COVID-19 has caused a great deal of pain for millions of Canadians.
Life will change in the years ahead.
Twelve months ago, life was progressing fairly nicely. Everything was the way it should be.
Times were good. Most people had jobs. Business was prospering. Stock market values continued to increase. Looking back, these were the good old days.
The way 20/20 indicates perfect eyesight vision, that seemed to be how 2020 was shaping up. Looked all clear ahead.
Then came COVID-19.
It hit fast and hard. Suddenly world order as we knew it became extinct. The global population was fighting a highly contagious disease.
Millions were getting sick. Billions where fearful of being infected.
Prosperity for many evaporated. Established firms went out of business, staff were out of a job, and others were laid off as their firms scrambled to cut costs.
The level of mental stress reached an all-time high. Stress of the disease, finances, and then in a time when we needed the support and comfort of social interaction, that too disappeared, or was greatly inhibited.
Then there was a glimmer of hope.
In the final weeks as the year was counting down, there was a reason for optimism. Several vaccines were starting to appear. Could next year be the time when humans defeat this deadly pandemic?
Medically speaking, there are many uncertainties. Those problems, those challenges will be solved.
What is certain is the world has changed forever. Life moving forward will be different.
Work no longer is focused on a workplace. Commuting two, three or four hours a day to sit in expensive office space seems like a waste of time and money.
Technical skills have skyrocketed. Things will be done differently in the future. There is optimism.
Change is in the air.
Peter Watson, of Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM®, FCSI offers a weekly financial planning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contacted through www.watsoninvestments.com