3 Ways to Change Your Life After COVID-19

There is no denying that the pandemic, and the economic fallout from it, has impacted pretty much all of us in one way or another. It has been a shock on a grand scale, and I don’t think we have been close to feeling the full impact yet, as government support is still propping up a large number of us from our economic reality.

While it is easy to focus on all the negatives that this situation has caused (and there have been many) I do think many of us have seen the silver lining in the slowing down of our world. Less traffic, less commuting, more time with our families.

But there is also an opportunity to use 2020 and all that has happened as an impetus for something bigger – to really reinvent yourself and change your life for good. In my talks I give, I talk about unlearning money habits, and reinventing your life. Now is the perfect time to look at how you have spent money in the past, how that has changed during COVID, and what you want your life to be like moving forward.

One thing many people are doing is assessing where they live. Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have experienced net population losses to regional Australia, and this is a trend that I believe will only grow, as people assess their cost of living, vs their life style and time they get with their family.

While the opportunity to earn higher salaries may not be as great in rural areas, there is also a much lower cost to living – things like housing and education are a fraction of what they cost in the city.

This type of life change can literally change your whole life outlook. We have for so long valued being busy, rushing from one thing to the next, filling our lives with so much that there is no time to think about bigger things – like what you really want from life and the relationships you want to have.

While it is not easy to change everything about your life, it is also hard to stay in the same holding pattern, especially when there is so much uncertainty around the future and Australia’s economic prosperity. Sometimes it is better to take the bull by the horns and make a change while you still have choices. Here are three questions to ask yourself to see if you could benefit from a total life change.

1. How much of your money goes on simply living? Rent/mortgage and school fees, et cetera?
2. Would you like to slow down the pace of your life, and not go back to being as busy?
3. What things are changeable in your life, and what needs to stay the same?

If your answers indicate that a change of place, cost and lifestyle might be in order, it is time to think seriously about joining the 1.2 million Australians who have moved out of cities to regional Australia in the past five years. It could be your chance to change your life for the better as a direct result of the pandemic.

Food for thought.

Until next time,

Vanessa