The Big Adventure

Goldiegirl

I think it is safe to say that 2020 was not the year that anybody was expecting.  Even in our wildest nightmares we couldn't have dreamed up the current scenario and this time last year we had no clue what was going to befall us.  

Previously, I never took my life for granted, as I knew that I was lucky to have retired relatively early and had almost complete freedom to do what I wanted.  I had 5 good years of that, and the joy of just going for a coffee when I wanted was always something I appreciated.

Therefore, I didn't find the new lockdown too bad.  As the weather was good, we found that we did quite a lot of local walking and discovered places that we'd never been to before, even though we've lived here for getting on for 40 years.  Also, I felt that the country was united, as we were all doing the same thing and we could see the results as infections dropped. allowing us to have some freedoms over the summer. We managed to go out for a few days, and spent even more time than usual in our local coffee haunts. The last part of the year has been tougher. Gloomy weather,  more division as different parts of the country are doing different things and the virus verging on out of control in some areas.  

We had plans for the year, but mostly decimated.
Fortunately, my 60th birthday was just before the first lockdown, so we were able to do our planned weekend break. We had a lovely time - everyone knew that change was coming, so everyone was determined to enjoy the weekend as much as possible.  I'm really glad we got the chance to have the weekend away.

But it was a sorry tale for most of our other plans.
 Cruise to Canary Islands for last March - cancelled with full refund
Two coach trips Beamish in May and Edinburgh Tattoo in August - both cancelled. Both deposits carried forward to a booking for a trip to the Tattoo in 2021
Four theatre trips - all cancelled, three refunds, one rebooked for June 2021. (I miss the theatre a lot. When I am able to go again, I will probably sob with happiness when I enter the theatre
Six day trips on the coach. (booked early as I got a substantial discount). 1 cancelled with full refund, , 3 cancelled with money held on account and two trips actually done (yay)
It doesn't stop there, due to my early booking habits.....
Cruise March 2021 - cancelled and deposit refunded.
Short cruise  May 2021 - cancelled as firm went bust - deposit refunded vua credit card claim.
Cruise  October 2021 -  19 nights  - cancelled by me and rebooked for 12 night cruise in May 2022
Cruise January 2022 - 55 nights - cancelled by me and rebooked for 16 night cruise  in August 2022

I think the cruise lines will have big problems starting up again - the remaining cruises seemed too long and in the case of the 55 night one (to the Amazon), simply too far from home. Therefore, I rescheduled for peace of mind - I haven't even got to think about them for another year.

One thing I will likely do differently - not book so far ahead in future!

My supermarket habits have changed a lot this year.

Prior to March, I normally went to Aldi three times a month  and to Sainsbury's once a month.  This was very efficient, and kept my supermarket spending quite low. However, I never really enjoyed going to Aldi , it always seems very crowded, and it sometimes seemed a real effort to get to the shelves.
Then in March, it all changed.  Basically, we just got what we could, when we could. The local Co-op and farm shop  were very good, and we got a few deliveries from Iceland. When things settled, we decided not to go back to Aldi, and did our weekly shop at Sainsburys. - firstly in person, then click and collect, and latterly by delivery. I will stick with the Sainsbury's deliver from now on.  Also, we have gone to M&S more often and have  had a couple of Ocado deliveries.  I also have found a local butcher that I like.  Not to mention that I've been stocking for possible Brexit disruption. It all seemed a bit out of control at times.  In 2019 my monthly average was £217. In 2020 it was £335.  But we didn't spend nearly as much in other areas like entertainment, so I'm ok with this.

An unexpected purchase - in November we decided to buy a new TV. Our old one was 10 years old, and decidedly unsmart.  WE feel we are unlikely to go to the cinema for a long time to come, so decided to invest in a larger screen TV (43 inches)  so we can enjoy out films at home. We now subscribe to Netflix and Amazon, and enjoy the large selection of entertainment we have access too. Also love BBC iPlayer.

A few facts and figures
eBay sales - £429.25. Much higher than expected, as we sold off some garden equipment that had been languishing in the shed for years.
Prolific surveys £180 earned, with very little effort.
I say I wassn't going to start You Gov again....  but I did.   2000 points earned this year. Therefore, it will take two and a half years to reach payout. 
Reading - 10 years ago I was reading about 60 - 70 books a year.  In recent years that had slipped to 40 - 50 books. This year I read 19 books!  I found that I couldn't read during lockdown (just couldn't concentrate) and I had no cruises, which is when I really get stuck into reading.

