To ask how much money you have saved since lockdown?

[Cheapprimarkbra]

... Compared to same 12 days of the previous month (23rd - 3rd)? Not including the usual bills, subscriptions/direct debits and mortgage/rent, have you noticed a massive change your outgoings?

I am a self employed freelancer (as is DP) and we both rent, so definitely not an enviable position.
Between 22nd Feb and 3rd March, I just worked out that I alone spent roughly £384 on train tickets, clothes, coffees, online orders, meals out and takeaways. This same 12 days I have spent £78 (just food, essential office supplies and a cheeky lottery ticket), so that means my savings total up to about £306 in TWELVE days! I feel almost ashamed at how easily I would throw money away, and will definitely reflect on this whenever I go to buy something that I don't necessarily need in future.

It will be interesting to hear other peoples' savings stories!

I’ve just been furloughed so I’ll be £1700 a month down from April.

I’ll probably save £140 a month on petrol.

The next few months are going to be a balancing act, to say the least.

Saved some on travelling - yaaay! Spent more on electricity - heating the room in which I am working from home, running the computer etc. Spent more on food, DH is bored and likes to snack plus we have had to get expensive food deliveries and haven't been able to shop around. Haven't been able to go to the theatre, so saved money on tickets. It probably works out about even for us.

These people whose food bills have gone up
It’s simply the fact that instead of shopping at Aldi I have to shop at Tesco and farm shops - the products are more expensive and I have to pay multiple delivery charges because I’m ordering from different places. Plus the basics range are out of stock everywhere so I’m having to buy more expensive branded items. Multipack offers have been stopped so it costs more to buy multiple items. And most of the large packs are out of stock so I have to buy a couple of small packs which costs more.

But many people don't take their own lunch to work. There was a lot of money being spent in Greggs, McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Pret, Subway, ready made sandwiches from supermarkets, garages, Boots, independents, etc etc. Plus all the coffee chains and meals out at all those chain restaurants plus independents.

Just about that spending has been replaced by food and drink at home, at a fraction of the cost, even if you have to buy branded bread instead of supermarket own.

Amazing that people are discussing how much money they are saving now. Surely anything you save is going to be eaten up by the financial losses we make as the next great depression hits us or we lose work? Without wanting to be too negative, really? Are there really going to be people saving money? That's an honest question.

Very possibly it will, but there are people saving money at the moment because they're still being paid all or most of their salaries and they previously spent a lot on things that aren't available now. Some people did have very high discretionary spending. And some people are doing well out of this: like any crisis, there are winners.

I listened to an interesting discussion from the Financial Times the other day where one of the experts was saying just that: obviously a lot of people are really struggling, but there are also going to be others who accumulate savings during lockdown at least in the short term, so it's worth considering what those people will do with them. They might choose to save or to treat themselves once the opportunity is there again.

Childcare £600
Petrol £100
Buying useless cack ? £100

On the other hand had a salary cut

DH has just paid the balance on his credit card off, so guessing he saved a lot

But many people don't take their own lunch to work

It's irrelevant on a thread about people talking about their own personal circumstances. There seems to be disbelief that for some people food spending can have increased because there aren't any lunches/coffees/takeaways to offset having to pay more for brands/shop in more expensive local shops.

@LakieLady and @VegetableMunge Thanks for answering; would be good if some people are really going to save money from this. I guess it is too early to say what the long-term economic effects will be, but I'd be interested to know what a worst-case scenario would really look like today, compared with, say, 1929. I realise that we had a taste of it in 2008, but presumably this could be bigger? Starting to take a sudden and unexpected interest in economics 😂

It sure exactly but certainly less on groceries (am using this as an excuse to clear my freezer and cupboards apart from anything else) and we've obviously not been to the pub or out to dinner.
I've also subconsciously not ordered any clothes, bits for the house etc. Added to that there's the £3k I've not paid for our holiday - every cloud I suppose ?!

