Reasons to be cheerful in 2012: the economy. Yes, really

Reasons to be cheerful about the economy in 2012? I'm kidding you, right? Unemployment is going up, the euro zone is melting down and George Osborne's austerity measures will continue until after the Olympics – the 2016 Olympics in Rio, that is. There are, though, some upsides. The Bank of England is going to keep official interest rates at 0.5% for the whole year. Not such glad tidings if you are a saver, obviously, but cheap money will help to keep home repossessions down. The declining value of the euro, meanwhile, means that your pounds will go further this summer. Holidays to France, Spain and Greece have been eye-wateringly expensive of late; this year, UK travellers will feel more flush. There will be bargains at home, too: retail chains will be desperate to shift excess stock, and shops will start slashing prices; plus the cost of booze always comes down when there is a big sporting event and this summer there are two – Euro 2012 and the Olympics – back to back, so it will be possible to float through the middle part of the year in an alcoholic haze. Inflation will fall sharply, starting this month when last year's VAT increase ceases to boost the cost of living. Last year saw a ferocious squeeze on living standards because prices rose much faster than wages, but that gap should close, making those still in work feel a bit better off. Quality of life – at least for those who aren't skint – will improve. Trains will be less like cattle trucks, restaurants will be emptier, roads will be less crowded and there'll be less pollution. Growth isn't everything, remember, and it may be no bad thing that our little piece of the planet gets a bit of respite in 2012. Finally, there's part of us that likes life to be grim. In boom times, we assume it's too good to be true, which it always is. When the economy is down in the dumps, we take comfort from the fact that things can only get better.