It’s Get Good With Cash Day!

Let’s bounce proper to the actual information right here:

• There’s a Netflix documentary that simply got here out TODAY* known as Get Good With Cash
• By some means previous Mr. Cash Mustache and several other mates acquired lured into taking part in a task in making it. And I’m very proud of the outcomes!
• And you’ll watch the outcomes right here (which will probably be an enormous assist to the film’s success!): https://www.netflix.com/title/81312877

Now for the actual story behind this bizarre scenario. Why did I conform to this? Aren’t I alleged to be retired? Do you receives a commission loads to be in a Netflix film? And does that imply you grow to be “well-known” and your life modifications? Learn on to seek out these solutions and extra.

The Origin

One sunny afternoon in December 2020, I acquired an e-mail from the co-owner of a filmmaking firm with this title:

Function Documentary – private finance

Inside was a really nicely written description of her concept for a film, and a heartfelt invitation for me to be one of many folks featured in it.

I instantly went by my common sequence of reactions: Feeling flattered that somebody would really need me of their manufacturing. Then dread on the concept of signing myself up for a bunch of “work” once I’m already method too busy doing enjoyable, significant stuff as a retired particular person. Then a motivated pleasure to write down again instantly to say, 

“Thanks a lot, I’m honored, however no thanks, and good luck and possibly I might assist out by e-mail simply as an informal advisor in case you want any concepts.”

Properly, that failed. As a result of this filmmaker turned out to be Kristin Lazure, who then pulled her co-founder Stephanie Soechtig into the dialog, and collectively they run Atlas Movies, not simply one other documentary firm however one of many greatest ones within the nation. 

Atlas has made super-incisive movies on meals, public well being, weapons, political cover-ups and so many extra issues, all of them extremely watchable and action-oriented. As I reviewed their earlier titles, I spotted that Atlas doesn’t exist simply to crank out leisure or revenue from low cost controversy. They’re prepared to do the actual work to dig out the deeper tales, with the aim of making optimistic social change.

“Shit”, I assumed. “How can I say no to this, if my aim with this MMM pastime is admittedly to attempt to make a distinction on the earth?” 

I spotted that positive, doing display and digital camera work is difficult and generally inconvenient and it might suck away among the time I’d usually put into writing weblog articles. However in trade it might nearly definitely attain much more folks for every hour I invested into it, and equally vital it might attain new folks, Netflix watchers who’re most likely a unique group than weblog readers. 

And, in case you put aside my serious-eyebrows-pretend-grownup charade of being all involved and logical, I additionally thought it might be numerous enjoyable to be a part of such a giant, thrilling, new expertise. And shit man, how neat to have the ability to go over to a good friend’s home and dare them to placed on YOUR OWN NETFLIX MOVIE!?!

So I mentioned sure, and the enormous ball began rolling actually quick, and abruptly we spent all the 2021 hopping by a sequence of occasional filming days, and recorded zoom calls, and different foolish, attention-grabbing experiences.

A few of it was certainly onerous (like being squeezed onto my deck together with a dozen manufacturing crew within the full blazing photo voltaic onslaught of a July afternoon, pretending to behave pure whereas answering interview questions, pausing solely to wipe away the occasional gallon of sweat from my brow.) However nearly all of it was a great deal of enjoyable. And it led to fantastic new experiences and friendships for all of us.

One factor you’ll discover in case you watch the film, is that I discuss a giant recreation about how onerous this all was, but within the film I simply appear to pop in sometimes, do a few bike tips and play with energy instruments, and oh yeah generally drop a couple of sagely monetary one-liners to assist my college students alongside the way in which. It is because our content material was edited down by most likely a 100:1 ratio. They cowl a lot of floor on this film with lots of people, and but one way or the other all of it feels pure and coherent. 

My favourite half might be that my previous idea of the “Buy Justification Machine”, first described in this 2019 article about me not shopping for a Tesla, made it into the film within the type of a wonderful and foolish on-screen animated graphic – grinding away at Kim as she browses Amazon whereas using her Peloton.

Cash and Fame

Oh, and no, we didn’t receives a commission a lot in any respect, particularly in case you work it out on an hourly foundation. Documentaries like this have a excessive manufacturing price range on the subject of top-quality crew and tools, however they one way or the other handle to get us on-camera individuals to willingly nearly donate our time. 

In case you worth fame or publicity, that alone may very well be thought-about a beneficial type of cost. However in my case, any added fame could be a draw back – there are only a few real-world advantages and fairly a couple of downsides associated to privateness, which in excessive conditions may even result in hazard. Nevertheless I figured I’m simply one in all many individuals on this film, and it’s a small fish relative to the general ocean of Netflix. Once I weighed that towards the advantages of sharing higher monetary and way of life habits, I took an optimistic guess and determined that the great features outweighed the dangerous. I’ll let you understand how this goes now that the film is out!

So What’s The Film About?

Atlas movies rounded up 4 monetary gurus, all of us with completely different backgrounds and types (Paula Pant, Tiffany Aliche, Ro$$ Mac, and myself.)

Then they’d us ship “casting calls” out to the Web, summoning our superb college students with the supply of a yr of free teaching – in trade for all of it being filmed and shared with the world. 

Surprisingly, we acquired a great deal of responses – within the type of private video tales from singles, {couples} and households, all of them charming and heartfelt and leaving me wishing I had time to welcome and attempt to assist all of them.

 Ultimately, I selected a younger household of 4 that falls into the identical demographic to which I goal these weblog posts: folks with excessive incomes and excessive spending, who’re questioning the place all the cash goes.

I taught my couple, John and Kim, the way to streamline their preliminary $13,000 monthly spending price range (!!), by issues like extra environment friendly grocery purchasing and eating, retaining a more in-depth eye on impulse buying, fascinated about housing and neighborhoods and college decisions (non-public versus public), and whether or not to think about facet earnings streams over the longer run to permit them to cut back on work.

 As you’ll see within the film, the tip outcomes have been each refined and dramatic on the similar time. And I’m completely satisfied to report that these topics are actually real-life mates and even reside close by so we get to benefit from the outcomes of their extra enjoyable new way of life collectively.

So, I hope you get pleasure from each the film and the backstory. I’m very completely satisfied that I mentioned “sure” in spite of everything, although I can assure that I received’t be coming again for a sequel or an ongoing sequence. The digital camera vans have lengthy since left and my schedule is again to its regular blissfully open state.

With this little report back to you now wrapping up, it’s again to my development tasks right here on the home for the remainder of this week, then off for some tenting deep within the mountains this weekend. Seventeen years in, this model of retirement stays the suitable life for me.

And I want you your personal model of dwelling the dream this week as nicely!

—–

*September sixth, 2022

Within the Feedback: Did you watch the film? In that case what did you assume? How might it have been made even higher in case you have been doing the cuts?

My candid criticism, being a particulars particular person, is that they tried to cowl a lot that they didn’t have a lot time for the main points. However then once more, you’ll be able to’t educate all the main points of such a broad topic with only a documentary, whereas additionally retaining it enjoyable to observe. So I’m hoping that the simple breezy approachable nature of the film leads folks to begin fascinated about this stuff on their very own. As soon as the suitable seed is planted, higher cash habits can catch on fairly simply.