Not much had been expected of 2013, the penultimate year before an eagerly awaited general election. The year dawned in the backdrop of burning inflation, within earshot of chilling sounds of an economy slowly grinding down and an overall policy paralysis that did not give the year much to feed on. But as babies born in tough times have proved so often, these are the battle axes, the no-hope beings that end with a roar rather than die in genteel middle class hubris. As the lean, mean team at Mint Money began filing stories for the special package on your money in 2013, I was quite amazed at the work that had got done over the year. I will call 2013 the year in which aam-aadmi concerns got centre stage even though the steps to the spotlight may have begun several years before.