2020 has been a difficult year for everybody around the world. At the start of the year, many of us had lots of plans for things we wanted to do throughout the year. By spring and summer, we thought we’d have to postpone a lot of those plans until later in the year. Now we’ve got to the end of the year, it’s clear that it’s been a year like no other. With that in mind, it’s more important than ever to set some good New Years’ resolutions for 2021. Here are three you should consider making to help you have a much better year.
Look after your finances
For many of us, 2020 wasn’t just a hard year to get through mentally and socially, it was also a hard year financially as well. Many businesses were ordered to close their doors during the pandemic to try and reduce the spread of the virus. Some of those businesses lost so much money during the year that they may never open their doors again. Those leisure businesses who have survived the pandemic have been forced to make big savings, meaning lots of people will have either reduced their work hours or even lost their jobs entirely.
If you have ended the year with a lot less money in your bank account, expert advice on the ways you can strengthen your finances include lots of great money-saving ideas like eating out less and even reducing the number of journeys you make in your car. You could find that carpooling or even using public transport could save you hundreds of dollars every year.
Look after your health
As well as impacting our finances, it’s highly likely that the last 12 months have also had a big impact on your health. When many of us were unable to do any of the many of the things that keep us active, whether that’s going to the gym or simply walking to and from work, we replaced those with activities that are a lot worse for our health. Whether it was baking banana bread or just slouching on the couch watching Netflix, it’s highly likely that being stuck at home for most of the year affected how much exercise we got. Luckily, there are lots of ways you can get your health back on track. For example, apps like Couch to 5k make it easy for even the most novice of runners to increase the distance they can cover.
Look after local business
When we were forced to stay at home, many of us turned to the big online companies like Amazon to deliver things straight to our door to help us pass the time. Now we can get out and about again, it’s important to visit those small businesses that lost out on so much trade during 2020. Whether it’s food, jewellery or even fashion, there’s probably a small business producing some unique items near you.
