This week, we celebrate Thanksgiving...the perfect time of year to reflect on what you and I are thankful for. Practicing gratitude is all the rage these days and I’m so happy about that. Not only does genuine gratitude make us happier, being grateful can also make a meaningful difference in your finances and retirement. 

Are you rich? Affluent? Middle class? Working Class? Poor? 

Research shows that most of us think we’re not as rich as we are. You could ask a couple making over $250,000 a year whether or not they are rich, and they will probably tell you no. But statistically speaking, they probably are actually “rich” when looking at income alone, since that income will put them in the top 10% of households in most of the metropolitan areas in the United States. If this couple lives in Las Vegas, Orlando, or New Orleans, they’re income of $250,000 puts them in the top 5%. 

Globally, if you have $200,000 of equity in your home, other stuff like furniture, cars and jewelry worth $50,000, and a retirement portfolio worth $500,000, you may or may not feel rich, but your wealth puts you in the top 1% of people in the world. You may not feel like a 1%er, but a great deal many of us are actually in the top 1% globally. 

You have a smartphone or an alexa device to listen to me talk to you about money. So many of us are blessed beyond belief, especially when you look at historical norms for how much money people had and how they lived. Most of us, except the truly destitute among us, are living in time of unbound comfort and wealth. 

So I encourage you, especially this week to keep a good perspective on reality, and be grateful for what you have and how your birthright as an American living in the 21st century has made you wealthy and much more comfortable than your ancestors. 

That’s it for today, but before you go, would I be correct in saying that your retirement is perhaps the most important financial decision you’ll ever make? You want to get it right. Well, so do I. For the last 12 years, I’ve been helping clients just like you make the transition into retirement. If you want to talk one-on-one with me about whether or not you can retire, head on over to truenorthra.com, where you can book a 15 minute call with me, at a time that’s convenient for you. The call is confidential, free, and I promise to help guide you on whatever is weighing most on your mind right now regarding your retirement. So head on over to truenorthra.com and book a call today. 

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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