14 Things I am Thankful For

I just celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving here in Vancouver. After stuffing my face with turkey, I’ve come up with a list of a few things I’m thankful for (in no particular order):

1.) I’m thankful for being debt free – the economy is turning and I want to be ready.

2.) I’m thankful for having great friends and family. If something goes wrong, I’ll have them to lean on.

3.) I’m thankful I’ve learned to choose my friends much more wisely than I used to.

4.) I’m thankful that I have my spending (mostly) under control and don’t feel the need to buy expensive useless toys. I drive a ’93 Tempo.

5.) I’m thankful I have a financial plan which I hope will help guide me through the next few years.

6.) I’m thankful I’ve realized I that I need to learn more about investing and the financial markets – this again, will help guide through the next few years in my financial plan. No one knows everything and it is important to always be learning.

7.) I’m thankful that I am slowly learning to say NO to the things that I don’t want.

8.) I’m thankful that as an accountant, I am fairly marketable and can find work fairly easily.

9.) I’m thankful I’ve learned my job, career, and the things I own do not define who I am.

10.) I’m thankful I’ve learned to handle my stress much better than I used to.

11.) I’m thankful that I have my health! What good is money if you are bed-ridden?

12.) I’m thankful I have a decent, affordable place to live … although in Vancouver, with the Olympics coming, one has to wonder how long this will last for.

13.) I’m thankful I have a short commute to work (15 minutes). I can’t imagine wasting several hours each day driving to and from work.

14.) And finally, I'm thankful the stock market rallied back today ... but is this a sign of more problems to come ...?

I’m sure I could come up with many more, but I think it’s been a useful exercise thinking about how good I really have it. It’s funny how we only have one holiday dedicated to this each year.

It should be year-round.