The year 2020 in hindsight.

[Workingman]

It has been a Curate's egg of a year in many ways.

We have the pandemic and it has been bad, but it has not taken the tens of millions of lives that were predicted.

We have had some of the worst storms and wildfires on record and yet the way we have learned to deal with them has meant that their damage, although substantial, was not as bad as it once would have been. Also their death tolls were a lot lower than expected.

The global economy has taken a hit, that's for sure, but the upside is a pause to the damage we are doing to the environment. We are consuming less and therefore producing less, shipping less and polluting less. Our travel has been restricted so we are taking fewer flights and not driving as much; and just about everyone, even big business, is noticing the benefits. It will apparently take four to five years to get back to where we were in 2019, if we use that time wisely we could have a mini reset.

On a personal note my bank balance has improved by a goodly amount. That has happened with just a few minor changes to my lifestyle. I use the car less often and walk more. I buy in less food and in smaller amounts so that I am not at risk of letting things go off and need binning. I wear more layers indoors so that the heating is not on so much and is turned down. Those are just a few simple things and I know that I am not alone in doing them.

Some of the changes we are all now going through, everywhere, will stick and we will be no worse off for them. Nine months ago we could not see any of that and were just carrying on; now our eyes have been opened. Let's hope that nasty little tiny virus has taught us something useful - a few tricks we can keep on using.

Bring on 2021.

[Suff]

For me, I expected to be out of work for most of 2020 when my move from Tesco UK to Tesco Czech Republic blew up with Covid and I wound up without a job.

It took a while but I wound up in a job working from home saving around £2,500 per month on expenses for travelling and living. It also meant I didn't have to fly so much which I did appreciate. I fly out of need regardless of environmental impact. If I had a choice, I would not fly at all.

2021 is looking up. It looks like the two components of the company, post split, will be looking to hire me. I might even move to Canada short term with breaks back in France.

It is just as well I was wfh as Mrs S has not coped well with Covid restrictions at all, culminating in a Christmas from hell this year. Had I been working away, it would have been impossible.

I look forward to a more sensible 12 months going forward.