As we put pen to paper for the first time this year, much of the country is struggling through an outbreak of Covid. We hope that you and your family are safe and well. If that is not the case, then please know our thoughts are with you.
Our plan for the new year was to forget about Covid for a while and concentrate on things to do with personal finance. Well, events have caught up with us and Covid is moving through the community at a very rapid rate.
So far, 2022 brings to mind a quote often attributed to John Lennon: “Everything will be OK in the end. If things are not OK, it must not yet be the end.” That about sums up our situation right now: where we thought that the end of 2021 would bring relief from the privations of Covid, in many ways things gotten worse for many people. We are not at the end yet.
Given the stress of the times, it can be easy to forget that when it comes to Covid, Australia is actually one of the safest countries in the world to live in. Most of us have been vaccinated against the illness and we also enjoy the support of a superb health system staffed by some of the best of us. Australians are less likely to (i) catch Covid; or (ii) get really sick if we do catch Covid. If we do end up unwell, we have one of the best health systems in the world.
So, we want to start 2022 by giving a huge word of thanks to all of our clients, friends and family who provide healthcare to their fellow Australians. You are doing a great job and we want you to know how much we value your work. The relative safety of Australia is no accident. It relies on the accumulated efforts of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers who, together, make up what is in many ways the best part of Australia.
To all of our clients, we want to start the year by hoping that the current emergency will quickly pass and that we can all return to the relative normality of life before Covid.