How to not end up on Squid Game

By Ahmed Wafi

Some lessons we took from 2021’s most talked about TV show

Over a decade in the making, the world has finally been blessed with the Netflix release of 2021’s most popular TV series Squid Game. And if you, like the 111 million subscribers (and counting!), binged watched the nine episodes, you’ll know that the storyline is a little hard to explain. In short, 456 people who are heavily in debt joined a survival game on their own accord where they play classic children’s game to the death.

Haven’t seen any of the episodes? Stop reading as this article WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! But if you have and are ready to discuss, then here’s something for you: If Squid Game was ever real, #teamGRADUAN has come up with some tips for our readers to help them not end up on it and deal with their finances better than the 456 people we saw suffer on the big screen.

Here are some of them.

Try not to let money change you.

Something we learned from Squid Game is that money changes people and a lot of times, for the worst. The VIPs loaded with cash didn’t know what to do with all their money chose to organise such a game of death and bet money on who will survive. On the other end of the spectrum, the cash-strapped contestants will kill anyone in their way of winning the cash prize. We also see many of the contestants (especially Gi-Hun!) with gambling problems that led to them ending up on the games in the first place.

There isn’t such a thing as a get-rich quick scheme.

If you’re looking for a shortcut to get rich then we’re sorry to tell you that apart from winning the lottery, there aren’t really that many other options. In Squid Game, we saw Gi-Hun calling up the number at the back of the card because he was promised the chance to win money by simply playing games and he took it only to be horrified by what he saw at the games venue.

After returning to regular life and seeing that the only way out of trouble would be to go through the hardship and troubles of the games, he and hundreds of others returned for a shot at the prize money.

The importance of insurance.

A minor detail that many missed happened in the early stages of the series. Due to Gi-Hun struggling to make ends meet, he was forced to cancel his mother’s health insurance which led to her failing to receive medical assistance. Although he promised to make things right before heading back to the games, it was too little too late as he came back home to find her dead on the floor. Had he not cancelled her insurance, could we have seen a happier ending?

Financial literacy can save your life.

In the context of Squid Game, we mean this quite literally. Having an emergency fund, budgeting and tracking your expenses are just some ways that can help you avoid being in heavy debt and take control of your finances before it pushes you to extremes you never thought you’d ever do.

Want more financial tips? Check out some tips here and here from our friends from StashAway to help you be financially prepared for what’s to come!

What did you take away from Squid Game? Tweet us @graduan to let us know!

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