It's not been a fun year financially, but there are reasons to be hopeful that 2012 will be better!
Financially speaking, 2011 was a rubbish year. Twelve months of soaring inflation, increasing taxes, rising unemployment, inept politicians and spreading austerity, with little to look forward to aside from years of falling incomes.
Everybody believes that 2012 will be worse, but enough of that. I’m bored of all the doom, and I bet you are too. It’s time to look on the bright side, if only for a moment.
So here are 12 reasons to be cheerful in 2012.
Austerity rules OK!
The British pride themselves on being at their best with their backs against the wall, and now we can put that boast to the test.
With the exception of greedy bankers and the mega-rich at one end and trade union hardliners at the other, most people accept that times are tough and we all have to make sacrifices. Conspicuous consumption is out, austerity is in. Maybe we’re not all in it together, but most of us are.
We’re not Greece (at least not yet)
Most people don’t realise how bad things are in Greece. Poverty, strikes, riots, forced privatisations, 60% pay cuts, collapsing health services and a terrifying feeling that the country is falling apart. Some Greeks have even been forced to pay tax, that’s how bad things have got.
Things may look rough here, but not that rough. We’re not Italy, Portugal, Spain or Ireland either.
We’re not in the euro
If we had joined the euro, we would be like Greece without the sunshine. Instead, we have been free to launch a money printing splurge to stop our economy grinding to a halt, and the Germans can’t stop us. It is banana republic economics, but the alternative really would have been bananas.
Inflation is set to fall
Inflation has topped 5% this year, which is lousy news for savers or anybody whose pay has been frozen. But inflation looks set to fall in 2012, as last January’s VAT hike falls out of the figures, the global economy shrinks and energy and food price rises slow.
Fingers crossed!
Base rate will stay at 0.5%
In March, the Bank of England will have held base rate at 0.5% for three whole years, saving homeowners with variable rate mortgages thousands and thousands of pounds. It has also spared hard-up homeowners the agony of repossession.
Base rates look set to stay low throughout 2012, and maybe 2013 and 2014 as well. That’s horrible news for savers, but remember, I’m looking for reasons to be cheerful.
Respite for savers
Cheer up savers! The average savings account pays a dismal 0.7% but with a little shopping around, you can beat 95% of savers. You can grab variable rates of up to 3%, and fixed rates of 4% or 5%. If you’re not getting that, don’t blame the banks, blame yourself.
House prices haven’t crashed yet...
More than three years into the credit crunch, and predictions that house prices would fall 30% or 40% still haven’t come true. House prices have fallen, but only 3.2% this year, which might just be the soft landing we’ve been hoping for. Fingers crossed!
... but they are falling
If you’re looking to buy your first place, time is on your side. As prices continue to slide, keep working on your deposit, and your moment should come.
You can borrow money for free!
The best all-round credit card charges 0% on balance transfers and purchases for an incredible 15 months. That’s something to be cheerful about. Not everybody will qualify, but you can still find great cards even if you have a bad credit rating.
You can pay less tax
Taxes may have risen, but you don’t have to pay them. Cliff D’Arcy has found 10 ways to stop paying tax without breaking the law. Not only that, he has discovered the secret to getting rich.
Money: it’s in your hands
You don’t have to be skint when there are 10 easy ways to make money. Or why not start by Saving a fortune on broadband, phone and TV? And there is plenty more you can do to make your money last until payday.
It’s Olympics year
Remember how happy everybody was when London beat Paris to win the Olympics? We’ve been grumbling about the cost ever since, but so does every country that hosts the Olympics. Yet when the big moment comes, the cynics are drowned out in the national euphoria.
That euphoria may be harder to conjure this year, but I reckon we’ll manage it. Not only that, but you can Celebrate the Olympics on the cheap. After all, it has been dubbed the austerity games.
Don’t worry, be happy
When asked how happy we are with our lives in the new national well-being survey, 76% awarded themselves at least seven out of 10. We gave ourselves similar scores when asked how happy we were previously, and whether we consider our lives worthwhile. When asked about money, our scores dipped to 6.2 out of 10, the lowest in the survey. But as everybody knows, there is more to life than money. And right now, that’s a good thing.
See, I set out to find 12 reasons to be cheerful, and I managed 13! Life really is better than we think.
More: Free 2012 calendar to help you save money | Seven ways to maximise your savings in 2012