Personal Finance History Lesson

I’ve always been a bit of a history buff, and watching old commercials or old advertisements is an interesting hobby of mine because it gives us a glimpse of what life was like at the time. It also goes to show you that some things drastically change while others seem to remain timeless. So it is with the recent Youtube Video I found showing a Disney Cartoon during the World War 2 Era:

There are certainly some positive and negatives to the film. On one hand it does a good job of portraying the 2 sides of ourselves that we often see. One side being the spender, the part of you that wants to live it up, enjoy life and forget about how much money you spend. On the other you have the saver, portrayed as an older, wiser version of Donald’s self, who encourages you to think of the future and save.

Interestingly, according to the film, you won’t be saving for retirement but…to pay income taxes.I know, I laughed a bit too when I saw it. I can’t imagine anyone today viewing tax-paying as a noble cause, most of us dread tax time and taxes in general. The emphasis on saving your money to pay taxes to fund weapons of destruction in the war is also something you would never see today, but the point does ring true, considering that a large portion of our taxes goes to the defense of the country.

Regardless, I think there’s some valuable lessons we could all glean from the film.

-Xias