With a majority of the first quarter of 2020 under the spell of the Coronavirus pandemic, the general mood of the people is primarily negative. The rising incidence of the virus and the national lockdown has brought unrest and distress for many who miss the rhythm of the routine of daily life. While Coronavirus and the damage it causes are beyond your control, you can definitely try and look at the silver lining of this dark cloud. If you think about it, this pandemic has also brought about some positive impacts.

Let’s understand some of the positive sides of this pandemic situation –

1. A reduction in lifestyle expenses

   With malls, restaurants, multiplexes etc. shut, your monthly expenditure must have reduced considerably. As you stay at home, the expenditure on movie outings, hanging with friends, shopping, etc. have become a thing of the past. This has reduced your lifestyle expenses thereby increasing your savings which you could use to beef up your emergency fund or repay your loans or add to your existing investments.

2. Quality time with family

   For many of you, this lockdown is proving to be a holiday of sorts. Even those who are working from home have flexible timings giving them spare time to spend with family. This gives you an opportunity to spend some quality time with your loved ones and bond with them over the daily household chores.

3. Environmental improvement

   A marked decrease in pollution levels has been observed across cities as people sit at their homes amidst the lockdown. This has brought about a positive environmental impact which was difficult earlier.

4. Development of new skills & hobbies

   With too much spare time in your hands you can learn new skills and indulge in your hobbies. Whether it is experimenting with cooking, learning gardening, reading, learning a new language, etc., you can indulge your whims. You can even invest in online courses which would help you further your career when you get back to work.

5. Change in financial market dynamics

   Ever since the pandemic hit India, the financial market became quite volatile. There was a major correction observed in the market in last few months. This ongoing market volatility provides long term investors a good opportunity to invest in the market.

6. Increased emphasis on hygiene in daily living

   With the virus scare heightened, many of you are taking stringent care of maintaining a hygienic lifestyle. Use of masks, sanitizers, washing hands, keeping a clean surrounding, etc. have become more important now than ever. While earlier only a handful of individuals practiced strict hygiene, today, the numbers have grown making hygienic living a common norm.

7. Emphasis on self-reliance

   Another positive impact which Coronavirus has brought about in people is self-reliance. With domestic helps absent from the picture people have learned to do their own cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. for which they earlier depended on others.

Many people see only the negative impact which the disease has brought about in the world, but a paradigm shift is necessary. A positive outlook is all you need to tide over this unprecedented time. Look at the positives and this difficult time would also be over soon.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.