There is no doubt that 2020 will go down in history as one of the more uniquely challenging years in our lifetimes, in large part due to the pandemic. The degree of impact varies widely from person to person, but no one has escaped unfazed. One of the time-honored tools for coping with worry and adversity and for creating abundance in life is the recognition of what we have and the practice of expressing gratitude. Now more than ever, the intentional practice of being grateful is essential to our health and to our general well-being, including our financial well-being.
It can be hard in difficult times to think in terms of being grateful, especially when we don’t feel grateful. Psychologist and world expert on gratitude, R. A. Emmons points out that not only is intentionally practicing gratitude helpful during a crisis, it’s essential, because that is when we have the most to gain. The benefits of practicing gratitude are well-documented in the work of Emmons and others, and they include increasing joy, optimism, happiness and energy level, all of which support a reduction in our levels of anxiety and stress. This is, of course, good for your health, but what, you may ask, does being grateful have to do with your money?
In her article How an Attitude of Gratitude Can Help Your Finances, available on www.thebalance.com, Miranda Marquit adeptly describes research in three areas for which taking time to appreciate what you have can help to improve how you manage money. These three are summarized here:
· Patience When Making Financial Decisions – Helps to get beyond “instant gratification” and to make more thoughtful decisions about spending and saving.
· Promotes Generosity – Honest assessment of desire and ability to give creates better awareness of how you are spending.
· Cultivates Contentment – Helps to decouple feelings of happiness from accumulating more stuff and to focus on more meaningful, satisfying goals.
In short, by appreciating what we have, and not concentrating on what we don’t have, we build our “gratitude muscles” and remove ourselves from the instant gratification treadmill. Instead, as we uncover what’s most meaningful, we can focus on structuring our financial lives to live within our means and on establishing a path that leads to realizing our dreams. Much of the stress and pressure we feel about money can then be relieved.
Here are some practical steps you can take to more fully practice being grateful and to reflect gratitude in your financial life:
1. Make Gratitude a Habit: Consistent gratefulness takes practice to cultivate. It takes a bit of time and effort on a regular basis, so pick a time each day, whether it’s first thing or at bedtime, to think about what you appreciate most.
2. Write It Down: Research has shown that expressing gratefulness in written form helps to solidify the positive effects. It’s also helpful to be able to refer to and review your record.
3. Extend Your Personal Version of Gratitude to Your Financial Plan: At least once in a lifetime, everyone should work with a professional to create a goals-based financial plan. Use your focus on the good things in life to better inform your goals. Work with an objective professional to make a plan or to review yours.
4. Understand and Use the Financial Tools Available to You: Every good financial plan includes personalized ways to make the most of your money. Whether it’s maximizing asset growth through savings and investment strategies, or minimizing taxes through effective planning and strategies, such as using Donor Advised Funds other tax-advantaged tools for charitable giving, the right plan will reflect both your personal vision and a framework to make the most of your hard-earned dollars along the way.
