Christmas is a great time for reflection.

As we’ve talked about recently on the show, it can be a hard time of year. Some people don’t have a lot of family around. Some do, but they’re a long way away and Covid has made traveling close to impossible. Others are struggling with everyday expenses already, let alone having to find a way to afford Christmas too.

So we wanted to make sure we had talked about giving during the holidays. When setting up a financial plan, charity seems to be a part of many of those plans, which means we think about it all year long. This is the season of joy and a time to be merry. But the story is not that simple. It’s also a time of gratitude and a time to give.

So take a moment in this last week or so before the big day is here. What do you have to be grateful for? Make a list. This year was probably the toughest year of my life.  But, I have so many positive things I need to focus on.  Think about each and every item on your list, and just thank the universe, or whoever you want to thank, for the help. There’s a whole bunch of research that proves this simple exercise is a key component of feeling happier, just like Mak and G found out that giving generously is. 

And then ask yourself – what can I do with this gratitude? You have options! You can just enjoy the feeling, and next time you get to enjoy that thing you’re grateful for, or the company of the person you’re thinking about, you’ll enjoy it even more than you normally do….. Or, another option, you can turn that gratitude into someone else’s gratitude, through another little life hack called generosity. Another sneaky way to make your life great. 

Like we just found out on this week’s episode, being generous doesn’t mean bankrupting yourself! Your generosity doesn’t even have to be in the form of money. It can be time, or home-made gifts, or even just talking to someone to make them feel better if they’ve had a rough day. Trust me – it will feel great when you’ve done it. 

So what are we here at Money with Mak & G grateful for?

Well, first and foremost, it’s our listeners. You keep us doing this and we’re blown away by your continued support. We are so, so grateful to have each and every one of you along for the ride. All we want is that you enjoy the show and that you learn something useful along the way. 

We’re also grateful for our families, our friends, and all the great people we have around us keeping life interesting, even if we only mostly see them on a screen these days.

We’re grateful there’s an end in sight to this horrible covid situation, thanks to the vaccine news. Just another chance to be blown away by the limitless of human ingenuity. 

We’re grateful for all the awesome technology that makes Money with Mak & G possible, from our studio and recording equipment, to all the online stuff we use, and all the other information we research on the internet to help us make the show. 

We’re grateful for home-cooked Christmas meals and appetizers.  It’s one of my favorite things.

We’re grateful for the time we get to spend together making the show.

And, yeah, ok we’ll admit it, we’re grateful for everything we have sitting under the christmas tree waiting to be unwrapped!

AAAHH that already feels GREAT!

And how do we want to be generous? Well, the main thing we want to say here is that we want to give you MORE great content! And we have a bunch of ideas in the pipeline. 2021 is going to look a little different, that’s for sure! Mak and G have themselves learnt so much from doing the show and they have so much more they want to say. They are growing up. I started doing recordings with them at 8 years old, and now at 12 things have definitely changed. They have opinions!!!

So you’ll be hearing a lot MORE from them on everything to do with finance. Another thing, we’re going to be doing a LOT more video content. Don’t worry, fans of the podcast will still be able to access the episodes in the current format, but it’s just we’re going to be videoing them too! 

AND we’re changing a few things up, bringing in some fresh ideas…it’s exciting. And, as always, we’ll be 100% directed at making sure YOU get a better idea of how important understanding money is, and how much great stuff can happen in your life if you do understand it. 

One more thing before I go. We’d love to hear more from you all. You can find us on Twitter and youtube, as well as wherever you get your podcasts. Leave us a comment, ask us a question, send your ideas, and hey, if you want to come on the show, tell us why and maybe we’ll invite you along! If you have an idea for donating to a charity, let me know, I love using the donor advised fund. 

Send us an email at : contact@educounting.com

Until next time, thanks again for listening, and we’ll catch you again soon for more Money with Mak & G.