7 Financial Lessons from the Movie: In Time
I watched the movie “In Time” starring Justin Timberlake (Will Salas) and Amanda Seyfried (Sylvia Weis) on Netflix and was shocked as to how prophetic the movie’s core message plays out in modern times.
The whole plot of the movie surrounds the different lifestyles of people living in Dayton (the ghetto) and New Greenwich (the rich suburbs) and how “time” is spent amongst each group.
I don’t want to spoil the whole movie for you and recommend watching it for yourself to get a idea of the storyline.
However, I couldn’t help but think about how the movie relates to real life for millions of hard-working people who live paycheck to paycheck and have very little savings.
After spending days analyzing the movie in my mind, I came up with 5 major takeaways to remember and apply to your own financial story so you win at the game of money instead of becoming a discardable pawn.
“In Time” Movie 7 Biggest Financial Lessons
- Time is your biggest asset.
- Associate with The Wealthy to Become Wealthy.
- Invest Your Money to Reach Financial Freedom.
- Be Humble and Do Not Flaunt Your Wealth Carelessly.
- Avoid People Who Don’t Use Money Wisely.
- Increase Your Savings Rate to Retire Early.
- Be Thankful and Donate a Portion of Your Earnings to the Less Fortunate.
Time Is Your Biggest Asset
In the movie, every person stops aging at age 25 and starts counting down for 1 year with a right time clock on their arm. You must be worn to earn more time or take it from someone else to avoid “timing out” aka death.
Everything in the movie revolves around time and it’s the main currency throughout the entire movie. What’s important to understand is that time is our biggest asset and cannot be replaced once it’s spent.
Many people struggle financially because they give away their time to employers who don’t deserve it.
That’s why employees are unhappy and want to constantly switch jobs left and right to keep up with the rising cost of living and inflation.
The UAW strike is a prime example of how employees can take back their time and demand more money for life’s most precious gift.
Action Step: Look for ways to increase your earnings per hour (search for a new job or ask for a raise). Value your time and don’t settle for less than you are worth.
Associate with The Wealthy to Become Wealthy
Will Salas spends most of his life living day to day until he befriends Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer), a rich man from New Greenwich who has over 100 years of time.
He saves the man from time thieves and learns how the rich citizens of New Greenwich keep the citizens of Dayton poor and dying with inflation and rising cost of living.
When Will Salas wakes up, he realizes the rich man gave him almost all of his time and commits suicide.
This scene shows the importance of having wealthy associates and friends who provide greater insight and the opportunity for financial gain through donations, investments, and inheritances.
Action Step: Change your circle of friends and environment to reach your financial goals faster.
Invest Your money to Reach Financial Freedom
Will Salas realizes he cannot stay in Dayton any longer because time thieves will rob him of his time. He moves to New Greenwich but spends over a year in time zone fees to make the journey.
After spending 2 weeks for 1 night’s stay at a hotel, he goes to the casino to gamble in order to gain more time. That’s when he meets Philippe Weis (Vincent Kartheiser) and catches the eye of his daughter, Slyvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried).
In Time’s poker scene is epic because Willi Salas nearly times out after going all-in on his poker hand. This scene shows how investing your money wisely increases your net worth faster than working your traditional job.
Gambling is a high risk activity but many people earn a living by gambling in the stock market, cryptoverse, and real estate markets.
Action Step: Learn more about investing in stocks, crypto, and real estate to reach financial freedom faster.
Be Humble and Do Not Flaunt Your Wealth Carelessly
Will Salas is on top of the world after winning his poker match against Philippe Weis and meeting his daughter. Philippe invites him to a party at his home but he makes a big error in judgement by driving a Jaguar worth 52 years to the party.
The Timekeepers notice his expensive car on CCTV and arrest him at the party for the murder of Henry Hamilton.
Once you reach a level of financial success, you must remain humble to keep your fortune and avoid attracting thieves and criminals.
In the movie American Gangster, Denzel Washington’s character Frank Lucas made the same mistake by wearing a $20,000 coat that caught the eyes of the FBI during the boxing match.
In modern times, you remain humble by avoiding expensive cars, clothes, and luxury items that don’t add much value to your life.
Action Step: Avoid wearing expensive clothing in public and downgrade your fancy car to reach financial fredom faster.
Avoid People Who Don’t Use Money Wisely
Will Salas kidnaps Amanda Weiss and flees from the timekeepers back to Dayton in order to hold her for ransom. Slyvia Weis has plenty of time to spare and Will Salas asks her to give him some time.
She refuses and the two nearly die in an explosive car accident. While asleep, the time thieves steal all but 30 minutes from Slyvia who has never lived with such little time.
This scene shows how the power of Association has a profound affect on your finances. Birds of a feather flock together and your immediate circle of friends and associates plays a key role in your journey to financial success.
Avoid people who are careless with money because their bad behavior rubs off on you in the long run.
Action Step: Avoid people who are carelessly with money and seek out financially responsible friends.
Increase Your Savings Rate to Retire Early
Will and Slyvia steal 1 million years from Slyvia’s dad and give it to the people of Dayton so they don’t have to live day to day anymore. That’s when the residents of Dayton finally have extra time and no longer work in the factories anymore and start traveling to New Greenwich.
This scene shows the power of having a high savings rate that leads to early retirement from the rat race.
Mr. Money Mustache wrote the original bible on the importance of a high savings rate while many others used the same strategy to retire early and take control of their time.
Be Thankful and Donate A Portion of Your Money to The Less Fortunate
In one of the movi’es last scenes, Will saves Slyvia’s life by donating some of his time before her clock runs out. Wealthy people are big givers who donate to charity and wrthy causes as a way to give back to the world.
No matter your situation, you must realize there are million of people who lack food, shelter, and basic resources on a regular basis.
Chances are you have access to your basic needs if you are reading this post right now.
Action Step: Find a few charitable organizations in your community and start donating money to help other in need.
What Investors Can Learn From the “In Time” Movie
Inflation is a growing problem that won’t go away overnight no matter how many times the Federal Reserver raises or lowers interest rates.
Use the power of investing to beat inflation and provide a comfortable financial future for yourself and your loved ones.
What financial and investing lessons did you learn from the movie?
