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by Katie Weber
We made it! 12 months. 53 weeks. 366 days. 8784 hours, but who’s counting. We survived the chaotic year that none of us could have predicted. We all know what didn’t happen this year, but what did? Although it was only 366 days, the past year was momentous in many ways. A new office, some new faces, and many hours making sure we could serve you safely – 2020 was a year to remember.
Our year in review:
We celebrated 2020 with our friends and loved ones, bringing in the new year with a bang! We started the year by relocating our head office from Bank Street, our home of 25 years, to our new head office on Greenbank Road.
February began in our new space as we unpacked and made our new office at Greenbank our home. Simultaneously, we were unknowingly spending our last month together, working from our new office.
The reality of COVID began to rear its ugly head in March, the lockdown and work from home orders came into place, we said goodbye to some of our colleagues as they began to work from home. We spread out in our office to keep each other safe and comply with social distancing orders. We sent each other jokes and photos to keep our spirits high.
April brought new hobbies that were tried and true. Our new normal became sending out emails and letters with our changes on how we can safely serve you; All meetings were held virtually, including our popular free consultation.
May brought warmth as the summer’s start began; we said thank you to our frontline workers for keeping us safe. We made our first of three donations to the food bank.
In June, we officially closed down our Bank street location as the remaining staff settled into our new Metcalfe office.
We celebrated the awesome fathers at Doyle Salewski and the importance of talking about money with our families.
July, we couldn’t help but plan our ideal Ottawa summer staycation; with all of our local summer staples, we gave you a sneak peek into our Greenbank office and stayed cool at home on Canada day.
August started with a restful civic holiday as we discussed what FOMO debt is & the importance of budgeting. We prepared for back to school and sadly began to say goodbye to summer.
September was a bittersweet month for us as we said goodbye to our longest-serving employee. She retired after 24 years of dedicated service to helping people in our community.
We discussed the types of student debt and how not to go broke planning a wedding.
October came with falling leaves and beautiful fall weather. With an additional lockdown in place, we knew the food bank would be hurting, so we did our best to help and once again asked those around us to pitch in as well. We shared the importance of normalizing talking about money. We also celebrated Thanksgiving a little differently this year in the hopes of it being normal next year and said happy Halloween to end the month.
November was financial literacy month; we shared our favourite financial literacy resources, including books and websites. We discussed federal government changes to CERB and shared our financial self-care guide for surviving the holidays.
December came with snow and rain as we decorated the office to spread holiday cheer. We held our first ugly sweater contest and a Christmas lunch. We covered topics about enjoying the holidays without spending anything. We participated in the annual Christmas Food drive and made our third donation of the year to the food bank.
With so much this year going wrong, we just wanted to share with you what went right! Thank you for making our favorite moments from this year possible.
This year, if your goal is to become debt-free, we can help. We offer a free no-obligation consultation to help you get started.