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Good riddance 2020! What has this year taught us?

Well, we didn’t see that coming did we?  Let’s hope that we only have to live through an event like COVID-19 once in our lifetime as it has been devastating for so many people.

Even if you weren’t impacted by COVID-19 financially, there are some important lessons that have come out of it.

Emergency savings

Because you never know what is around the corner, you should always have savings put away for an emergency.  The old rule of thumb used to be that you should have enough to cover you for three months.  If this is too much for you personally, then work out what you are comfortable with because something is better than nothing.

Nothing is forever

There were so many people who lost their jobs during this pandemic that probably thought it could never happen to them.

Think of those pilots and flight attendants who in a blink of any eye were grounded and laid off.  For many of them they had been flying for their whole working life so knew of nothing else, and then all of a sudden they were unemployed and having to potentially look for new jobs in completely different industries.

Although the pandemic was unprecedented and hopefully a one-off, it is a not so friendly reminder that nothing is forever, and we should at the very least think about a back-up plan just in case you lose your job.

Don’t live beyond your means

It is so tempting these days to spend money that you do not have because we have easy access to credit cards, store cards and Buy Now Pay Later apps.

For anyone who lost their job during the pandemic not only did they have the stress of no longer working and wondering when they would get another job, but they also had outstanding debts that they needed to work out how to pay.

Although this may sound a bit old fashioned, I still want to put it out there.  If you cannot pay for something upfront with cash then either don’t buy it or save for it and don’t be tempted to use the other options mentioned above.

Whatever your experience during COVID-19 I hope that you were able to have a safe and enjoyable Christmas, and as we head into 2021 you are optimistic and excited by what this new year will bring.

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