Why You Should Incorporate Gratitude into Your Financial Planning

This time of year, we focus on spending time with our families, eating good food, and being thankful. But beyond just sharing the one thing you are thankful for before you dig into the turkey and pumpkin pie, why is it important to practice gratitude? And how can you incorporate it into your financial planning?

If you do a quick Google search, you’ll find that gratitude “is the readiness and practice to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Berkeley performed a study that indicated that something interesting happens when we practice gratitude: we tend to be happier, less depressed, and actually more generous!

Those sound like some good traits for us to apply to our approach and view of finances as well, right?

It can be easy to get wrapped up in what you don’t have or financial goals you haven’t yet reached. It’s no secret that if any of us were offered a million dollars today, we would immediately take it! Having more money often means that you can pay off your car, student loans, mortgage, or fully fund your retirement with extra to spare. Wanting and recognizing the value and security that comes from money is not a bad thing. 

However, we can easily slip into the trap of being too focused on what we don’t have. This is where gratitude can truly make a big difference in our satisfaction, joy, and perspective. Cultivating gratitude doesn’t mean we deny that our life circumstances could be better; instead, gratitude shifts our attention away from toxic, negative emotions. Rather than feeling resentful or envious, we can experience thankfulness and recognize how far we’ve come.

This shift in our perspective doesn’t happen without time and practice. If you are looking to incorporate gratitude in your life and financial planning, here are a few ways you can start:

1. Review your past and present financial goals and take special notice of what you’ve been able to accomplish thus far. Celebrate your progress!
2. Reflect on the good things in your life. This may be a particular friendship, your children, a family pet, or something that is a bright spot in your day.
3. Think of one person that has impacted your life. Consider writing them a letter of gratitude to let them know how much you appreciate their investment in your life. There’s actually a step-by-step guide on how to do that here.
4. Give out of your gratitude. Instead of feeling guilted into giving your time or finances, start with gratitude and let that motivate your decisions to live generously.
5. Prayerfully reflect on how you have been blessed. God designed gratitude to drastically improve our minds, as we see in the Berkeley study! This is a big reason we see the importance of pausing to give thanks throughout the Bible.

These are just a few ways you can start to make a practice of gratitude in your life. This doesn’t just impact our personal lives or our financial planning, it will permeate throughout everything we do.

So today we invite you to consider along with us: How will you choose to start a habit of practicing gratitude?

 

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210 Financial is more than just numbers. The “210” in our name stands for a childhood home that represented safety, love, and family. That is what we want to provide for everyone that we care for. Welcome home. Welcome to 210.

Investment advisory services made available through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM). AEWM and 210 Financial are not affiliated companies.

Insurance products are offered through the insurance business 210 Financial. 210 Financial is also an Investment Advisory practice that offers products and services through AE Wealth Management, LLC (AEWM), a Registered Investment Adviser. AEWM does not offer insurance products. The insurance products offered by 210 Financial are not subject to Investment Advisor requirements. AEWM and 210 Financial are not affiliated companies. AE Wealth Management provides services without regard to religious affiliation and the views of individual advisors are not necessarily the views of AE Wealth Management. 1552007 – 11/22

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