I’m sure you’ve heard of the smartphone game “Angry Birds.” If you haven’t, you’ve been living under a rock. Not only is it one of the most fun cell phone games to play but it’s extremely addicting. I’ll be honest; I’ve wasted possibly hundreds of hours playing this game. Yes, it’s embarrassing to admit. Thankfully I recently beat the game and now I don’t play it anymore! In case you’re wondering, no you shouldn’t get this game. It’s dangerously addicting and will suck your time away like you would not believe.
So, where am I going with hits? Well, after playing Angry Birds I’ve actually learned a couple financial lessons that I’d love to share with you! You don’t need to play the game to understand these lessons, so please enjoy!
1-Learn from past mistakes and move on
Learning from your investment mistakes is painful but a necessary event in one’s life. I learned this lesson firsthand playing Angry Birds. The game is setup in a way that you have an obstacle in the way of you killing little monsters. In your arsenal you have “angry birds” that you slingshot into the obstacles. The lesson I learned was that if a certain strategy didn’t work, I shouldn’t waste my time trying to do the same thing again.
In the realm of personal finance, this is especially true. I’ve made many mistakes with my finances and learning from them has been monumental in my long term success. I learn from these mistakes such as busting my monthly budget and then I move on with life. These lessons are “building blocks” for your total personal financial portfolio.
2- Persistence is the key to success
If failing scares you, then Angry Birds is not the game for you! You’re guaranteed to fail a level but the key to winning the game is to keep trying. I remember getting so incredibly frustrated and wanted to quit. I vowed to beat the game so I kept on plugging away.
The same goes for your finances. How many times do you get discouraged because of bad spending habits or even not making your vacation savings goal. It’s OK to fail, just keep going! If you do, you will succeed with persistence. Shoot, I mean look at Thomas Edison. He failed hundreds of times trying to create the first light bulb. After much blood and sweat, he finally persevered. Take the same approach with your finances.
3- Guide your investments or failure is near
With Angry Birds, guiding the birds to the obstacles was the key to my success. You could choose which direction the slingshot went and if you made the wrong choice or got lazy, the birds would fly directly over their target and totally miss! Unless I guided the birds, I was bound to fail the level I was playing.
Same goes with your personal finances. You’re doomed to fail without guidance. This can be applied to your budgets, spending patterns, and your savings goals. You need to come up with a plan that is achievable and conquer it by making the right decisions. Just like the birds, you need to guide your investments and finances to achieve financial freedom.
How will you guide your birds?
Isn’t this true with the way we view our investments and money? Why do we take unnecessary risks or lazily invest… Why not take a more planned approach and go in directly. Unless you guide your investments, your portfolio is going to dwindle. This relates to everything from reducing your investment fees and rebalancing once a year. I hate the word “failure.” Guide your investments like you guide a couple angry birds and prosper in the long run!
Creative! I’ve spent a few hours playing that game, not too much thankfully. It’s easy to get hooked on it, I get it.
I strongly agree with persistence being key to success. I think that can trump talent and luck in many cases. Sometimes it’s how much you want something, and how determined you are while taking action that can result in success.
I would take that a step further and say that persistence will trump talent in any case! I’ve seen this happen again and again in my life. if you’re dedicated to seeing something through, it’s bound to happen.
This is a great metaphor. Angry birds definitely takes persistence and a strategic approach. I agree we need both when it comes to our finances. Building real savings takes time and investing takes a strategy. Great post Jon.
Glad you enjoyed it Miss T! Speaking of Angry Birds, I just downloaded the new Rio game, uh oh…
I like how you used the analogy (and the time you wasted!
) to turn this into a valuable lesson. It’s very creative, indeed.
Little House recently posted..I Know I Should Buy But I’m Not
i seriously had no idea an article would come from this haha. It amazes me how we can learn financial lessons from pretty much anywhere.
Here’s a lesson I learned from angry birds: Your time is precious! You can be using your wasted time on doing something more productive! haha
Kevin @ Debteye recently posted..Reader Question: Should I Save or Payoff Debt
Gosh, I’m learning that time is my best friend, especially with running blogs!
Join the club. I wasted a ton of hours playing Doom when it first came out. Mrs. 101 was ready to set the PC on fire.
101 Centavos recently posted..Nickel-Plated Trailers: a Centavos Dividend Portfolio Update
Haha, sounds like when I played good ole’ World of Warcraft.
I really like your first point about making sure to learn from your mistakes. A lot of times when I play, I find that I’m just a little bit off (just as I am in my finances sometimes), and all I need to do is to adjust slightly.
Bryan at Pinch that Penny! recently posted..Why I’m Glad I Have a Day Job
Right on the money Bryan!
It is a great time waster isn’t it! I think I have the same persistence problems with the game and investing. Or maybe it’s just a need to win.
JP @ Novel Investor recently posted..Happy Hour: Comcast, Costly Data Plan, And eFile
Winning is the only way!
It’d be nice if we got infinite financial do overs until we got three stars. I feel like I’m as addicted to my finances as my wife is to Angry Birds. Apt comparison!
John | Married (with Debt) recently posted..Frugal Living is All About Creating the Debt Free Magic in Your Life
Haha, the addiction is bad! I swear it’s the only game I play on planes now…
I am so glad that i don’t like playing games. The only one that I play is MW3 and that mostly because I’m better than most of my guy friends and this just rubs it in.
I think i am addicted to blogging now, tho.
Marissa @ Thirty Six Months recently posted..Link Love- Extra Large Pancake Edition
Being addicted to blogging is never a bad thing!