Latest southern Colorado news, weather and sports from FOX21 News

Thanksgiving started in 1621 to give thanks to a bountiful harvest. It's a day to show thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation.

Our Money Coach, Bill Stanley, said it's important to be thankful not only today but all year round.

“My way of remembering good things that happen to me is to write them down in my computer in a file called: The Nice People I Met Today,” he said. “My first entry is from six years ago when my Toyota Prius broke down out in the country east of here. An older gentleman with a handicapped license plate stopped and let me use his cell phone. Then he insisted on going several miles to Safeway to buy me a bottle of water. The lady across the street invited me in to wait for the tow truck, and my neighbor let the dog out.”

So, what has this to do with your money, you ask?

“When I ask clients and friends how they developed good money habits, several have told me it was their father who gave them good guidance and advice when they were growing up,” he said. “One of my clients even selected me as her Money Coach because my comments reminded her of her father. So, a big thanks should go to Dad -- or to Mom, or to whomever helped you learn good money habits. This is part of being grateful -- saying thank you.”

Stanley said this got him to thinking that it might be a good idea to keep a written record of good money ideas that we read or hear about.

“Last week we talked about having the 'right attitude' towards money and the importance of financial education," he said. “Most people probably listened and then went on with their lives. To keep those ideas fresh and useable at a later time, perhaps we should make a note on a piece of paper, or in a computer, or in a tweet, or on a Facebook page. That way, the idea remains and can be used at some future point when we are in different circumstances.”

Being good with our money today will make us thankful in the future, he said.

Bill Stanley and Money Matters airs every Tuesday on FOX21 Morning News.
If you have a question for Bill, contact him directly: MoneyCoachBill@aol.com