Walking - I aim for 1000 miles a year.  I'll do the final figure at the end of the month, but it won't be much more than about half of what I aimed for.  Main reason - lack of coastal walking days out in the summer and no cruises. Plus, my phone my phone is not  recording all my steps. Sometimes, if we go for a walk, Mr Goldie's phone records a mile longer distance than mine, even though we have been on exactly the same walk! 

Anyway, that's a few observations for the year. I'll return in a day or two, and review my actual 2020 plan

Karmacat

Very interesting, Goldie - do you know, I never realised that your Canaries cruise was supposed to be in March of this year?  And it's a completely different planet, isn't it, when a 55 day cruise can be booked so far ahead.  I wish we were still there!  
Really good idea to get a big tv, and the subscriptions - there's a long way to go yet.  

Goldiegirl

I was due to sail on 29th March. I had paid in full just before last Christmas, pre - Covid.
Of course, the cruise ships were in the news a lot when that ship got stranded in Japan. I was getting concerned, and was really pleased when it was cancelled. It took about 2 months to get a refund, which wasn't too bad.

I think the cruise companies have a huge problem on their hands now.  In September, there were a handful of cruises sailing from Germany and Italy but were very limited and with lots of restrictions in place and pre-boarding tests required.  But they stopped as the virus increased again.

There's so many issues with cruises, like being a closed community where viruses spread, all the ports regulations, and even things like running the entertainment. They say that the cruiselines are ok for money up until the summer. Maybe they'll be able to start some limited cruising again by then, and I think it'll be a long time before cruising comes back as the carefree holiday that I knew.  Most likely, it'll never be exactly like it was. If this all carries on after the summer, I'm not sure that all the cruiselines will survive.  Very bad times 

Goldiegirl

Here's what I planned for 2020 - and in bold is how it turned out

Finance

2020 is a landmark year - I will be 60 in March. I have an old pension from Barclays that I can access at 60, so I will be contacting the administrators, with a view to getting this paid from March. I have no idea how much it will be, but very small, as it only covers the years 1978 to 1981. But every little helps
I'm now getting a monthly payment of £27 from Barclays Bank. I thought that was quite good for  3 years worth of tiny payments  to a pension scheme 40 years ago.

Get a Senior Railcard. For some reason I'm very excited about this.
I got my Senior Railcard in March. But then Covid hit and I only used it 3 times for the whole year!  It's a 3 year card, so maybe I'll get my money's worth in 2021...... or 2022

Improve monitoring of investments, so that any changes can be made in a timely way.
I now monitor my investments once a month. I started at once a week, but this seemed too often. The investments have increased in value, which is amazing considering the way the markets fell in March

Home

Revamp kitchen. This will be an upgrading, not a full refit. We definitely need new doors, plus the sink and taps look very tired and our fitted fridge isn't very efficient any more. We'll also consider new work tops and flooring. When this is done, it will be the last of the major works on the house.
We ordered the kitchen in January, and they had a fitting date for the end of February. This was very lucky, as all the fitting was done before lockdown. The kitchen looks essentially completely new, but they built the units around the innards of the old kitchen units , which helped to keep the price down.  We went a bit further than originally planned - sink and taps all new, new appliances, and new flooring and splashbacks.  Very pleased with the results. 

Make the garden look prettier. We put in the ground work last year, what with cutting down the shrubs and clearing rubble and ant remaining large stones. We hope to spend more time outside, so will be looking at additional pots and planters, maybe a bistro dining set and a parasol.
Partially achieved. Due to lockdown, we didn't go out to browse the garden centres for inspiration.  In the end we painted our existing plant pots and planted some annual plants that we bought by mail order. We didn't get the bistro set or parasol.  However, we cleared more shrubs, which has opened up the garden, and planted perennials in the border (all bought by mail order). Hopefully next yet there'll be lots of colour.  We still have shrubs at the top of the garden for privacy, and we bought an excelled tripod ladder from eBay proceeds, so we should be able to keep them at the right height in future. 

I've got stuck in a rut with cookery, as I keep doing the same old meals. I therefore intend to find some new recipies so we can have more variety.
Partially achieved.  At the start of lockdown, we were forced to have different things, as we just ate what we could get our hands on .  After the shopping situation settled, I was able to plan different recipes, but for the last few months I find I've drifted back into my cooking rut again.  Hopefully, I can make some changes next year.

Health

Continue to keep a positive frame of mind. It makes everything better to be generally happy.
*laughs hysterically* What a year to try to keep a positive frame of mind!!  Actually, I was ok during 1st lockdown and in the summer. It has been a bit gloomy for the last couple of months what with living in Covid Central. However, from talking to other people, everybody has had some bad days.  Therefore, under the circumstances, I'm satisfied with progress.

