I gave up a lot of things that I liked this year.
The main reason was the effects of the pandemic.
My office downtown was the first thing I had to let go of. And it was the most perfectly appointed and HVAC maintained office ever. Then, it was all the social engagements that made my life so much fun to live. The list continues because as the pandemic progressed, my income shrank. So there were plenty of things that I had to cut out of my normal spending. It hasn’t been fun but sometimes we have to do the best we can with what we are given to deal with. Yet, this year has felt as though the universe is just piling on. I’m glad to see 2020 go and 2021 be the year of the comeback. However, it hasn’t started quite like that. I live in a region where the winter is quite mild. The HVAC heat pump doesn’t come on all that much actually. This is the time of year when I like to get the HVAC inspected and tuned up for the coming heat season. However, the HVAC tech told me that I would be needing a rather expensive HVAC repair prior to summer. With a sense of grief, I told him to book the appointment. However the next day, I was tempted to cancel the appointment and try to find a handyman that could do the HVAC repair more cheaply. Fortunately for me and the HVAC, I didn’t entertain that thought for very long. While I have cut spending on the fun stuff. I’m not cutting costs on essentials like the HVAC.