In this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, CFP Mike Milligan and host Gary Nolan use Thanksgiving dinner metaphors to teach listeners how to build a secure retirement. They outline three core lessons: (1) Preparation – just as a turkey must be thawed and a menu planned weeks in advance, a solid financial future requires intentional budgeting, emergency savings, insurance, and early investing. (2) Gratitude – adopting a mindset of “having enough” curbs emotional spending, helps investors stay the course, and reinforces legacy thinking. (3) Teamwork – a successful feast involves many contributors; similarly, a retirement plan should involve family, advisors, tax professionals, and long‑term‑care experts. The hosts then describe the components of a “one‑of‑a‑kind” financial plan (tax strategy, retirement‑income plan, low‑fee investing, long‑term‑care, and legacy planning) and repeatedly invite listeners to call or text a toll‑free number, read Milligan’s bestseller, or enroll in an online personal‑financial‑planning course. The segment ends with standard advisory disclosures.
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Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. Many of us today will be sitting around a Thanksgiving table and you know, they always tell you, don't talk about 3 things in the, in the company of others. That's religion, politics, and money. Well, so many people need to have money conversations and what better time to do that when you're around the table giving thanks for how blessed we are. If you have food on your table, if you have money in your bank account, if you have a 401, you are a blessed person. Gary and I on the One of a Kind Financial Show talked about topics you can address around the Thanksgiving table and still keep it light, but bring your family into the conversation about where you're going in retirement. I'm thankful for you. I'm thankful for One Oak Financial, and I'm thankful that I am one of a kind.
I want you Welcome back to the One of a Kind Financial Show. I'm your host, Gary Nolan, joined as always by Mike Milligan, CFP. And Mike, Thanksgiving is here, the season of turkey, family, and gathering. Most important, gratitude. Today we're going deeper. We're pulling financial wisdom out of Thanksgiving traditions. This should be interesting, Mike. I'm dying to see what you have to say about this. Well, Gary, I'm excited about this.
Well, you know, first of all, the first, the first topic we'll cover is we're going to talk about how preparation is everything, right? You know, I mean, just think about how you prepared the financial— the menu for Thanksgiving where somebody brought this, somebody brought that. And, you know, it's always centered around the turkey, the dressing, the cranberry sauce. For others, it's there. But, but Thanksgiving teaches us that a successful outcome requires Intentional planning, just like a good Thanksgiving meal does. Nobody wakes up Thanksgiving morning and says, what are we having for dinner today?
Yeah.
The turkey is thawed days before, the grocery list took planning, the timing of every dish is orchestrated. This is a holiday built on preparation. Financial life works the exact same way. If you want a secure financial future, But based on retirement, emergency savings, protection for your family, you can't leave— you cannot leave it to the last minute wishful thinking. You prepare, you track, you plan.
Yeah, absolutely. So the turkey is the long-term plan. You can't rush it, make it like at the last second for sure, Mike.
Exactly. Many people try to microwave financial stability, but true financial peace takes time, discipline, and consistency. So here are some applications that come from when you think about this turkey, right? You, you have to build cash flow, a budget, Uh, the budget is your financial grocery list. Without it, you overspend. Protection, so like insurance and emergency funds, are your contingency plans. That's your fire extinguisher in the kitchen if things go south. And then wealth accumulation is investing. It's like prepping the night before. What you do early determines the quality of the outcome.
So there's always a moment at Thanksgiving table where people share what they're grateful for. Mike, you say that gratitude has financial power. How so?
Well, when you practice gratitude, your mindset shifts from I need more to I have enough. And that simple shift can reduce impulse spending, lifestyle creep, and the habit of comparing your life to another. Emotion is one of the biggest threats to long-term financial success. Gratitude puts you back in control. So again, where gratitude is, uh, for cash flow, gratitude helps curb emotional spending. For wealth accumulation, gratitude— grateful investors stay the course instead of panicking. They're grateful for the gains they've gotten and realize that they got them from staying the course along the way. And then from a legacy standpoint, gratitude inspires focus on the next generation and long-term goals.
The show is the One of a Kind Financial Show. I'm Gary Nolan, your consumer advocate. With us each week at this time is Mike Milligan, and Mike is with One Oak Financial. I want to give you the phone number, get on the calendar, get yourself all set up with that comprehensive plan, that one of a kind financial plan. The number is 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. The folks at One Oak Financial standing by this holiday weekend. Get on the calendar, get you all set up with that comprehensive plan, the one of a kind financial plan. You deserve a more confident plan to retire. I want to be stress-free, peace of mind. So let's talk about everyone brings something to the table, Mike. Am I right?
