It’s that time of year to reflect on the months gone by and count our blessings because as the saying goes, there’s always something to be thankful for. You may be broke, unemployed or sick but even with all those or other challenges, you’re alive and still have a shot at success.

Think of all your friends and family who passed away or thousands who have died around the world this year alone, but you’re still here and that’s a privilege. Here are the other things I’m thankful for this year. The basics - food, my own place and a job.

You don’t know how many people would give anything just to have one of those things so I’m grateful. If the only time you go to bed hungry is when you’re too lazy to cook or are on some diet, you should be thankful too. And if you’re looking for a bigger house because you need more space for your furniture or spend most mornings pondering what shade of blue dress, shirt or shoes to wear to work as opposed to not having any options at all, you should be grateful.

We often complain about our jobs, how we’re overworked and underpaid, all of which are usually legitimate concerns but at least we’re not unemployed. I’m also glad that our lives are generally more convenient than what our parents and grandparents had to deal with. Aren’t we lucky to have electricity, running water, fast food and the Internet? Life is so much easier with these and related amenities. I was also thinking about people in countries like Venezuela and Syria who struggle just to get basic necessities in their supermarkets. Can you imagine trying to raise a family without soap, toilet paper, rice, flour or sugar? What do you tell your children?

On any given day, I will walk into any supermarket and find five or more brands of rice and flour to pick from. That’s a blessing. I was also reading about the cash crisis in India following the government’s attempt to combat corruption and rid the country of counterfeit notes. I’ll leave the details to economists but it got me breathing a sigh of relief that we don’t have to deal with that, in part because many of us don’t have that much money in the first place but I also think our financial institutions and systems are pretty efficient.

You may have to queue up to get your money at the bank but at the end of the day, you get it. Fraud and money laundering are not things the average person has to worry about. Credit card theft and getting robbed at a cash point or ATM are also rare and we should commend that.

Last but certainly not least, I’m thankful for our personal freedoms. Too often, we take for granted freedoms that many around the world fight or even die for, like the right to education and the right to vote. For the most part, we can dress however we like, we can drive, wear makeup and even choose our own partners. Many only dream of those. So, what are you thankful for?