Videos

Peter Bielagus

Demo Reel

Money in the Movies

Money in the Movies is a FREE personal finance show that uses our favorite movies to teach financial lessons. Use it in the classroom or just as a fun way to expand your own personal financial knowledge.

Money In The Movies: "Identity Thief"

Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in the world.  The good news is that if you are able to identify the tricks that identity criminals use, it’s easy to protect yourself.  The opening scene of “Identity Thief” shows that strategy and Money In The Movies walks you through it

Money In The Movies: "Boiler Room"

The movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” is based on the story of Stratton Oakmont, the Long Island Investment firm that emerged in the 1990s as a financial hot spot.  But many have forgotten about Boiler Room, the quieter, softer drama about that very same Long Island firm.  This Money In The Movies Episode explains what a boiler room actually is and how to protect yourself against financial scams.

 

Money In The Movies: "The Money Pit"

When you buy a home, how can you protect yourself from defects that pop up later?  How can you ensure you don’t buy too much house?  Check out this Money In The Movies Review of the 80’s classic, “The Money Pit”.

Money In The Movies: "A Simple Plan"

Suppose you found a bag of money on the street.  Could you keep it?  (The answer is MAYBE!)  Would you have to tell the police?  The IRS?  Has this ever happened before?  What about buried treasure?  Could you keep that?    All this and more is answer in this episode of Money in the Movies where I review “A Simple Plan”.

Money In The Movies: "Arbitrage"

Hedging is the simple act of protecting yourself from an investment’s downside by pre-selling some of the upsides.  BUT…what if the upside never arrives?  You’ve sold something you cannot deliver.  That is exactly what Richard Gere’s character did in the wonderful film “Arbitrage.”  Money In The Movies discusses real-life examples of when that happened.

Money In The Movies: "Margin Call"

In 2007, many Wall Street companies began to realize they investments they were holding were worthless.  The term “toxic” asset was being whispered and eventually shouted as the world learned that what they were holding wasn’t worth anything.  Soooo if you have a worthless investment, can you sell it?  The answer:  Yep!  Has anyone ever done it?  Yep!  Is it legal?  Ummmm…check out this MITM Episode to find out.  (BTW on an unrelated side note the movie Margin Call is PHENOMENAL!  Put it in the queue!)

Money In The Movies: "Die Hard"

This week I review the classic action film Die Hard.  In the film, the villains steal a unique financial product known as a “bearer bond.”  So what is a bearer bond?  Wait, what is a bond?  This Money In The Movies episode explains all.

Money In The Movies: "300"

The ancient Spartans knew two things:  How to fight armies of superior numbers and how NOT to spend money.  This Money In The Movies review of 300 will show you the spendthrift side of Sparta.

Money In The Movies: "The Goonies"

n closing out Cheesy 80’s Week, Money In The Movies Reviews The Classic “Kidventure” the Goonies.  The geeky gang of galavants jump from adventure to adventure until they hit pay dirt, discovering the treasure of the notorious pirate One Eyed Willy.  But for our purposes, what’s the deal with finding treasure?  Do you have to pay taxes on it?  And if so, when?  Find out all that and more as Money In The Movies reviews The Goonies.

Money In The Movies: "Wall Street"

It’s “Wild Card Week” on Money In The Movies.  This week I review the classic financial film “Wall Street.”  In the film, up and comer Bud Fox gets into the illegal practice of insider trading-using privileged information to buy and sell investments.  I discuss exactly how it works and why its illegal.  Enjoy!

Money In The Movies: "Talladega Nights"

Most people have a will, a legal document that tells your heirs how you want your stuff divided up.  But what if you don’t die?  What if you fall into a coma?  Who manages your financial affairs when you are incapacitated?

Money In The Movies: "Rocky V"

What can Rocky Balboa teach us about protecting our nest egg?  Well first off you might be asking, why would I listen to a man who gets punched in the head for a living?  After all, in the film, Rocky loses all his money to his crooked accountant.  But millions of people suffered the same fate with Maddoff Investments LLC.  (And that was just the most recent example.)  How can people protect themselves?  This Money In The Movies episode explains how!

