I’ve always been a pretty upbeat and positive person, but 2020 has challenged me in ways I didn’t think possible. Staying positive has been the biggest challenge of them all. It hasn’t been easy finding the ‘good’ in 2020, but I did, and I hope these things will help you see the positive as well.
10 positive ways 2020 has changed my life.
I am…
- Finishing home projects. Not being able to go anywhere has enabled me to concentrate on what needed to be done at home. We’ve removed wall paper (FINALLY!) and painted rooms. Some of these projects have been on my ‘to do’ list for YEARS.
- Trying new recipes. We haven’t eaten in a restaurant in 8 months (although we have had take out). I’ve been enjoying eating at home, and with that trying new dishes that mimic some of our favorite restaurants. Our food at home tastes so.much.better. We know exactly what is going into our food, and with that comes peace of mind.
- Saving money. I’ve written a blog post on how much we’ve saved since the beginning of 2020. We are continuing to save, and have a HUGE goal for 2021.
- Changing financial goals. I wouldn’t have, in a million years, predicted a year like 2020. My husband kept his job, thankfully, but had to take a 10% pay cut. It made me realize that we have been a bit complacent in our financial goals for retirement, and now have an urgency to pay off our mortgage. We’ve always wanted to, but now have a plan to get it done by the end of 2021. 🙂
- Appreciating Nature. I’m not a fan of masks. I will rarely go to places that require them. I do, however, take long walks in nature….something I’ve grown to appreciate more and more. And thankfully those walks have helped squelch the extra weight brought on from Netflix binging and snack eating early on. ;o
- Changing and improving travel plans. Like millions of other people, our travel plans were halted abruptly. We were supposed to cruise to Alaska. The new cruising protocols make my skin crawl, so we won’t be cruising anytime soon. We will, however, be traveling to Alaska. By land. And it will be so.much.better. Something we may never have done had it not been for the events in 2020.
- Valuing time with family. Family dinners, family birthdays, and just plain family get-togethers have been my social lifeline, and I’ve never appreciated them as much as I do this year.
- Taking an online class. I’ve been ‘retired’ from my administrative/bookkeeping job for two years. I’m a bit rusty on my skills, so I’m in the process of taking classes online to become certified in Excel and Quickbooks. This will put me in a very marketable position should the need arise to obtain work, which can be easily done online. I’m not sure I would have done this pre-2020.
- Living more simply. Not going to restaurants, traveling, or running around shopping has allowed me to cook from scratch, read, journal, walk, and live very simply. A very positive side effect, indeed.
- Slowing down. 2020 has afforded me the time to slow down. I have more time to reflect on what is truly meaningful to me, which in turn, has altered some of my plans going forward. I may not have figured this out if it wouldn’t have been for 2020. For that alone, I am grateful.
How about you? What has changed this year for you? Anything positive?
JOURNEY TO RETIREMENT 
great list! congratulations on saving money!
LikeLike
You’re fortunate you can socialize with your family. My kids are very concerned about infecting us unknowingly, so they stay away. That’s been the most difficult for me: not hugging my kids and grandkids.
Like you, I try to stay positive. At times, however, it can be very hard to be upbeat.
I do, thank goodness, have some positive feedback. The number one thing that has been so positive has been the appreciation of my home. We are so lucky and blessed to be living in this wonderful home on a beautiful piece of land. I never took the time to appreciate how nice it is here. We were able to enjoy our property this summer because it probably was the first time we were home here in the summer! We were always running away to do something. Now that we can’t do anything, we’re home! I put in a vegetable and fruit tree garden and it’s been a blessing all.summer.long. I’ve also been trying out new veggie recipes now that I have so many vegetables harvested! Plus we put in a pool. That really made a difference!
I’ve been fine tuning up my frugal bag of tricks. We all have to make due with less and I have been enjoying finding ways to make a dollar stretch! I’ve also been paying attention to all the world around me. I’ve come to appreciate bugs, especially the bees in my garden! I’ve come to love the frogs we find each morning floating around in our pool! They’re fun. I’ve been enjoying watching the birds, the squirrels and the deer that roam across here. Every 15 days, 50 wild turkeys gobble across the back end. It’s hysterical to hear them gobble, gobble!
Plus, we’ve been getting to meet our neighbors. Most are new. Hubby and I are the only two retirees who haven’t sold and moved out. So, we’ve been enjoying our new, younger (45-55) neighbors. When we go for our walks, we meet them along the road and converse across the street (pure social distancing). One of our neighbors is renovating their barn from the 1900s. The wife wants to join the local barn registry and be on the list of participants when the town does their annual barn tours. Funny, right? My other neighbor put in a $10,000 hot tub! Gotta love these people!
Hubby and I were never one for restaurants. The few times we ordered take out, the food was awful. I think our cooking at home puts everyone else to shame. Our food is good! Who knew?
Another thing I find positive has been our continued good health. Hubs and I just got our flu shots. Everything has been looking good. We’ve been walking a lot. The exercise is good. We ramped up our internet access since we’re online more. Plus we did save a few thousand dollars by not going anywhere for vacation or otherwise.
No complaints.
But I do wish the pandemic was over.
LikeLike
Agreed.👍
LikeLiked by 1 person