Walking - aiming for a 1000 miles.
Final total not in. But nowhere near 1000. Likely to be about 750. As previously mentioned, the lack of coastal walking this summer kept the figure lower than I would have liked

Weight - keep my weight stable.
Stable - ish.  I think I've put on about 3 - 4 pounds
Memories.
(more hysterical laughter)
Only one cruise this year in April to the Canary Islands.
Cancelled
We also have two coach trips books. In May we are going to Northumberland and in August we'll go to Edinburgh (for the Tattoo). Also we are going away for a weekend in March for my 60th birthday.
March weekend break achieved before lockdown. Coach trips cancelled 
Also, I intend booking some day trips and we plan to get out much more this year, as we won't have so much work to do on the house.
6 coach trips booked as a job lot  for a cash discount - 2 actually done.

However, being in lockdown created it's own memories - we are unlikely to forget this year.
Brexit.
I can't believe I've still got to mention this. I think that not much will happen this year, as there'll be the 'transition period'. I therefore hope to use up some of the mountain of tins that I amassed during stockpiling. I find it quite annoying to have tins tucked away in random places as it makes me feel cluttered. However, I will be paying close attention to events, in case I think it's necessary to build up stocks again (I'll be really cross if this happens) This time next year everything could be resolved..... or not. I guess we just have to wait and see
For a while I seriously thought that there'd be no trade deal, and as a result, my freezer is full, and my tinned food supply is still high.  However, I think there could still be food supply problems as they get used to the new customs arrangements and more lockdowns may be coming - it's an uncertain time, so I'm pleased that I have my supplies, and whatever happens I will eat them (one day)

Goldiegirl

And here's the plan for  2021

Finance

Supermarket spending - Spend less per month than 2020 figure of £335pm

Home
Garden - we are thinking of having a new patio and shed. What we have currently looking 'tired' as it's over 30 years old.  This isn't a definite - but currently under consideration.
Consider new mobile phones for both of us - more likely if COVID restrictions eased
EAT the Brexit stockpile !  

Health
Walk more than I did in 2020 (i.e exceed 765 miles)
Read more than I did in 2020 (more than 19 books)

Memories
2021 is a significant year as it's our 40th wedding anniversary and Mr Goldie's 70th birthday.
Things carried forward from  2020 -
Two coach day trips
One theatre trip.
One coach holiday to Edinburgh Tattoo - our Wedding Anniversary will be while we are in Edinburgh.
Hopefully, book something for Mr G's birthday


Not much planned, but the way things are, it's very difficult to plan anything, so I've kept it simple.
I can only hope that things are looking better by this time next year.  I'm in the 60-64 group, and I think I'll be quite lucky to get my first jab in the summer.  I'm sad to say that I think the first few months of 2021 are likely to be very dark for us and I think restrictions, masks and social distancing will be with us throughout 2021. My realistic hope is that by this time next year, we will be looking forward to a much better 2022.
On that note, I will sign off, and hope that everyone has the best 2021 possible, under the circumstances. 

Karmacat

And the best possible year to you too, Goldie.  My word, 40 years!  That's worth celebrating!  I think you're right that these first few months are going to be dark, but just for tonight, we can all raise a glass in our own homes, and drink to the future.  Hope you're having a lovely evening.

debtfreeoneday

First time in here but happy new year and I enjoyed reading your 2020 review and 2021 aims. 

Fortune_Smiles

Happy New Year @Goldiegirl .  Wishing you health, wealth and happiness.

Fortune x

greent

Happy New Year, Goldie! Whilst 2021 may be dark for a while to come, I *do* believe that there is light to come - it may only be a mere speck right now and seem so far away, but it's there

Goldiegirl

Hello everyone, just re-opening my diary for a few weeks, so that I can review 2021, and look forward to 2022.

This time last year, I genuinely thought that things would be a little bit better by now.  I was expecting a year of Covid waves and cautious living, but with the vaccine roll out I was hoping for gradual improvement.

As I write this, we seem to be on the precipice of something that may be worse that what we have already experienced.

We went into a personal lockdown on the 15th December. Not that we were going out that much, but our walks to various coffee shops and cafes were something that we were enjoying. However, we think it is now time to keep our heads down until the storm has passed. 

I'll be calling in over the next couple of weeks to jot down what we have achieved this year - in spite of everything, there have been achievements. Plus my plans for 2022... likely to be less planning than usual !