 

Money In The Movies: "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

Just what exactly are debt collectors allowed to do to collect their debts?  What rights do you have?  I answer those questions and more on this Money In The Movies Episode of Confessions Of A Shopaholic.

Money In The Movies: "Pretty Woman"

Believe it or not this romantic comedy has a strong financial commentary for its subplot.  Richard Gere’s character is an investment banker who specializes in a controversial practice known as the Leveraged Buyout (LBO) with a bust up takeover.  Just what exactly does that mean?  Enjoy the episode to find out!

 

Money In The Movies: "The Untouchables"

To close out Tax Week On Money In The Movies, I review the classic mobster film the Untouchables.  Notorious gangster Al Capone was not convicted of murder or racketeering but on charges of income tax evasion.  If you enjoy the show, let others know!

 

Money In The Movies: "The Devil Wears Prada"

What can Anne Hathaway teach us about reducing our taxable income?  Just take a few minutes to watch this Money In The Movies Episode of The Devil Wears Prada.

 
 

Money In The Movies: "Goldfinger"

It is NOT EASY to make a squeaky clean web show about the Bond film with the most notorious named Bond Girl, but alas folks, here it is.  In this Money In The Movies Episode, I discuss the classic Bond film Goldfinger and the topic of supply and demand.  There is a great economics lesson in this hallmark 007 film.  Enjoy!

 

Money In The Movies: "Casino Royale"

It’s James Bond Week on Money In The Movies.  Here I review the first of the Daniel Craig Dynasty, Casino Royale.  The villain in the film uses a rather risky investment strategy called short selling, which is a way to make money on a stock when the price goes down.  The film does hit a nerve with some folks, as questions were raised whether a similar investment strategy was used to profit from the terrorist attacks of 9/11.  I hope you enjoy the review and to learn more about short selling, please check out my Money In The Movies Second Reel Episode on Casino Royale.

Money In The Movies: "The Dark Night Rises"

To close out Batman Week on Money In The Movies I discuss why Bane’s plan to bankrupt Bruce Wayne would NEVER work.  (And in Money In The Movies Second Reel I discuss another reason why it wouldn’t work.)

 

Money In The Movies: "The Dark Knight"

Enjoy this second Money In The Movies Episode where we examine the nearly unheard of practice of burning money.  Money is one of the few things that you can own, but are NOT allowed to destroy.  Why is that?  We’ll discuss that and more in this episode.  And I use the term NEARLY unheard of because there was a particular set of individuals who ACTUALLY DID burn the equivalent of $1.5 million dollars in 1994.  Who was that?  Check out this episode to find out.

 

Money In The Movies: "Batman Begins"

Did Bruce Wayne commit financial fraud? Find out in this episode of Money In The Movies, Batman Begins

Money In The Movies: "Three List"

If you have tried budgeting before and it has not worked, this is a great video on how to overcome that problem. It discusses my simple “Three List” strategy that you need to do BEFORE you have a budget. Whether you make $5000 a year or $500,000 a year this is a great strategy to find out where your money is going.

Money In The Movies: "007"

 I’ll be discussing the James Bond film Casino Royale and the topic of short selling.  And I’ll also review the classic Bond film Goldfinger, starring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman as the lady with the most notorious Bond girl name ever. 

Money In The Movies: "Investing In Silver"

Whhaaaat? Impossible you say? Just give me 7 minutes and I’ll prove it to you. While experts disagree, I don’t see the harm in having a very small percentage of your portfolio invested in precious metals. But how? What do you buy? And where? This Money In The Movies Second Reel Episode covers all that. If you want to know about investing in gold and silver, this episode is for you.

