A Reflection On 2020 – The Year That No One Could Have Predicted.

Well, here it is! The last day of 2020. So it seems only right to do a reflection on the year as a whole. Hasn’t it been the strangest of years? No one could have predicted the year that we would have. It isn’t over in terms of the restrictions either 🙁 it just seems so bizarre. When I read my 2020 aims post, I was so full of hope and optimism! Oh, how things have changed.

 

Personal life wise, it’s just been a year of surviving. I have tried so hard to stay positive but, like most people, I have found most of the year incredibly difficult. Not being able to see those I love, plus working in strange, new conditions has taken its toll. Every time there was a glimmer of hope, it seemed like something else popped up to make it more difficult. So many things observed via social media channels plus the news just makes the world seem an unfamiliar place.

 

Blog wise, I feel like I’ve lost my way a bit this year; which is obviously related to the wider circumstances. It had to take a back seat during the first lockdown and then it’s been a juggling act since. To be honest, I fell out of love with blogging a bit this year; favouring YouTube and Instagram for my focus instead. But, I miss blogging! So I need to get back with an action plan to get back to writing about frugal living – the thing I love. Watch out for my 2021 post tomorrow all about it 🙂

 

One thing that wasn’t on my radar at all when I set my aims back at the start of the year was making a physical product but I have! I launched my budget planner back in July and have now sold over 250 of them which I find amazing! I now also have to do list notepads as well as the budget planner. Watch this space for more things in 2021; I love this new business venture so I hope that it continues to thrive in 2021.

 

At the start of the year, I made some goals for us to achieve by the end of the 2020. I like to make both monthly and yearly goals, to keep us focused and motivated throughout the year. I have to say, as yearly goals go for me, I haven’t done as well as I would have hoped to have done. But, some of them have gone really well so I shouldn’t complain!

 

My Financial Goals for 2020 were:

• Put £8,400 into savings ✅

First off, I am AMAZED that I have done this. Being in lockdown and thankfully keeping my job has meant that we actually managed to save more than projected. I felt during the first lockdown that we needed to add more to our emergency fund so that has been a bit of a focus since the second half of the year. But, I have managed to put £8,400 into our investments for our early retirement goal, plus another £788.01 into our emergency fund, making total savings of £9,188.01 which I am SO amazed by.

 

• Overpay our mortgage by £2,200 ❌

Now, because I shifted our focus more to building our emergency fund throughout the second half of the year, it meant that overpayments took a slight hit. During 2020 we overpaid our mortgage by £1,805.90 which is still a great amount!

 

•  Have 220 NSDs throughout the year ✅

I seriously love tracking no spend days.  I track these using my trusty budget planner which I wouldn’t be without! During 2020 I have managed to have 238 NSDs; again helped by lockdown.

 

• Earn £5,000 in side income ✅

I have tried so hard this year to diversify my side hustle income streams, and this will be something I continue in 2021. I opened an Etsy store, managed to get my YouTube channel monetised and continued to build on here. I also had my first live workshops and have done a couple of other coaching things. Watch out for more of this in 2021!

 

However, before taxes and expenses (which add up to a LOT more this year as I have reinvested back into my self-employment stuff) I have made £5,088.57 in side income. However, when you take into consideration over £2,000 has gone back out on expenses plus I need to save for tax and N.I payments, it doesn’t leave me with much. However, I am very pleased with this. I wonder why I should aim for next year?

 

•  Receive £1,600 in dividend payments ❓

I don’t know the exact figure for this yet – as I have some big dividend payments pending that should be received today! – but I do know that I won’t have hit this. I made this aim back at the start of the year when things were very different. I am hoping to squeeze past the four figure mark but look out for my dividend income post for December 2020 + 2020 total coming out next week.

 

 

My Personal goals for 2020 were:

•  Establish a better night time routine ✅

Yes! I feel like I have done this, for the majority of the time. I love reading so spend some time each night before reading a book and generally trying to wind down. I also bought a diffuser which I have on for an hour at bedtime with some calming oils.

 

•  Spend some time just for myself, to relax. ❌

Ha, nope! I have rarely had any time to myself to this year, never mind to relax. I didn’t leave our house for the first nine weeks of lockdown and have actively avoided going anywhere unless necessary since.

 

•  Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight ❌

Nope. Moving on….!

 

•  Be more kind to myself ❓

I have tried on this one; it’s been a tough year.

 

• Stop worrying about things I can’t change and focus on the ones I can. ❓

Worrying and anxiety have been off the scale this year.

 

My business goals for 2020 were:

•  Aim for 40k – 50k page views a month ❌

Ah, no. This is such an aim for me; I need to focus more on SEO and writing pillar content during 2021 if I am to hit this.

 

•  Grow my Twitter followers to 4,000 ❌

My Twitter followers currently stand at 3,337 so not too far off I suppose.

 

• –Grow my Facebook likes to 4,000 ❌

At the moment Facebook is at 2,950. Nowhere near!

 

• –Grow my Instagram followers to 6,000 ✅

My current following on Instagram is 7,494 so smashed this aim! Instagram has been my favourite social media platform this year and it shows 🙂

 

•  Grow my Pinterest followers to 3,000 ❌

Totally fallen out of love with Pinterest this year. I know a lot of bloggers who have great success with this but I never seem to! I have 1,515 followers on Pinterest.

 

•  Grow my Youtube subscribers to 2,000 ✅

Yes! I have worked so hard on my YouTube channel this year and my current subscriber count is 3,035 which I am so happy about! If you aren’t subscribed over there then please do; lots of exciting things planned for this in 2021.

 

• expand my VA work and take on 4 new clients. ❌

I am ending the year with 1 VA client and I am happy with this. I do not actively want to take on any more, as I am focusing on other areas.

 

So yes, I feel like 2020 has been very hit and miss in terms of reaching the goals I set myself. Reflecting back, it’s been an immense struggle and I have found it incredibly tough at times and I think that reflects in the overall picture. Still, there are lots of positives and it’s better than if I wasn’t trying at all! I have more plans for 2021 and hopefully will find a better balance somewhere.

 

My top 3 posts here at The Frugal Cottage for 2020 were:

• 30 Frugal Living Tips That Will Save You Thousands
• How To Improve Your Budget
• Dividend Income

 

And the top 3 videos over on YouTube were:

• How To Eat For £10 A Week
• 30 Frugal Living Tips That Actually Work
• How I’m Building A £1,000 A Month Dividend Income Stream

 

Finally, thank you for every page view, every comment and every follow this year. I continue to be amazed and humbled by the support I get and the people I get to talk to. Here’s to much more of that in 2021 🙂

 

Follow me on:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Pinterest  | Patreon