As Thanksgiving approaches, it seems time to pay special attention to the blessings and riches we enjoy.
Wandering around the collection of personal finance blogs, one might think that being rich means paying off debt, owning several rental properties to support you as you wander the world, or hitting “the number,” the amount needed to retire and never make money again.
Those all sound lovely, but I have been feeling rich in other ways recently, and want to share a few thoughts about them.
- I was recently on a hospital rotation, and was able to look in my dresser and see enough clothing to last me until the end of my rotation. That meant I didn’t need to figure out when to do laundry while working 12-13 hour days. I felt RICH! Two weeks of socks, underwear, and washable tops doesn’t have to cost much, but makes life so easy.
- When I was a little girl, my Mom explained being wealthy as not having to worry if the washing machine died, because we could afford a new one if we needed it. When I look at our emergency fund, I see that we are quite wealthy.
- I remember just a few quotes from this book I read decades ago, but this one made a big impression on me. It’s from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith), in which our protagonist’s parent talks about wasting [watered down] coffee: “I think it’s good that people like us can waste something once in a while and get the feeling of how it would be to have lots of money and not have to worry about scrounging.” While I do my best not to be wasteful, the truth is, I don’t have to clean my plate or risk going hungry. What a blessing that is in this world.
- “All true wealth is biological” (Lois McMaster Bujold, Mirror Dance) is a quote that bears some reflection. It’s said by a man having a heart attack, to the son he never knew. It is taken out of context, where it has a specialized message; but the general message works as well. Love, family, health, food, comfort: these are the true wealth that people chase, and have nothing to do with gold, or paper, or electronic financial records. I am so lucky to have some of all of these riches.
I hope readers will feel wealthy in these, or other ways, on Thanksgiving and in days to come.