My Peculiar New Year Resolutions of 2020

2020 has been hard on us. There is no denial on that. But on a personal level, I was more equipped to manage the huge disappointment caused by 2020 because of some peculiar resolutions I took towards the end of 2019. Let me tell you how it made a difference in dealing with the pandemic.

• No buying of non essential items : I joined a new firm in November 2019 with a substantial payraise. I did splurge on some clothing and other items because of the euphoria of landing on a new job. New clothes were necessary to make a good impression and I was also moving to a new city. I also believed I needed to make a style statement. In the end, when the credit card bill came, it made me regret my decision. I could pay the bill in one go. But it was wake up call for redefining my priorities. So I promised myself that I will not be spending money on non essential items for one year and I have almost fulfilled that promise.

I read Roxanne Gay's piece on how Instagram ads made her and many others to buy non essential items during these pandemic days. It made me realize that I have been able to resist such temptations mostly because of my resolution of non buy period. Otherwise there is no doubt that how I would have spent my hard earned money on silly things.

• No travel plans for an year : Yes, you heard me right! My new year resolution was not to spend on travel for an year. It is not that I don't love travel. In fact I am a person who makes impromptu plans for weekend and leave with a small backpack. This one was difficult. But my priority was to get rid of all of my debt in an year.

I had friends begging me to join in the trips that were planned for March. But I was adamant. I was able to say no much more easily. Same friends we're hearbroken when the country was locked down in March. They lost money and the disappointment of cancelling those trips really made them miserable during the initial days of lock down. But I was able to handle the certainty of not having any vacation trips for the unforeseeable future with much more ease.

• Budgeting : I started tracking my expenses a few years ago. But never thought of making a budget for my monthly expenses. Having a well worked out excel with money allocated for loans and expenses made me more careful about how I spend my money. I would prepare that excel well before the salary day. In an uncertain atmosphere, it made me a clear idea about the importance of being on top of my financial situation. Thankfully I started doing this before the lock down and that helped me to save additional money during lock down days.

It is going to be about 9 months since lock down. Till now I haven't felt any restlessness because of this no buy, no travel and living on a strict budget life. This doesn't mean there was no joy in my life. I spent money on courses, books, app subscriptions for yoga and meditation, and plants. For me, these all contribute to investing in myself and I never tried to save money on these things. I feel a lot more gratitude for the things that I took for granted last year. I am looking forward to 2021 and I understand that world is not going back to "our vision of normal" of 2019. I am thinking may be I deserve a set of comfortable home clothes for the next year!