This is a time of year when many people give thanks for what they have. On this episode of Retirement Answer Man, I explore the definition of thankfulness and gratitude with our Rock Retirement Club retirement coach, BW. He even brings us 5 tips that can help us to cultivate gratitude on a regular basis.

Tanya Nichols joins me again to help answer listener questions. You’ll learn what you can do if you are worried about a market crash, what to do if you think you are too old for long-term care insurance, and we’ll discuss Roth conversions from a 403B. Press play now to join me to hear the answers to listener questions and more.

What are you thankful for?

The definitions of thankfulness and gratitude are very similar. Thankfulness is the consciousness of benefit received from others. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives both tangible and intangible.

One way to combat worry is to create a habit of thankfulness. I have done this personally and it has changed my life. Practicing gratitude contributes to greater happiness and it allows us to focus on what we have rather than what we lack. Listen in to hear what I am grateful for this year.

5 tips to help cultivate gratitude on a regular basis

Cultivating a gratitude practice can seem like a good idea but it often falls by the wayside after a few days or weeks. The beauty of practicing gratitude is that it shifts your mindset. You can use these 5 tips to help you become more thankful by creating your own practice of gratitude each day.

Write and send a thank you note to someone who has had an impact on your life each month.
Get in the habit of saying thank you to at least one person each day.
Keep a gratitude journal. You get bonus points if you try and come up with different things to be thankful for each day.
Pray. If you are religious, praying can help you cultivate gratitude.
Meditate. Instead of focusing on your inner self, try focusing on gratitude in the moment.

Does sequence of return risk keep you up at night?

The world around us seems so unstable right now. Many people worry that we could be at the start of the next big crash. What if we are at the beginning of several years of zero returns? Sequence of return risk is one of the biggest worries of those on the cusp of retirement.

Although people worry about sequence of return risk, if you look back at history and study bear markets, youĺl see that even within those years there were good years and bad years. It’s also good to remember that your portfolio won’t directly reflect the S&P 500, we simply use it as a planning tool.

How to balance market risk against inflation risk

Why do we take market risk when we are worried about sequence of returns? Inflation! Inflation risk is just as big, but it creeps up slowly over time. You have to balance the risk of inflation with market risk.

You can take market risk. You just have to know how much you are comfortable with. The first thing you need to do is understand the minimum effective dose of investment risk you need in order to create the life you want. Next, you’ll want to time segment your money by building your cash flow model early in retirement. Plan for statistically probable outcomes and then test for outliers. Listen in to hear the details of how you can protect yourself from both inflation risk and market risk.