Happy Thanksgiving!

As we approach the most wonderful time of the year, I wanted to share a few thoughts about Thanksgiving including some numbers that will add a touch of fiscal flair to your Thanksgiving celebrations.

I’ve also included my favorite Thanksgiving recipes along with the all new Thanksgiving Flowchart and my Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving.

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Thanksgiving by the Numbers

• 40 million – The staggering number of whole turkeys that Americans gobble up on Thanksgiving day.

• $96 million – The cost Americans pay for stuffing nationwide at Thanksgiving.

• 40% – The percentage of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup annual sales during Thanksgiving.

• $325 – The average American’s spending over the five-day Thanksgiving period. It’s a perfect time for gratitude and, of course, a little shopping too!

• 9 hours, 27 minutes – The time an average male would need to spend on the treadmill to burn off the 4,500 calories consumed during a Thanksgiving meal.

• 4 – the number of small towns in the U.S. named Turkey: Turkey Creek, Louisiana, Turkey Creek, Arizona, Turkey, North Carolina, and Turkey, Texas.

• $150,000 – the price tag of the world’s most expensive Thanksgiving meal at a restaurant.

Numbers aside, I hope you have a happy, healthy, and joyous Thanksgiving as you celebrate with family and friends. Enjoy every calorie!

Thanksgiving Recipes

1. Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy – Recipe Link

2. Honey-Glazed Turkey – Recipe Link

3. Duo Tater Bake – Recipe Link

4. Chocolate-Caramel Pumpkin Torte – Recipe Link

5. Cranberry Ricotta Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sauce – Recipe Link

6. Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy – Recipe Link

7. Honey-Glazed Turkey – Recipe Link

8. Duo Tater Bake – Recipe Link

9. Chocolate-Caramel Pumpkin Torte – Recipe Link

10. Cranberry Ricotta Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sauce – Recipe Link

11. Stuffing from the Slow Cooker – Recipe Link

12. Make-Ahead Turkey and Gravy – Recipe Link

13. Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes – Recipe Link

14. Corn Pudding – Recipe Link

15. Mom’s Sweet Potato Bake – Recipe Link

16. Triple Cranberry Sauce – Recipe Link

17. Deep-Dish Apple Pie – Recipe Link

18. Baker’s Dozen Yeast Rolls – Recipe Link

19. Elegant Green Beans – Recipe Link

20. Cheesy Broccoli Casserole from Bon Appetit!!

Thanksgiving Flowchart

The Thanksgiving Flowchart to insure a Happy Thanksgiving! While planning your celebration, we’ve got a fun and engaging Thanksgiving Flowchart to help you know if you’re truly ready for the big day. Grab your Thanksgiving Flowchart – Click Here Now to Download your Thanksgiving Flowchart – and enjoy!

Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving

To ensure a joyous and stress-free Thanksgiving, remember:

• Pace yourself; it’s a long day.

• Embrace the delicious side dishes.

• Stay confident in your menu choices.

• Breathe and take a moment for yourself.

• Prepare for the unexpected.

• Get extra sleep for a well-rested celebration.

Master List Of Goals Checklist

Master List Of Goals. What’s on your Bucket List for 2024? Goal setting is fundamental to sound financial planning. It is essential to identify and prioritize your objectives before making recommendations. Often, you may have difficulty expressing and assigning precedence to your goals. Or, you may simply overlook a need or objective. You are then tasked with the challenge of uncovering and framing your goals.

In response to this challenge, we’ve created this “Master List Of Goals.” This resource is inspired by the work of Ray Sin, Ph.D.; Ryan O. Murphy, Ph.D.; and Samantha Lamas, who authored “Goals-Based Financial Planning: How Simple Lists Can Overcome Cognitive Blind Spots” in the Journal of Financial Planning.

These foundational questions help you expand your understanding and awareness of possible goals for you to consider, including:

• Retirement and lifestyle goals

• Tax planning & healthcare goals

• Self-development and professional goals

• Estate planning and wealth transfer goals

Year End Planning Checklist

What Issues Should I Consider Before The End Of The Year?

The end of the year provides a number of planning opportunities and issues to consider. Year-end topics can include tax planning, investment and retirement accounts, charitable giving, cash flow and savings, insurance and estate planning.

In this checklist, we cover a number of planning issues that you need to consider prior to year-end to ensure you stay on track, including:

• Various issues surrounding investment and retirement accounts including matching capital gains against any investment losses in taxable investment accounts and confirming that all RMDs are taken.

• Tax planning issues including strategies dependent upon your prospects for higher or lower income in the future. You will also want to review where you sit relative to your tax bracket as this is a good time to make moves to fill out brackets for the current year that also might prove beneficial down the road.

• For you who are charitably inclined, there are several strategies that will also help reduce your tax liability that can be considered based on your situation.

• For business owners, tax reform has created some opportunities surrounding pass-through income from your business to your personal return. Accelerating or deferring business expenses presents another solid planning opportunity.

• It’s wise to review your cash flow situation as you near year-end to see if you can fund a 529 plan for children or grandchildren or to see if you can save more in an employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401(k).

