Gratitude is a powerful tool to help you to create a happy and fulfilling life. Being thankful for what we have has been consistently associated with greater happiness and contentment. Gratitude, which is a feeling of joy that come from appreciation, can be beneficial for both your life and your finances.

This may seem counterintuitive. “Money doesn’t buy happiness” This saying is deeply ingrained into our culture and our psyche. But what if having gratitude for the life you live and the things you have can actually help with your finances?

When we practice gratitude on a daily basis, we begin to concentrate on the positive and avoid dwelling on the negative aspects of life. This can easily be translated to financial situations of all kinds as well. If we are thankful for things like our house, car, clothes, etc. perhaps we may be able to not live beyond our means. Or if we are yearning for something more, truly looking within and seeing what would fulfill us, could help us to make better decisions regarding our careers, relationships, and leisure time. And while it may not seem like it, these things all directly affect our finances.

Practiced gratitude helps us feel more positive, increases our resilience, and life appreciation and can significantly improve our health, well-being, and life satisfaction. So why would being happy with our selves and our lives not help us to make better financial decisions?

Here a few ways to cultivate a gratitude practice:

Journaling. Write down just a few things your grateful for each day will help reinforce your practice.

Consistency. Take a few minutes each morning or each evening to reflect on what went well that day. If you find the ways in which your life is going well, you will be more content with yourself and less likely to make poor choices such as online shopping, overspending, or over eating/drinking.

Express your gratitude. Tell your friends, family, and coworkers that you appreciate them. Feeling connected to your social circle promotes mental health and happiness.

Create Healthy Habits. Not just exercising and eating right. But getting enough sleep and looking at ways to be less stressed at work and home.

When we practice daily gratitude, we give ourselves a chance to alter our perspectives and concentrate on the positive. A positive attitude promotes health, happiness, and contentment. Having gratitude for the life we have, and not one we are yearning for can help us to stop comparing ourselves to others. It can help us to not want to escape our lives, or over extend by trying to keep up with the Joneses. It all seems so simple, but it takes practice. And it is worth the effort!