This feels like a deeply insensitive thing to say, but… 2020 was a really good year for me, if only financially. I paid off a credit card that had been near-maxxed since 2017. I started my emergency fund. I made more charitable donations than I ever have before because I had wiggle room in my budget to make it work. In a time filled with uncertainty, instability, and dread, I felt like I finally found financial balance.
It’s not that I was bad with money before. I had always been fairly good at making budgets and always knew how much money was in my accounts at any given time. My credit cards were maxxed from covering emergencies and spending several years at the start of my career making barely more than minimum wage while trying to balance hefty student loan repayments. I was in a cycle of paying off a bit of debt, and then three months later being back where I started. I wasn’t shopping every day or partying, but I wasn’t being ramen-noodles and no-dates-out strict either. I just felt stuck and any attempts I made to cut back or make more money were only mediocrely successful.
Then, I started working from home in March, and everything changed.
I won’t pretend that I wasn’t lucky — I did not lose my job or have my hours cut like so many other people. I am so privileged to be in this position right now…
