How Being Thankful Might Be The Money Saving Tip You Need
Spiritual guru Eckhart Tolle was onto something. In his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, he wrote, “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
Research shows that being grateful is good for your mind, body, and spirit. But the benefits don’t stop there. Experts say gratitude works wonders on your finances too. Here’s how:
Gratitude acts as a vaccine against impulsiveness
Citing research from Northeastern University, Melissa Vanderhoof, managing partner and advisor at Fingerlakes Wealth Management points out, “When we practice gratitude, we become more patient, less impulsive. Gratitude helps us appreciate that which we already have.”
Simply put, “Gratitude is one of the most underrated money mindset tools out there," says Kate Lombardo, a money mindset coach with YogaRenew Teacher Training.
She goes onto explain that, "when you intentionally focus on being thankful for what you already have, whether that’s your morning coffee, cozy home or the fact that you get to make choices with your money, you shift your nervous system out of scarcity and into sufficiency.”
Enough is enough
You have to know your number. What’s enough?
“We spend far more money because we don’t know how to recognize the number that means ‘enough’ for us,” says Eric Croak, president of Croak Capital, noting that could be six months of expenses in the bank or a mortgage we’re comfortable paying, "We might recognize the number and keep moving the goalpost. We keep spending, we don’t have enough, and it’s a never-ending cycle."
However, one of the most powerful effects of gratitude is that it helps people recognize what “enough” looks like, says Brian Lutz, chief clinical officer at Blume Behavioral Health.
“In therapy, we talk about how this sense of enoughness can build resilience, boost self-worth, and reduce the need to ‘buy’ happiness. When you stop comparing yourself to everyone else and start tuning into your own values, it’s easier to say no to mindless consumption,” says Lutz.
This mindset shift naturally brings more satisfaction—because you’re no longer measuring fulfillment in purchases, he explains.
Practice gratitude
Like all things financial, you need a strategy, and so it goes with gratitude.
Start a gratitude list
Lots of people start their day with a morning gratitude list. This can help shape your day, and your daily decisions, by reframing your mindset right at the start.
Croak suggests writing down three things you’re grateful for in your financial life—a bill that got paid, a working refrigerator, a paycheck that came in on time, and suddenly the “need” for that impulse purchase doesn’t feel quite so compelling.
“Your dopamine rush is now associated with savoring the moment and not buying a thing, saving you money and energy in the process,” says Croak.
Practice daily
He advocates making gratitude part of your daily money rituals in the form of what he calls “mindful spending moments.”
Let’s say you’re about to make a purchase. Take 10 seconds and think of at least one financial decision you’re grateful for that day: I saved $200 last month, I avoided eating out for dinner, or even I spent less than my weekly budget.
“Sounds small, but those 10 seconds can break the 'autopilot buy reflex' we’re all subject to," he says.
Make a nightly gratitude journal
"Before bed, take 5 minutes and write down one financial victory you had that day. Doesn’t matter how small, but the goal is to train your brain to associate money with security instead of stress,” he says.
Meditate
Rain Rhodes, a real estate expert at CleverOffers.com, says gratitude interventions are not peripheral wellness practices but fundamental financial tools that create real, sustained behavioral shifts.
She speaks from experience.
“Before practicing gratitude, I would buy things and feel that fleeting hit of dopamine, which would dissipate quickly. When I began making conscious lists of what I already had and truly appreciating those things, my emotional connection with money completely changed," she says. "I no longer looked at my closet, my home, or my belongings and thought they were lacking. That realization alone killed the emotional gap that impulse spending was trying to fill.”
She begins each morning with a three-minute financial gratitude meditation. She sits in quiet and, with a conscious mind, acknowledges her income, savings, her ability to meet obligations, and the financial freedom those elements create.
This morning practice sets her emotional baseline for the entire day.
“If I skip it, I notice immediate behavioral differences: my spending becomes more reactive, more emotional, less intentional," she says.
The takeaway
Says Lombardo, “When you practice gratitude regularly — journaling, saying thank-you out loud, or even doing a mindful check-in before you buy something — you start to create space between impulse and action. You pause, breathe, and ask, ‘do I really need this, or am I chasing a feeling and trying to fill a void?’ That micro-moment of mindfulness can completely transform how you choose to take care of your money.”