3 Real Life Lessons From Monopoly

Monopoly is the classic board game that tens (if not hundreds) of millions of people have played over the years.  It is fun, and has kept people of all ages entertained for decades now.  But what you may not realize is that there are several real-life money lessons that you can apply to keep yourself financially healthy!

1.  Always have money available.

How many times have you landed on that perfect property or investment opportunity, only to realize that you don’t have enough cash to buy it?  Then you have to mortgage or sell an asset or watch your chance go to someone else.  Or you hit that major expense unexpectedly – someone built a hotel on Boardwalk and you just get an unlucky roll.

Remember this in real life.  Keeping a reserve of money available is very important for good financial health.  You never know when there is going to be an emergency or crisis that you will need money on hand for.  Setting up a savings account with some reserves will ensure that you have available what you need at a moment’s notice.

2. Always negotiate and look for bargains.

Negotiations and bargains are a part of Monopoly.  Sometimes you can get a property at a steal, or talk your way out of a huge bill by agreeing to something else.

Again, remember this in real life!  What do you have to lose by trying?  You’ll never know what sort of deals you could have gotten if you don’t try to negotiate.  Just ask!  Who knows if you’ll get that raise?  Never settle for the status quo on a deal – try to make it better.

3. Invest your money wisely.

You may have noticed that the people who stash their money while playing don’t get anywhere and never win.  The people who don’t wisely buy assets and build on them are generally the first out of the race.

This is the fundamental lesson of Monopoly.  It works the same way in real life – ff you want to succeed, if you want your money to grow, if you want to win, you are going to have to invest your money in something.  Don’t simply leave it in the bank and sit on it, because that doesn’t get you anywhere – in fact, you’ll be gradually losing money courtesy of inflation.  You have to take some chances, but investing your money in ways that will make it grow is the only way to get ahead.

Tags: finances, Income, investing, long term, monopoly, savings, setting goals