It’s a Wonderful Life: 4 important financial planning lessons you could learn from this iconic Christmas film 

11 December 2024

It’s Christmas – and what is Christmas without sitting down to watch your family’s favourite films under a warm blanket?

For many, It’s a Wonderful Life epitomises everything magical about Christmas: an unlikely, heartwarming story about the true value of community and family. What’s more, the film contains a handful of helpful lessons that you could apply to your financial plan in the years to come.

Without further ado, read on to discover four surprising financial planning lessons from the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life.

1. Unexpected costs can waylay your plans

Partway through the film, protagonist George and his wife, Mary, are forced to use their honeymoon savings to keep the local bank afloat during a bank run. Fearing the bank will shut down, many townspeople attempt to withdraw their funds at once, putting its future at risk.

While George and Mary make the decision they feel is right at the time, this is the perfect example of how unexpected life events can derail your plans and deplete your wealth. Be it a health event that prevents you from working, emergency home repairs, or a sudden increase to your tax bill, life has a funny way of surprising us all.

With this in mind, it may be helpful to build an emergency fund that you can rely on in difficult times. Typically, we recommend a cash fund that holds between three and six months’ expenses, or 12 months’ costs if you have a large number of assets to manage, such as multiple properties.

Building your emergency fund and ensuring it’s kept in a cash fund that offers a competitive interest rate could mean that, unlike George and Mary, you’re able to achieve your goals while shouldering unexpected expenses.

What’s more, you could consider financial protection that may shield your wealth from difficult circumstances, especially those that arise unexpectedly. A financial planner can help you curate a package of protection suitable for your needs.

Note that financial protection plans typically have no cash in value at any time and cover will cease at the end of the term. If premiums stop, then cover will lapse.

2. Not all financial opportunities are as advantageous as they seem

Henry Potter, the antagonist in It’s a Wonderful Life, is a wealthy property magnate whose sole aim is to squeeze the working class and make more for himself. He makes George a tempting job offer around halfway through the film.

While financial stability and a higher salary seem attractive, George realises that Henry’s intentions are not at all honourable, and declines his offer despite its wealth prospects.

This is a valuable lesson in trusting your intuition and being shrewd about the kind of financial offers you receive. If your friends and colleagues are investing in the “next hot stock” or unregulated digital currencies, you might be tempted to follow suit – but doing so could put your wealth at high risk.

Similarly, scammers are becoming more convincing and more prevalent. Here at Depledge, we even had a scammer attempt to defraud one of our clients (fortunately, they were unable to do so thanks to our team’s timely intervention). You can read about this case and the prevalence of scams overall.

In any case, it may help to take a data-driven approach to any financial opportunities that come your way. Just as George follows his head, rather than his heart, it could be worth analysing these opportunities objectively rather than following whims or temptations.

3. Little by little, your seemingly small actions may make the world of difference

At the beginning of the film, we meet George at the lowest point in his life. He’s considering taking his own life, as he perceives himself to be a failure – especially where money is concerned – and doesn’t see a way out.

As you might know if you’ve seen the film, he meets a guardian angel who shows him all the difference he’s made to so many people’s lives. From saving his brother’s life as a child to preventing a pharmacist from accidentally poisoning a customer, it turns out George has been a positive influence on his community all his life, but never realised it.

When it comes to your own life journey, there are likely regrets and mistakes you look back on with sadness. But alongside these, there will also be a thousand positive actions that have brought you to where you are today – some of which you might not even remember or consider important.

And, the same is true where money is concerned. Tiny, almost intangible actions can make the world of difference. Rather than adopting an “all or nothing” mindset, taking every opportunity to improve your situation, even by just 1%, could lead you down the path to financial freedom.

For instance, you might be looking at boosting your investment portfolio in 2025, but are worried about how you will afford to do so in light of rising taxes and a high cost of living.

If you invest the same amount as a takeaway coffee costs – let’s say £3.50 – every day for the whole of 2025, by the end of the year your portfolio will have been boosted by nearly £1,300. Over 20 years, you’ll have invested an additional £25,550, simply by getting into the habit of “buying yourself a coffee” every day.

It’s these tiny actions that can make all the difference to your family’s future, as well as your own.

4. It helps to have an ally who supports you in hard times

In It’s a Wonderful Life, George’s guardian angel offers him a helping hand during his darkest times. He shows George that there’s a way out of his situation and that he and his family can build a brighter future together.

When it comes to financial planning, you don’t need to be experiencing extreme hardship to reach out for support. Anyone – no matter your background or age – can benefit from working with a trusted professional whose sole aim is to act in your best interests.

Get in touch

If you want to turn over a new leaf, improve your financial behaviours, or set meaningful goals in 2025, get in touch with us today. Email info@depledgeswm.com or call 0161 8080200.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.