This is a year-end planning checklist covers a wide range of issues for investors to consider to help you take advantage of opportunities in the coming year and beyond.

Important Dates

Important Dates Financial Planning Checklist. There are many important dates that you need to keep in mind. Different contexts and your circumstances will affect applicable deadlines, making it difficult for you to identify which figures should be referenced. Instant Download, Click Here.

In response to this challenge, we’ve created the “Important Dates” resource. This quick reference guide covers the key dates and milestones that are commonly referred to during the year.

Important Dates includes:

• Tax filing deadlines for individuals and businesses

• Tax payment deadlines for individuals and businesses

• Tax form issuance deadlines

• Retirement plan deadlines

• Common enrollment periods

Important Numbers for Investors

There are lots of important numbers that investors need to keep in mind. In some cases, those numbers are annual limits that change each year. Other times, the figures do not often change, but are used frequently. Given the variety of sources that report relevant numbers, it can be difficult to quickly find the right reference.

In response to this challenge, we’ve created this two-page “Important Numbers” resource. Click here rto download this quick reference. Important Numbers guide covers the most important annual limits as well as figures that are commonly referred to during the year.

Important Numbers includes:

• Tax rates for MFJ, Single, and Estates/Trusts

• AMT annual limits

• LTCG rates for MFJ, Single, and Estates/Trusts

• Standard deductions for MFJ and Single

• Social Security annual limits (including earning limits)

• Full Retirement Age chart

• Social Security taxation summary for MFJ and Single

• IRMAA surcharges

• Retirement plan annual limits

• Traditional and Roth IRA annual limits

• Education tax credits

• Uniform Lifetime Table (abbreviated version)

• Single Lifetime Table (abbreviated version)

• Estate and gift tax annual limits

• HSA annual limits

## Thanksgiving Fun: Tweets to Share

1. 🦃 Starting off the Thanksgiving season with our #ThanksgivingFlowchart! Get ready for a rollercoaster of holiday hilarity! 🎢🍁

2. 🤣 Answering “No” on our #ThanksgivingFlowchart means it’s time to call for backup – the stretchy pants brigade! 👖🚀

3. 🍗 Turkey thawing status: “Did I leave it in Antarctica?” 😱 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

4. 📺 Remote control batteries died during the parade? Oops! Looks like we’re in for a lively game of charades! 🙆‍♂️📣 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

5. 😂 Anyone else planning to shuffle between the couch and the TV like a Thanksgiving pro athlete? 🛋️📺 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

6. 🥔 When the side dishes become the main attraction… we’ve all been there! 🍽️😋 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

7. 🦃 The turkey is thawed, but our patience is not! Let’s dive into this feast! 🍽️🦃 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

8. 🙌 Confidence level: High! We’ve got whole berry AND jellied cranberry sauce! 🍇🍒 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

9. 🎉 We’re officially ready for Thanksgiving! Let the feast begin! 🥳🍗 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

10. 🛏️ Extra hours of sleep earned, thanks to our well-prepared Thanksgiving checklist! 😴💤 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

11. 🤔 “Am I ready for Thanksgiving?” you ask. Our flowchart has the answers, and it’s turkey-riffic! 🦃🎉 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

12. 🥧 When the pie is the only thing on your mind… 🥧🤤 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

13. 🦃 Turkey prep tip: Don’t forget to name your turkey. Ours is called “Tom the Thawed.” 🦃🐔 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

14. 🤷‍♂️ Turkey not thawed? No problem! Order pizza and pretend you’re celebrating “Thanks-for-giving-us-pizza” Day! 🍕🍗 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

15. 📢 Thanksgiving morning checklist: Stretchy pants – check! Fresh remote batteries – check! A whole lot of humor – check! 📢👖 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

16. 🎈 Confetti cannons and Thanksgiving parades: Let’s make it a tradition! 🎉🍁 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

17. 🤣 Thanksgiving hack: Offer to help where you excel and claim the dessert station as your own domain! 🍰👑 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

18. 🍂 Breathing exercises on Thanksgiving: Inhale turkey, exhale gratitude. Repeat. 🍗🧘‍♀️ #ThanksgivingFlowchart

19. 🙈 Perfection not required – just a whole lot of laughter and delicious food! 🤣🍽️ #ThanksgivingFlowchart

20. 🍽️ Thanksgiving: Where side dishes become the main course, and stretchy pants are the MVPs! 👖🍠 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

21. 🚀 Ready for Thanksgiving like a pro? Our flowchart will have you navigating the holiday with style! 🚀🍗 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

22. 🧡 Gratitude, humor, and good food – the ultimate Thanksgiving trifecta! 🙏🤣🍽️ #ThanksgivingFlowchart

23. 🍂 Our Thanksgiving Flowchart: Making holiday planning as easy as pie (pun intended)! 🥧🦃 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

24. 😅 When your turkey isn’t the only thing that’s frozen… #ThanksgivingFlowchart

25. 🤪 Things going off the rails? No worries, it’s all part of the Thanksgiving adventure! 🚂🦃 #ThanksgivingFlowchart

Next up… What’s On Your Bucket List?