The Corona Virus- Covid-19
pandemic will change the world forever, I have no doubt about that. As a young
child in school I was amazed and shocked by the horror stories while learning
about other pandemics throughout history such as the Spanish Flu and other tragedies
that had such devastating global effects. I never truly believed that I would
ever personally experience another one as I thought such viruses were issues of
the past since they weren’t as educated or equipped to cope or deal with them
efficiently back then. This whole situation has been a true wake up call to
never take anything for granted again and to appreciate the finer things in
life such as the freedom to leave your home and meet up with friends and family.
A common theme
throughout lockdown was apprehension and sadness. All businesses had to shut their
doors and thousands of people lost their jobs, myself included. I had never
faced so much uncertainty and disappointment in my life as I experienced at the
beginning of lockdown. The coronavirus recession loomed as the global economy
faced a plunge into unchartered waters. Avoiding negativity seemed near
impossible as we were bombarded with negative news stories every day.
Unemployment rates sky rocketed, the ESRI forecasted the property market to
drop by at least 12% due to Covid-19 and the stock market plummeted in which
was deemed the worst drop since the Great Recession in 2008. The future seemed
bleak.
However, resilience proved to be the greatest factor in helping us all survive the lockdown period. This is something that each one of you should be proud of. The last few months have been nothing short of difficult both mentally and physically but we have been disciplined, we adhered to the guidelines, we suffered through the lockdown, and endured the financial hardship. Adapting and overcoming barriers is something we can all resonate with, at Alpha Wealth we have had to readjust and get used to unfamiliar territories. Now we are doing consultations via video call and using a new software to process applications. Going digital seems to be the way forward in the financial services industry and we are finding it to be much more efficient and time effective.
Although it’s a long road to economic recovery, now is the time to start being optimistic and positive again. We must remind ourselves of our resilient nature and our sense of community spirit which was demonstrated in full force throughout the lockdown phase, between local GAA clubs delivering shopping to the elderly and restaurants donating meals to the front line heroes, the Irish truly united. It’s important to remind ourselves of some of the positive news of late.
- Businesses have begun to re-open their doors
this week - Property prices rebounded in May in biggest
monthly rise since 2015 - The stock market has put in the fastest recovery
from a crash in history