Money In The Movies: "Tax Week"

It’s Tax Week On Money In The Movies. This week I will be reviewing The Devil Wears Prada (wait. What does that have to do with taxes? You’ll see tomorrow!) I’ll also be reviewing the classic Mobster film, The Untouchables. (Remember, the Feds got Al Capone not for murder, corruption, bribery, racketeering, but for income tax evasion.) And remember, when a Money In The Movies episode warrants further elaboration, I go deeper in the follow up show, Money In The Movies, Second Reel. This week I’ll talk about ways to reduce your taxes.

Money In The Movies: "IRS Troubles"

In this episode of Money In The Movies Second Reel, we go deeper into income taxes and some of the historic figures that have had tax problems. You’d be surprised who has drawn the eye of the IRS!

Money In The Movies: "Chick Flick Week"

This week I’ll review “Pretty Woman” which, despite being a romantic comedy, contains some pretty heavy commentary on “destructive capitalism.” On Thursday, I’ll take a look at “Confessions of A Shopaholic.” In that episode, I’ll discuss just what debt collectors can and cannot do. If you are being hounded by a debt collector, you’ll want to check out my Second Reel episode, where I discuss my four step plan for dealing with debt collectors.

Money In The Movies: "Estate Plan"

No one likes talking about this.  Not even me and I am the guy doing these videos.  But estate planning is a crucial part of your financial plan.  This video explains the four parts of an estate plan.

Money In The Movies: "Blow"

What’s one mistake that drug dealers make that is ALSO the ONE subject your financial advisor DOESN’T want to talk about? Find the answer as Money In The Movies reviews the film, Blow.

Money In The Movies: "The Wolf Of Wall Street"

Jordan Belfort was known as the Wolf Of Wall Street. At a very young age, he made a fortune in the financial services industry. But his fortune wasn’t the only thing that got him his reputation. Over-the-top sales meetings, lavish parties, and other activities too racy to mention here, Belforte was the epitome of Wall Street excess.

But where did all this money come from? How, just how, did such a young man make so much money, so quickly?

Money In The Movies: "Dreams of Gold"

This week’s episode of Money In The Movies reviews the 80’s made for TV movie, “Dreams of Gold” which tells the TRUE life story of professional treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who, after 16 years of searching, found the most valuable sunken treasure in history, the Atocha.

Fisher’s find was estimated to be worth over $400 million. Was he allowed to keep it?

Are people allowed to keep sunken or buried treasure?

Find out in this episode as Money In The Movies reviews “Dreams Of Gold.”

Money In The Movies: "Casino Royale"

Years ago I reviewed the James Bond film Casino Royale. The film (and my review) discuss a financial strategy known as short selling, which allows a person to make money when the price of a stock goes down. All in all, both the movie and my review were well received. Except… I was wrong. There is a mistake in the movie that I missed during my first review. I have reshot the episode where I not only confess to my blunder, I also point out what the movie messed up.

Money In The Movies: "40 Year Old Virgin"

There are some folks who wait a long time, for their first time… selling their collectibles. The 40 Year Old Virgin is no different. Our intercourse innocent protagonist has waited quite a long time for the PERFECT moment…to sell his collectibles. The affable Andy has been collecting toys since he was a child, but unlike most children, he had the raw discipline to resist opening the toy from its original packaging. Over the years, Andy has built up quite a collection, and midway through the movie, he decides to sell it. Soooooo…are the profits on those sales taxable? If so, what is the tax rate on the sale of a collectible? And if they are, how does he calculate them? How does he calculate the profit on a toy that was GIVEN to him when he was EIGHT years old? How to correctly sell collectibles. That’s today’s episode of Money In The Movies.

Money In The Movies: "Batman Begins"

On this show, we go a bit more in depth about a topic discussed in a Money In The Movies episode. Today I am going to talk about my review of Batman Begins and the topic of Initial Public Offerings or IPOs.

“…his message was not only warmly delivered, he received the highest percentage of any of our speakers, according to the evaluations—98.59%! “

Daniel N. Hebert

Director of Professional Development; National Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy

Facebook Twitter Linkedin Youtube
Scroll to Top