Financial Thanksgiving

Jill Schlesinger reminds us of some of the events and people in the financial world for which we should be thankful.

CBS News Financial Thanksgiving Reporter: As American’s get set to give thanks for all of the blessings in their lives Jill Schlesinger Editor-at-Large of CBS MoneyWatch.com joins us to provide her financial thanksgiving. Reporter: See Jill is from New York. Jill good morning to you. Reporter: Morning. Jill Schlesinger: Good Morning. Reporter: Right let’s go back now it’s the third anniversary of the beginning of the great recession and the recovery. Didn’t feels so great what should be thankful about? Jill: Well I want to just have sounded more positive note this morning and you know what guys we are in recovery. That’s the most important thing to remember and I’m giving thanks for that fact. This economy is actually growing. Remember how many quarters where we were shrinking. We’re now in 2 to 2-1/2% growth. We’ve added about a million jobs in the last year stocks up 7-1/2% this year. Up to 23-1/2% last year so I know it has been a really rough go but at some level I want to be thankful for at least the progress we’ve made thus far. Reporter: Okay. Reporter: Anything else we should give thanks for when we eat our turkey. Jill: You know what I think that what we ought to give thanks for is that we can take control of our own financial lives and here’s the part that’s really empowering gang because you can make a difference in your own life. Here’s how you start to buy just tracking your expenses and you create your game plan. You reduce that debt and for goodness sakes if you have a job and you can afford it use that retirement plan, that’s going to help you actually get through this period and save some money this is within your grasp. Feel thankful for the fact that you can make a difference in your own life. Reporter: And Jill before you roll I know you want to give thanks to a few people. Jill: Alright I’m a tough critic you guys know that I come down hard on some of our regulators. I come hard down hard but you know we got to give thanks for the folks who are really working tirelessly Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, the Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. We want to thank the regulators Sheila Baird at the FDIC, Marrie Shapiro who is over at the SEC and Gary Gensler the CFTC. You know I don’t agree with everything they do but they really do dedicate their lives to trying to do the best thing and we got to be grateful for that so a little financial thanksgiving this morning gang it’s not so hard. Reporter: Not so hard and we thank you for your insight and expertise. Thank you Jill. Jill: Thank you.