Every year, the stores fill the shelves and the radio fills the airways earlier and earlier with Christmas, a practice I find annoying. But there’s a new expansion of the holidays that I’m happy about. Over the past few years Thanksgiving has expanded to the entire month of November. Beginning on November 1st, social media feeds fill with posts and tweets of gratitude, thankfulness and general positivity. 30 days of gratitude rather than one day of Thanksgiving that is often more food-centered than thanks-centered. Fabulous!
And what does gratitude and money have to do with each
other? Everything. Feeling grateful and feeling rich are simply perspectives we
each carry with us. Spending time each day focusing on that for which we are
grateful expands our feelings of gratitude. Experiencing our friend’s gratitude
reminds us of our own, and hopefully brings joy to our hearts for them.
Having those same thoughts of gratitude for the wealth we
have in our lives can be just as expansive. I once had a friend who carried a
$100 bill in her wallet. She said it made her feel wealthy. Over the years,
I’ve heard many others have amounts in their wallets, in their checking
accounts, or in their savings accounts that triggered feelings of wealth, worry
or simple security.
From a financial perspective, I’m a big fan of quantitative
levels. We should all have target goals for our monthly cash flow and savings
that provides security.
But from a feelings perspective, I’m a big fan of being
grateful for what you have. If you are on a mission to accumulate 3 months of
reserves, but currently only have 1 week’s worth, be grateful for that week’s
worth. It’s likely more than you had before. It’s certainly more than many
people have. And, the simple act of being grateful for the financial wealth you
have will reap more.
What about your financial life are you grateful for?
-Stacey Powell
Finance Gym offers personal finance coaching in professionally facilitated peer-advisory groups.
We teach. We inspire. We support. We help people change their lives by improving their finances.
We teach. We inspire. We support. We help people change their lives by improving their finances.
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