For me the reason we are spending more money on food is because we are home for longer. There are so many opportunities to grab that snack or request one. It is not just the absence of school that is having an effect. I normal do a lot of activities outside the home with them, keeping them preoccupied. For example we wouldn’t take any food to the library and only water to the park. We can spend good couple of hours there with no need to snack. Now we are all at home, if there is a nice apple or grapes on the kitchen table, it will get eaten. Unless we start rationing the snacks. We are not in the rationing stage in my household. However, I’m fully aware and have started having big discussions surrounding food. I don’t want them to feel ashamed to eat but I don’t want them to comfort/ bored eat.

Nothing really. Using more gas and electric and spending more on groceries.

I dont spend money on travel as i walk to work, so no savings there. And i usually got free lunch at work.

We used to get the odd takeaway so i guess thats the only saving.

No petrol for me and dh (combined will be about 500), no nursery fees from now until ds goes back (500 a month). No lunches at work or coffees whilst out and about (prob about 20 a week)

On the other hand we will be using more water, food and gas.

I’ve just been furloughed so I’ll be £1700 a month down from April

So £1700 is 20% of your wages? I'm sure you'll cope

It has really made me think about looking after GC, parents work shifts and we have had them after school for years, now teenagers that involves snacks and drinks when they arrive, several nights a week having dinner with us and stay roughly 2 weekends a month if parents on long shifts. I've just realised this is costing me alot of money. Parents don't as much as bring me the occasional cake/bar of chocolate or whatever let alone offering money. I think I've been a bit of a mug.

None, My salary has been cut by 20%. My food bill has gone up massively (I used to get free lunch at work and my DS was infants) and I still have to pay my childminder.

I suppose I am saving on diesel, but I'd travel around quite a bit for work and would claim mileage so even that saving isn't big.

Well over £200
Really making me reconsider certain things that I used to think were essential

Approximately £200 on work commute a takeaway coffee a week and daily lunch spends.
Probably a lot more saved on not driving here there and everywhere and buying bits and bobs.
Ill guesstimate I've spent £300/£350 less than I would normally in three weeks.

Still having to pay after school club. Having STARVING kids at home all day. Having to buy equipment to make working from home viable for both me and partner.

So no. No money saved.

So £1700 is 20% of your wages? I'm sure you'll cope

there's always one

I don’t think I have.

I’m saving on my petrol costs so around £25 per week. DCs clubs have suspended membership fees so April I’ll save £100. I’m only shopping once a week, which has been great as I was probably spending more than I should on top up shops.

But I’m furloughed so I’m earning less, I’m using more electricity and gas and We’re eating more at home.

If you take into account the Easter holiday and May holiday we had to cancel, we are saving thousands- and that's not even including the summer holiday which is like to be cancelled too.

I am saving hundreds on day-to-day expenses: train ticket, car park, kids clubs, kids hobbies, hairdresser (for me), we are not buying any new clothes/shoes, not going out, not buying take away, not having diner parties with friends, we don't use petrol as we can't take the car.
We are saving on the garden too, I would have bought lots of plants and bits which I can't do this year.

Bills will stay the same.

My business will suffer hugely but it will depends how long this all last, and we can redirect things a bit, but it won't go under. If we are clever, we might even do well out of it, but still working on that.

I'm not paying college costs for my eldest saving £25pw, paying half nursery fees saving about £250pm, I'm still working so haven't reduced petrol costs, I also lost a job I had on a Sat in an estate agents so lose about £200pm from that. I am not spending online or nipping into shops for bits and pieces so I'm hoping I'll save that way.

Some massive negative amount, courtesy of paying a childminder to look after our 3-year-old (she normally just looks after our 1-year-old) while his closed preschool continue to claim his 30 hours funding :-(

And even without that, our ludicrously inflated grocery bills undo any savings on petrol etc.

Well I just twatted my brand new lease car into a bollard getting my shopping so now I have saved nothing and I have to put up with my DH moaning about to to