How to Embrace Gratitude This Thanksgiving Season

By Anastasia Taber, CFP®

At TABER Asset Management, we approach this Thanksgiving with a deeper appreciation for what truly matters. It’s been a year of reflection, loss, and growth, and through it all, we’re reminded that gratitude often shines brightest during life’s more difficult seasons.

While financial stability and smart retirement planning remain cornerstones of our work, Thanksgiving invites us to pause and honor the intangibles that make life meaningful: health, connection, purpose, and love.

Here are a few ways to embrace gratitude this season, helping you cultivate peace and perspective as you plan for the future.

Health & Well-being

We often think of wealth in terms of numbers, but true wealth begins with well-being. Without physical health, energy, and peace, no financial plan can deliver lasting fulfillment. Gratitude for your health helps you recognize it as the foundation that supports everything else.

As you review your retirement and healthcare plans, consider how gratitude can guide your decisions:

Pursue Your Peace Through Preparation

Take time to review your Medicare coverage and supplemental insurance options. Understanding your healthcare choices, from preventive care to long-term support, allows you to focus on enjoying life, not worrying about unexpected costs.

Invest in Your Vitality

Maintaining strength and balance through healthy eating, movement, and mindfulness is one of the best “investments” you can make. Even small habits compound over time, just like your portfolio.

Honor the Body and Mind Connection

Emotional health is equally vital. Whether through therapy, meditation, or time spent in nature, caring for your inner life allows gratitude to flourish.

Family, Connection, and the Power of Presence

At the heart of every retirement plan are the people we love—family, friends, and the communities that give our lives meaning. This year has been a reminder that time together is not something to take for granted. Gratitude helps us see connection as one of life’s greatest returns.

As you gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving, consider how to intentionally nurture those bonds:

• Prioritize relationships in your planning. Estate and legacy planning aren’t just about transferring assets, they’re about passing down values, stories, and wisdom. Expressing gratitude for what your family means to you both verbally and through thoughtful planning builds emotional and financial stability that lasts for generations.

• Be fully present. Step away from the constant flow of news and notifications. Look someone in the eye. Ask questions that go beyond the surface. Gratitude grows in the moments when we slow down enough to notice the people around us.

• Rebuild connection through generosity. If this year has brought loss or distance, consider how gratitude can help you reconnect through forgiveness, kindness, or simply showing up.

Purpose, Growth, and Giving Back

Retirement and later life are not the end of productivity; they are a chance to redirect your energy toward what feels most meaningful. Gratitude helps transform achievement into contribution, and financial stability into the freedom to give.

Consider how you might weave gratitude into this next chapter:

• Give intentionally. Charitable giving can be one of the most rewarding expressions of gratitude. Whether through donor-advised funds, legacy gifts, or volunteering your time, your generosity can create ripples of good that extend far beyond your lifetime.

• Mentor and share wisdom. Your experience is one of your greatest assets. Offering guidance to younger generations, including family, colleagues, or community members, keeps your purpose alive and helps others grow.

• Invest in experiences that matter. Gratitude often lives in shared experiences, such as a trip taken, a skill learned, a passion reignited. Allocating resources for these endeavors can bring more fulfillment than any possession ever could.

Moving Forward With Gratitude and Joy

This Thanksgiving, gratitude invites us to take a deep breath and recognize how much there is to be thankful for—even in difficult times. As retirement-focused financial advisors, we encourage you to pause and appreciate your health, savor meaningful experiences, and explore ways to give back to your community. Doing so helps create a retirement that’s not only financially stable but also rich with purpose and fulfillment.

From all of us at TABER Asset Management, Happy Thanksgiving! May your retirement be filled with gratitude, health, and joy. If we can support you this season, don’t hesitate to reach out. Contact us by scheduling a 15-minute intro phone call online or reaching out to us at 703-380-0968 or invest@taberasset.com. 

About Anastasia

Anastasia Taber is an Associate Advisor and leads the financial planning services division at TABER Asset Management, an independent, fiduciary wealth management firm, in Alexandria, Virginia, and Des Moines, Iowa that strives to do one thing well: manage their clients’ money by creating wealth, building wealth, growing income, and preserving capital so they can experience financial freedom. Anastasia is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University. She has years of experience working for one of the largest REITS in the U.S., as well as in property management and accounting at a global law firm in Washington, D.C. Anastasia is passionate about exceeding her clients’ expectations and building caring, long-term relationships based on trust. She is known for being detail-oriented and committed to excellence in her work. Anastasia is a co-host on the Creating Wealth podcast. To learn more about Anastasia, connect with her on LinkedIn.