Money Lessons From Schoolhouse Rock

Everything important in life, I learned from Schoolhouse Rock. I learned how a bill becomes law and how to hook up words and phrases and clauses.

And of course, I've also learned a lot from Schoolhouse Rock parodies like Robot Chicken's Homonym Song and the Simpsons' Amendment-To-Be Song too.

I've come to the realization that I have been horribly bad at money management because Schoolhouse Rock didn't have any songs about money during my childhood. Schoolhouse Rock corrected this major oversight in the mid-90s. But by the time these songs first aired, I was too busy in law school and didn't pay attention. If only I'd watched them while I was still in school!

In order so that others aren't similarly deprived, I've compiled the Schoolhouse Rock Money songs in this post. These newer Schoolhouse Rock songs don't hold a candle to the stuff I grew up on, and I doubt any of these would become classics. But maybe I'm just biased.

Nevertheless, they're still a lot of fun and hope you enjoy!

Dollars and Sense - 1994
Shtinky Commentary: Boooo... I thought Becky Sue would exercise some restraint and save before she bought her guitar and amps. But alas, these were the days when easy credit was still available. How is she, a country farm girl, going to pay for all that equipment? Does she plan to win American Idol? Oh well... if all else fails, repo and bankruptcy make for a good country-western song, no?

$7.50 Once-A-Week - 1995
Shtinky Commentary: Hey, this kid understands the concept of budgeting, price comparison shopping and delayed gratification. Becky Sue can learn a thing or two from this kid.

Where The Money Goes - 1995
Shtinky Commentary: "If not for all these bills and taxes, our income would suffice." Did this dad attend the recent tea parties? He later redeems himself by teaching his son that controlling expenses is an integral way to save. He also tells his son to get a part-time job to pay for what he wants. Good going, dad!

Tax Man Max - 1995
Shtinky Commentary: A "must-watch" for tax cheaters.

Walkin' On Wall Street - 1996
Shtinky Commentary: Ummm... I couldn't really pay attention to this one because my mind kept drifting. I kept imagining a parody with the pigeon explaining subprime loans, mortgage backed securities and credit default swaps while flying and crapping on taxpayers below.

This For That - 1996
Shtinky Commentary: A song about how the bartering system evolved into the modern monetary system. Much more fun than Paul Grignon's scary animation, Money As Debt.

Tyrannosaurus Debt - 1996
Shtinky Commentary: $1 Trillion debt? That's all we had in 1996? Look at our current debt clock, if you dare. And for some reason, I kept thinking of the punchline to a joke where former President George W. Bush asks, "How many zeroes are there in a Brazilian?"

The Check's In The Mail - 1996
Shtinky Commentary: Writing checks as the preferred method of paying bills? How quaint! Ahhh... the good ol' days where criminals actually had to do REAL work like stealing checks out of people's mail boxes and washing off the ink rather than just phishing at their computer.