Please accept extra special New Year Greetings from us girls here at joleisa.com.
We hope that you had an amazing Christmas spent with your nearest and dearest and that 2021 will bring you all the health, wealth and happiness that you desire. Hold on to those you love dearly and cherish all that you can. This year 2020 has taught us so many lessons and we would do well to take heed of some of the warnings. Almost all of us have been affected in one way or the other as a result of the pandemic and so we want to encourage you to look forward with renewed hope for all the goodness that will be part of our lives in 2021.
There are a few pointers we would like to make that hopefully will help you to make the best of all things and especially your money. Considering the current state of the economy and that it will be some time before things improve, we had better all take heed.
Be money smart
This new year, more than ever, we have got to be more money smart! With the pandemic not showing any signs of abating, despite some vaccines being developed and approved, many persons are not able to work, many of the items that we would regularly purchase remain locked in shops, places that we would regularly visit for amusement and socializing are also mostly closed……the long term effect being that the economy is suffering and there MIGHT, no, there WILL be a recession.
Below is what the BBC says about a recession.
What is a recession?
In normal times, a country’s economy grows.
Its citizens, on average, become slightly richer as the value of the goods and services it produces – it’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – increases.
But sometimes their value falls, and a recession is usually defined as when this happens for two three-month periods – or quarters – in a row. It’s a sign the economy is doing badly.
The first two quarters of 2020 saw GDP falling sharply, making it the worst recession on record, and the first in the UK since 2009.
That is some stark reality to face! And we can’t just go on as normal and think that we will not be affected. So:
- Review your loans, mortgages, and other financial products and see whether you could get better deals.
- Do not auto-renew anything!
- Use price comparison sites
- Check your direct debit for outgoings from your account. You might be surprised to see that you are still continuing to pay for something you no longer use nor need.
- Are you and your children still benefiting from those clubs and activities that you enjoyed prior to the pandemic? Are you still paying? Check on it.
- If possible, don’t accept any new loans or lines of credit.
- Buy no new clothes, bags, and accessories, after all, where are you going? What’s still being held?
- Guard your money with your life! I’m not allowed to give financial advice, but I can say this: Be Money Smart!
Learn to be Content with Less
Under normal circumstances, we would be ok to ‘reach for the stars’, you know, live well and all that but there is a recession on, so we had better make plans. My grandmother would say, ‘you better learn to tighten your belt’. Miss Lou is dead and gone, but her words ring through to me now even more than ever. She was a simple Jamaican woman who had little most of her life but with years of experience, she made the little seem so much!
So instead of accumulating ‘things’, let us learn to accept experiences and create lasting memories with our families and those we love. Invent games and play them. Have storytelling sessions.
Set yourselves challenges, things to do as a family, We grew closer together as a family through some tasks that we did during the start of the pandemic. Check out our room makeovers on our YouTube channel. It was so much fun although it was hard work, but we did not even notice it.
One of the many things people are complaining about these days is that they have put on weight! I join in with this! I have put on so much weight. But you know what, for 2021 let’s eat less (we might be forced to anyway). Also for the sake of our health, this is the best option. Start now. It is better to try to do it yourself than be forced to do it. I don’t mean to be a scaremonger, but with definite signs of a recession looming, we must take action now to be frugal in 2021. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
These are just such cliched statements but they will and should take on new and more significant meaning in 2021. I think they are self-explanatory and needs no new emphasis. So just do it because they will definitely help us to keep costs down. Let’s help ourselves and the environment at the same time.
Save/Invest the money you would have spent frivolously prior to the Pandemic
If you have found yourself in a spending rut, snap yourself out of it. Save money! Believe me, you will need it.
Seriously, just think right now of what your options are if you lose your job or other sources of income. What would you do? I suggest you start making a serious plan and implement it. And of course, part of your planning must include saving.
Pay it Forward to be frugal in 2021
So far we have been quite insular, I agree. So let’s start thinking of others. There is a movement afoot to share love, and if ever we need to do that, it is now. If you can think of any way to make someone else’s burden lighter, go ahead and do it. You have my permission. So whether it is paying for someone’s hot drink, their grocery, or half of it, whatever you can afford, do it. Kindness breeds kindness. The blessing will follow you, according to my granny.
A Gift that keeps on giving – A Freebie
Now to the part that perhaps you couldn’t wait to get to…..the freebie.
We have received so many blessings in 2020, not just spiritual blessings but also physical gifts. Some of these we have no use for, or we already have enough of so we are gifting some of these items. If you feel you do not need the item, then feel free to pass it on to someone else. And that is the gift that keeps on giving. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to subscribe to our youtube channel and comment on the vlog which says New Year Greetings across the world.
Good luck and again all the best for 2021.
Update: The deadline for the giveaway has now passed. Thanks for your interest.
Great advice going in to 2021! I’m lucky to say I was able to save more than usual this past year so investing those savings is really smart.