Did you know that by being thankful you can save money. Pretty easy, huh? It’s a trick I’ve learned and use on my kids quite a bit, especially the older two. Sometimes they get the case of the gimmies and wants. As I mentioned yesterday, we aren’t into giving in to those demands.

In reality, I think most of us get the gimmie’s and wants. We see the newest coolest car and we want it (mine is a hybrid minivan). We start scheming in our mind on how we can obtain it. I am not sure if this is universal, although I am guessing it’s the human condition, but it’s rampant in the US.

By no means am I promoting the act of forsaking all desires and material goods. If you can do that, WOW! Good for you. I know that I am not on that path right now, but I am on the route to being more appreciative for what I have.

Instead of my usual, and this is very typical for me, (I am a perfectionist and always want things better, faster, and more!) dreaming up ways for us to obtain my dream car, I focus on the facts. The car I have now runs well. It gets us to where we need to go. It’s a safe car. I have insurance. It’s almost paid for 100%, and there are people who don’t have any car, never mind one that is so reliable. For those things, I am thankful.

Maybe I may not look like the coolest or most successful mom on the road or in the school parking lot, but that’s ok. I know what I have and am appreciative and feel blessed for those things. We always tell our kids that it’s what’s on the inside that counts and here is a way to set that example.

Yes, I should plan because one day I will need a new car. I should save money and do research when that time comes, but for now, instead of focusing on my wants, I try to train myself to focus on my haves. This works with items that are big AND small.

The other thing I do in this situation is think about the impact this will have on the earth. If I buy a new car, it will cause the auto industry to simply create more cars. With more and more cars being created, more and more cars will be heading to the landfill. While as a single person I don’t have the power to stop this cycle, but I can do my very small part to slow it down. Repair and use my car a little longer than I usually would. Try and slow down the viral consumerism that eats away at my own soul.

I use this tactic on my kids quite a bit. I have one child who is always wanting something. A new toy, the latest this and that. When he doesn’t get whatever it is he wants, he throws a fit or gets really upset. He doesn’t want his old (2 months) sneakers, he wants new ones. I try and direct him to how lucky he is to have any sneakers and have him imagine how it would be if he didn’t have any at all. Most of the time this works, once or twice I have had to take the toy or whatever it was away for a few days. Then we see a change of heart. Magically whatever old thing was so horrible that he didn’t want because he wanted a new one, doesn’t seem so bad.

I have found that when I start focusing on the abundance of things I DO have, instead of the amount of things that I don’t, it saves me money. Wants and needs fall into more aligned places and my spending decreases, while my happiness increases. And that is what “wants” are. “Wants” are items that we buy to try and create happiness. We try to fill that emotional need with stuff and when that doesn’t work we keep trying with new stuff.

To help my family focus on this month of Thanksgiving and on the blessings in our lives here is a little tradition I started this year:

I simply took recycled shipping paper, cut it out in a tree shape and hung it on the wall. I then traced our hands on construction paper and cut those out. Every day for this entire month, each member of our family is to write (or have me write) one thing they are thankful for and hang it on the thankful tree. By the end of this month, we will have 150 leaves of thankfulness on there and I just can’t wait!

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