Three Planning Tips to Make Your Thanksgiving More Special From Your Financial Advisors
By Steven Higgins, Financial Advisor, Principal
Happy Thanksgiving! It feels like this holiday always arrives with surprise as the season of holidays kicks off with a sudden arrival of the biggest feasting day of the year. While the spirit of thanks is the reason for the season, some of us would feel most blessed if we simply navigated the gauntlet of the temperamental and fluid social order (or disorder) of our dearest kin. Here at Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies we are planners by nature. While financial planning, tax management, and investments are our expertise, it would not be a stretch to say that we can help manage the looming risks that are circling, just waiting to derail tomorrow’s otherwise joyous festival of thanks. Here are our our best recommendations to help make your celebration be everything you’re hoping for.
- Politics. This is a contrarian view to the widely held theory that political discussions should be avoided at settings like Thanksgiving dinner. Hit hard and hit early. The best thing you can do is to let everyone know where you stand right away. This will help in multiple ways. First, it will show you have more conviction and dedication to your cause than the others and they won’t try and come at you with all their rhetoric and party line talking points. Second, it will help divide up the table so that members of opposing parties can sit across from each other, eye-to-eye. Also, be sure to seat the most zealous advocates opposite each other lengthwise (diagonally) to encourage the most robust and loudest exchanges. Lastly, remember to seat those third party types at the kid’s table. It’s not that they don’t have good ideas, it’s just that nobody is going to listen to them anyway.
- Entertainment. This is important. You start with the re-airing of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is the least offensive distraction you’ll find. It’ll give a life raft of sorts to the more awkward, early arriving guests while you scramble to finish up preparations. It’s also not entertaining at all so nobody will be so tuned in that they can’t engage in a more social endeavor like, discussing politics (see tip #1). After the parade, or in the middle of it, (who cares?) Turn on the football games. These games, much like the parade, are designed to be Thanksgiving white noise. It’s a tradition that each year the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions play some other bad team. The Lions have never won a Super Bowl and the Cowboys haven’t come close since winning their last in 1996. While the idea of having the games on might seem it like will ruin your idyllic Rockwellesque picture of Thanksgiving, you’ll be thankful that Jim Nance has volunteered to serve as your Thanksgiving nanny. Note: If for some reason, which is most likely bad choices on your part, you have a guest at your dinner that arrives in a Dallas Cowboys jersey, all bets are off. Good luck!
- Food. We’re going to tread lightly here. This isn’t your first rodeo and you know what works. However, prepare a backup meat option. I’d suggest a roast or meatloaf, either are easy. It also really doesn’t matter, because whatever you prepare is going to be better than the turkey. Don’t be offended, it’s not you, it’s the turkey. If turkey was so special it would make an appearance more than once a year. Cooking a giant bird is no small task and requires much experience and skill….that you don’t have. There is no pride in taking on the responsibility to cook an entire animal carcass by yourself. When else throughout the course of a year do you, by any means, cook a whole animal? And the entire event – the entire holiday! – depends on you getting this impossible task right. Note: This does not affect non-meat eaters as they won’t eat the turkey or the back-up meat. This is why they are statically more likely to enjoy Thanksgiving, it’s factual.
- We hope these planning tips help make your holiday just a bit more special! In our business, we often focus so much on the details of your personal finance but we need to also remember that the most important moments of your life have nothing to do with money. Rather it’s the moments of peace, laughter, and thankfulness with those you love. In all sincerity, we are thankful for you and we are so happy to be part of your journey.
From Higgins & Schmidt Wealth Strategies, have a Happy Thanksgiving!
