I would definitely describe 2020 as… atypical. For some, new opportunities to rise against all odds came to be. However, for most, it was full of tragedy, frustration, sadness, fear, and uncertainty. There are lessons to learn in both the good times and the bad. While in general 2020 was a tragic and scary year, I learned a few things that I hope will make 2021 a better year.

January 2020 – Loss

If anything gave the indication that 2020 was going to be a historically tragic year, it was the death of Kobe Bryant. This was a devastating blow for me. I don’t usually take celebrity deaths personally but this was hard for multiple reasons. One, Kobe was my introduction to basketball. The way he played caught and maintained my attention though I had little interest in sports. So much that I got a Kobe Lakers tee shirt, the only sports-related piece of clothing that I have ever owned. The worst to me though was the fact that the man sacrificed everything for his work. He retired in 2016, devoting the rest of his life to being a better person, husband, and father only to pass in 2020.

While he loved his job and skill, it just bummed me out that he couldn’t spend as many years enjoying his family as well. A lot of people, in general, devote their prime years to prioritizing work leaving the time they get at the very end for their families or the experiences they wish to have.

Lesson: for me, focusing on being present and living the life I want TODAY. I will not wait until I retire to reap the benefits of my work. Managing my money better has helped with that. You can learn more about my financial journey HERE. In choosing how to spend my money, rather than just spending it aimlessly, I have been able to afford experiences that some people dream of. Additionally, I made it my mission to spend more time with my family and friends.

March 2020 – Loss

I was supposed to go to Costa Rica for my anniversary with another couple friend of ours. However, the storm we came to know as COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2, shut down countries at an alarming rate. Not only did I miss out on a fantastic trip but everything being closed stateside made for a LAME anniversary. We do plan on rebooking but who knows when it’ll be safe to do so. No lesson here. It just is what it is.

May 2020 – Win/Loss

My sister nominated me for the JetBlue Healthcare Heroes sweepstakes. I was moved by her words.

My sister is my healthcare hero. She is a nurse navigator in neuro which means her everyday job wouldn’t put her in harm’s way. However, with this pandemic she was asked to help out on the COVID floor and, of course, I was extremely fearful and didn’t want her to. Her response was,…

The email didn’t capture her entire submission but I was there so I know what I said. Lol. Anyway, I was so excited to have won. HOWEVER…there’s a time limit to when I can use the prize of two round-trip flight certificates and COVID is not making it likely that I will be able to use it in time. So you see why this goes both in the win AND loss columns.

June 2020 – Loss

This is TECHNICALLY not a loss just yet and it may not be. My mom’s roof had to get repaired and this cost around $12,600. We financed it and she has a plan to pay it off before the 0% interest deadline runs out in July. The reason this is a loss is not because I agreed to cosign this loan. However, if her plan doesn’t work out (2020 has given us plenty of unwelcome surprises), then I plan to step in to pay it off. Now I am blessed and honored to be able to assist my mom. In preparation for this potential situation, I thought it wise to hold off on investing and keeping that money liquid until we’re free and clear. In the meantime though, I’m not investing as much as I could.

Lesson: manage your finances in a way that makes you happy and comfortable. Some in personal finance would discourage me from cosigning a loan. Others would advise me to keep on investing in the market so I don’t miss out on gains. However, the plan I’ve come up with gives me peace of mind. If I don’t wind up needing that cash, it’ll jumpstart my IRA for 2021. On that note…

July 2020 – Win

I maxed out my Roth IRA for the first time EVER! $6K is the IRS limit for 2020. I was shocked I was able to do it so early in the year because I was SURE it would take me at LEAST the entire year. I actually wasn’t sure I could ever max it out since I’m already contributing so much to my 403b at work. This year, I have also maximized contributions to that 403b. I’m not going to hit the $19500 exactly because I contributed to 403b’s at two different jobs and don’t want to risk going over. However, it will add up to $19,496.34.