That's right. Think about Thanksgiving dinner. It's not a solo event. Somebody brings the mac and cheese, somebody brings dessert, somebody brings the roll they probably bought 10 minutes before they arrived. Financial success is the same. It requires a team approach. You need a team around you. A team that can focus on investments, building retirement income strategies, tax planning, legacy planning, long-term care. And most of all, the team involves your family and those closest to you, because you need to have conversations with them about what you do before the end comes.
So you want to make sure you get your whole family involved in financial planning. Am I right, Mike? Not just your spouse?
That's exactly right. The family needs to hear the wisdom that you have to offer. If you were in your 60s, 70s, and 80s, you've seen the ups and downs of the stock market. You've seen there's been mistakes you've made along the way that you want to make sure maybe your kids or grandkids or that younger generation doesn't make. And so the wisdom, but also what you want after your death is so important. Everybody wants consistency. Everybody on your financial team, whether it's us at One Oak, in your family, whether it's your existing advisor or CPA, you want some consistency in your beliefs and your thoughts. And that's what that communication Will do.
Right. And we all know someone who brings the same thing every year, whether you like it or not.
Yeah, exactly, Gary. So financially, that's why you want consistency too. Everybody on your financial team should know their role and contribute effectively. You know, you're— the team that you build around you fills the gaps, like whether it's insurance, wills, risk management. The tax planning component is the tax strategy requires collaboration. across experts. And then legacy. The best estates are planned with family and professionals around the table.
So this Thanksgiving, as you sit around the table, think more about food, think about preparation, the gratitude, the teamwork, and how each one mirrors a solid financial strategy, Mike.
Yeah, because when you bring these lessons to your financial life, you build that one-of-a-kind future we talk about often on the One of a Kind Financial Show. The one-of-a-kind financial plan is something that Doesn't happen in like a 10-minute microwaved last-minute situation. If you want to live a one-of-a-kind life, folks, it deserves a financial plan that's going to support that life. And so the plan builds a tax plan because taxes are the biggest expense in your life, a retirement income plan on money you cannot outlive because— and it also helps reduce fear and anxiety. It, uh, brings an investment plan that has like fees that are worthy with investments you understand and wealth that's not missed because of lack of conservatism. And then it brings a long-term care plan in place that takes care of the older version of you because the only person you can count on to do that is the younger version of you. And then finally, a legacy plan that when well-written and communicated to the family will Will, will reduce tension and conflict after you pass away and is the ultimate I love you letter to the family. So just like many people sitting around the Thanksgiving dinner, they have their roles in this. They have that, you know, they have— they've prepared to be at that dinner that day. The one-of-a-kind financial plan in the world of, of financial planning is like Thanksgiving dinner.
Yep, absolutely. Great segment, folks. There's no cost, there's no obligation. Get a better handle on your financial situation. Find out what your investments are really costing you because of high fees or commissions, what future tax implications will be, and how much income you could securely generate from that once you do move into retirement. Pick up the phone and dial this number: 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text IDEAS to 600-700.
Thank you again for listening to The One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. I've been your host, Mike Milligan. If you enjoyed the segment that you just listened to, I invite you to connect with us on Amazon. Google The One of a Kind Financial Plan. It's a bestselling book in the personal tax category, and I invite you to do that. Number 2, if you feel like you need more education when it comes to your own personal financial planning, we have a course that's offered through Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It's offered virtually, and it's a self-paced course called Personal Financial Planning that I helped develop and I teach. It is 6 sessions, 90 minutes each, and full of recordings for you that you can start and stop based on what you need. It goes through the psychology and philosophy of money. The, uh, cash management, budgeting, and debt management. We talk about insurance, whether it's property and casualty, like your homeowners, autos, renters, to the type of insurances you work on at, or you need to replace the biggest asset you have, which is your income. Then we move over and talk about, do a real big investment dive into the difference between mutual funds and ETFs. We go all the way from crypto down to individual stocks and bonds from an academic standpoint. Then we look at retirement planning, tax planning, long-term care, and legacy. Ultimately with the idea that you can build a one-of-a-kind financial plan for yourself. Ultimately though, what it does is it equips you with knowledge that if you're ever in a conversation with a financial advisor or a financial planner, you know the questions to ask. So I invite you to reach out to us. You can go to mikemilligan.com under the Educate tab and see how to register for that. We also put some resources behind that on school.com in our private closed group where you can ask questions and learn more. As always, just remember that I am an investment advisory rep, not only with One Oak Financial, but also advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike doing business as One Oak Financial, Mike Milligan LLC, and Advisory Alpha LLC are unaffiliated entities, and thus all opinions expressed by me and Gary on the One of a Kind Financial Show and me on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily are purely my opinions and does not reflect investment advice. Please consult with a licensed financial professional before making any decisions. Till next time, this has been Mike Milligan.
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