-one camera interviews, archival footage from
the advisors past presentations/lectures, and progress updates: the film follows a traditional and
simple documentary model exploring multiple viewpoints and strategies. The film does a great
job of keeping things simple and not overwhelming audiences with too much information at
once. As the audiences build their financial knowledges throughout the film, advice from the
financial professionals is backed up with sound facts, numbers, and breakdowns. It is difficult to
depict digital investments, transactions, and expenses on camera, but the films simple
postproduction inclusions of graphs, statistics, budget breakdowns, and investment insight break the perceived barriers to entry associated with investing and financial literacy. Get Smart With Money’s full circle moment is a great reminder that the knowledge you gain throughout your life should be used as a tool to help others. The film closes with a fantastic scene of Teez and Ro$$ Mac educating young men on the strength, perils, and power of money.
While I enjoyed watching the relatable stories of the Get Smart With Money subjects the film
itself along with the financial advice is nothing groundbreaking. The film effectively achieves its
goal of educating viewers on how to achieve financial literacy/freedom through simple
philosophies and facts. Viewers can take away many innovative strategies on how to improve
their income levels and investment returns. While the simple and understandable financial advice is great for audiences new to investing and money management the amount of knowledge you can receive from this film is limited to the basics. Much of the money making, spending, and interest accumulated happens off screen so many of the additional takeaways of Get Smart With Money are the constant reminders to not buy needless items from Amazon and having a positive money mindset. Being emotional with your spending and money choices will lead to failure.
Don’t be afraid of money. It is important to realize you are surrounded by opportunities which
money can allow you to access. Having a hustler’s mentality combined with the basic financial
skills you learn in this film will set up a great foundation for your future.
