Just being thankful for what you have might save you a ton of money
You may have heard of people making vision boards to try and attract wealth and fortune their way. What if we focused more on being grateful for what we had instead?
Instead of trying to make a quick buck or get rich quick, just being thankful for the life we have may actually be better for your finances. Here’s how simply changing your mindset to an attitude of gratitude can radically shift how you think about money.
You’ll be more patient with big financial decisions
When you’re secure in what you have and how you’re doing financially, you’ll be far more likely to be patient when it comes to big financial decisions.
Instead of always giving in to impulse buys, you may feel more fulfilled and less likely to crave the feeling of instant gratification. The journal Psychological Science published a recent survey that shows that gratitude practice can actually combat feelings of instant gratification.
Buying things to buy things can almost give you a high feeling. When you’re content and feeling gracious, you’re probably going to mull over big purchases longer than someone who is used to acting on impulse.
Gratitude practice makes you more generous
People who feel grateful and satisfied with their life are more likely to give to others. When you feel content, you may feel more inclined to help others in need. Giving to charity also requires some financial planning and tracking. If you know you want to give a certain amount, you may need to plan for it.
If spending more money on yourself doesn’t make you happy, giving it to someone else might. Giving and feeling grateful can go hand in hand
You don’t sweat the small stuff
Showing gratitude for everything you have going right and even wrong in your life means you probably have the feeling that your glass is half full instead of half empty. Having this mindset will help you handle stress better. If you are already mindful of the good things in life, when something stressful comes your way, you’ll be able to use those tools to keep things in perspective and destress.
If your glass is always half empty, chances are, you are feeling stressed and anxious about every little thing. This can cause you to miss all the things in your life that are going well. These are the things to appreciate and be thankful for.
If you are in a good financial place when an emergency comes up like a broken water heater, you don’t have to panic about where the funds are going to come from. You’ll know you have an emergency fund, and there is no need to panic.
You may feel more content with what you have
When you’re grateful for what you have, it usually means you’re more satisfied with your life. You probably feel more content with what you have, your material possessions, and your financial situation.
When you get to a certain level of income, material possessions probably won’t give you any more or less satisfaction if they cost more money. The more things cost, the more they might even deter you.
When you feel content with your financial situation, you may feel less likely to keep up with the Joneses. When you feel grateful for what you have, you may not feel like you need to buy the latest gadget or overspend on something you don’t need.
Having a feeling of contentment may mean you’ll want to be more conservative so that you can remain at the economic standing you’re in. Feeling satisfied with your finances might help you preserve what you have. Seeing money in your savings account will likely bring you even more joy and satisfaction. Money doesn’t buy you happiness after all.
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