Lesson: I didn’t think I could ever reach such a “lofty” goal. Before listening to personal finance podcasts, like ChooseFi, aiming for the maximum contribution wasn’t even a thought. Now through some planning and intention, I was able to reach this goal with little change to my lifestyle.

August 2020 – Loss

Another celebrity death that impacted me: the passing of Chadwick Boseman AKA The Black Panther. It was sad to lose such a talent and what seems to have been a genuinely good person in this world. However, for me, this went deeper. This loss struck a lot of fear in me as this young black man lost his life to a disease before anyone would think to look for it. Could I potentially lose my husband to this or another disease no one would think to look for? I shared my concerns in another post which you can check out HERE.

Lesson: I don’t know the circumstances around why he died so young but two things stuck out to me as important. 1) The importance of having routine checkups. This is facilitated by finding a primary care doctor you can trust and maintaining a routine follow up schedule. 2) Money only gets you so far. I knew this but his passing emphasized this for me. The way you treat others is far more important.

September 2020 – Win

I didn’t renew my CBS All Access Subscription. At first, I didn’t renew because it took a while for shows to come back. However, it made me realize that the shows I watch on the app can be watched on the very same app for FREE!. This is a savings of $59.99/year. I literally would have, and technically already have in the past, paid for NOTHING! This is why you should keep an eye on your subscriptions. I shared how you can determine which subscriptions to nix in this post.

September 2020 – Loss

Have you checked out my weight loss journey? If not, click HERE to open it in a new tab. This lifelong struggle saw significant progress where I was averaging 155 lbs. Not my goal weight but a weight I was ok with. I saw a 5 lb jump in September. I didn’t think anything of it at first because this can happen, right? However, it didn’t go away. Now I’m averaging 165 lbs. This new reality was very discouraging and disappointing for me.

This pandemic threw my routine WAY off at home and at work. The stress and the routine changes led me to miss workouts and fail to meal prep sometimes. Though I have worked to re-establish regular workouts and meal prepping, the twists and turns that this pandemic is causing for those of us working in healthcare is insane. I just never know what the next day is going to look like.

I want to go to the gym because I think the hustle, go-getter mentality that tends to exist there may be the boost I need to get stronger both physically and mentally. Even though gyms are open, I’m hesitant to go when I know it’s increasing my risk of contracting this virus. The sooner this pandemic ends, the better.

Lesson: I’m trying to maintain a level of control in a world that has gone mad in the hopes of maintaining my sanity long enough to see the end of this pandemic.

December 2020: Loss/Win

During the first wave, no one in my local family contracted the virus. The anxiety of knowing that I wasn’t going to be so fortunate in the second wave became a reality. Though they have since recovered or remained asymptomatic, the anxiety lessens but doesn’t go away. Until we know all that COVID can do to someone and for how long, I don’t think I’ll rest easy. People have come to the hospital many months after recovering with latent effects of the virus. So for now, I wait. That went in the loss column.

For the win though, I have remained COVID-free and received the first dose of the vaccine last week. After my second vaccine in a few weeks, I would have decreased my chances of catching this thing by 95%. This is a win for me, for science, for ending this pandemic. And don’t think because I’m a nurse that I was always so eager to take the vaccine. Aside from the conspiracy theories lurking out there, I felt the emotions most people are expressing, like feeling the vaccine came too fast or that I don’t want to be first in line. However, through research, I learned a lot about how it worked. I share what I’ve learned on my personal IG page (mrspjbenson). They are in my highlights if you want to check them out and I’ll be posting updates as often as I can.

Another win: I still have my job. I never thought there’d be any circumstance where nurses would fear unemployment. This is especially so in the middle of a pandemic. However, this is a sad reality that I’m fortunate not to have experienced. Who knows what could happen though as this drags on?

Final win: I didn’t think I would keep up with this blog. I thought I would almost surely run out of things to share or lose interest in sharing. I am happy to have maintained this blog despite the amount of work it entails. Kudos to those who blog more frequently and/or do this full-time.

Your turn. What wins or losses did you experience in 2020? What lessons did you learn?