Lock down has made me realise I've been wasting money for years. Anyone else?

[sunshineanddaffodils]

As supermarkets have been short of my usual premium versions of food I've bought the cheaper alternative and found they are just as nice/better.
Also recently dyed my own hair and actually prefer the outcome! This obviously saves me loads.
DH and I usually go out to eat one evening every couple of weeks. Instead we're having a nice meal and wine at home so not really missing that at all.
Anyone else?

Food bill has gone up from around £80 - £90 and is now £120 - £130 mainly because all the own-brand stuff is gone and I'm having to buy premium stuff. Also there are no bogof deals.

On the other hand, I'm not ordering clothes on line (even though there's some great bargains at the moment) mainly because I don't want to make unnecessary trips to the post office to do returns.

So I think we've sort of evened out here.

Not much change for us, except I don't spend money commuting.

I miss being able to drive to places for a day out, but I've saved a ton of money on petrol. I'm still working (NHS nurse) but local businesses are providing meals (canteen is closed) so no lunch money/packed lunch items needed. On my days off, I'm not wearing make-up, and my hair is getting out of control - I'm tempted to try a home haircut, but then again, maybe I'll just tie it back and wait for lockdown to be over. We are working our way through the freezer to avoid unnecessary shopping so have had some interesting meals. Until recently, I couldn't get pasta for love nor money, so s bag of couscous has been a carby lifesaver.

Opposite for me too. Can never go bs k to Lidl “orange juice” after sampling the Waitrose stuff. In a different league.

We’ve been very disappointed with expensive yet lame take aways getting ready meals from posh supermarkets a much better solution

I hadn’t realised how much top up shopping I was doing till I dropped to just once a week.
And the DCs seemed to have calmed down on the constant grazing when they realised that once the biscuits have gone, there’s no more for a week.

No, I'm spending a fortune tbh. Our food bill has rocketed, although we are eating very well in terms of local, fresh produce! But we've spent almost double the usual amount on food. DH got his petrol money back anyway and I worked from home already, so not much has really changed in terms of money we are saving. In fact we've spent a ton of money on stuff for the house and garden instead.

Me!
I used to eat out every day. Sometimes more than one meal.
I honestly thought it was the end of the world when the restaurants closed.
I've surprised myself so much , that after the first week I barely thought about meals out or takeaways.

Not saved much money though as buying far too much stuff for the house with the money I've saved.

Never thought I would have to explain to kids that we couldn’t have home made naan with our curry as it used too much flour which you can’t get here for love or money.

We are saving quite a lot and are fortunate that our income hasn't dropped (yet, I think tough times are round the corner).
DH got a refund on his train ticket (£100 a month), no gym or swimming lessons/ other classes (£200 a month), nursery and childcare fees reduced (£1,000 a month) and no impulse buys.
No hairdresser for me but I have paid her still (she is self employed and a friend).
Food bill is up by about £30-£50 a week as we are all eating at home rather than school/ work but I probably spent about £20 a week on food out of the home anyway. We are eating better.
I do not miss takeaway coffee and will not go back to that. I feel healthier for eating only home cooked food but do miss the gym.
The biggest saving was a holiday that has been cancelled £6,000. I do miss holidays but the slower pace of life at home has made me a bit more chilled and not in "need" of a holiday quite so much - although a few days away from my DC after all this would be nice 😂
I would love some new clothes but it feels pointless when we are just at home, I am saving up my clothes budget and will have a little spree when the shops re-open.

We're saving £20 a week on petrol and probably the same again on the occasional pint after work, takeaway or meal out. I'm sure there'll be savings on the supermarket shopping as we're eating proper meals instead of snacky shite, but we're also paying full price for stuff that's normally on multi-buy deals.

I'm saving on skincare & make-up because I usually buy from ranges that I can only get from Boots or Superdrug and they're not open atm, or at least, not for make-up or skincare. I don't regard that as a waste though, my eyes look like 2 holes in a blanket without mascara!

And I'm saving on books because I'm reading very slowly, for fear of running out before Waterstones reopens.

I'm dreading our gas and elec bills though.

Strangely I went to local butcher as it was walkable and only needed meat . Whilst spent far more than ALDI shopped really noticed the difference in the quality and amount of meat needed.

Won’t use the butchers for every day but will use again in the future

Yes!

I'm saving money on obvious things like my bus pass, childcare and kids activities.

But I'm also realising how much I used to fritter on things like bottled water, take away tea, snacks out and about, going to bloody soft play. Always the laziest expensivist option.

I'm donating my usual work costs to a local charity that delivers hot meals to vulnerable people.

And I'm still able to put a decent amount away in savings.

I used to laugh at those privileged people in Sunday supplements who "don't buy anything for a year" as an experiment. Now I am those people!

Have really noticed the savings of not commuting, buying lunches from Pret, coffee, meals out with friends, impulse clothes purchase during my lunch break. Makes me realise how much I must have wasted over the years!! Our home food shop has gone up by a third as we are eating every meal at home (usually only 5 dinners and a few breakfasts over the course of a week) but still so much cheaper. We are lucky that we are still being paid in full and working from home. I am donating my usual Pret lunch money to NHS charities each week.

Buying bread and pastry rather than making it (keeping the limited amounts of flour for pizza dough and gravy/batter) is a bit more expensive. Not sure how much but when we bought the £100 breadmaker we roughly worked out it would take about a year to recoup the cost, so presumably a couple of pounds a week adjusted for 10 years of price rises.

Have gone back to buying Tesco vanilla extract as don't want to have to queue up to Lidl as well (I put it in my evening cold milk coffee) so that's £1.90 every six days instead of 38p every 4 days. I think I might stick to it though because it does give a better result...

Not spending as much on fuel to get to evening and weekend activities (about 200 miles every fortnight) and not spending £15 a week on karate class. Seriously missing it so will want to return.

Not sure what will happen about the peripatetic music lessons (£90 a term) but they're definitely going to continue afterwards. I think we have a holiday from gym fees (somewhere between £80 and £100 a month, can't remember) but I'd want to return to that as well.

Son cycles to school and we're both out of work at the moment so no saving non-existent commuting costs.

Apart from that, little change (except an extra mouth to feed).

Lakie we've got a smart meter a dive been weeping at the electricity usage. We won't be getting a penny back this summer like we usually do. It's costing just over £60 a month right now and we pay £60 pm via dd.

We're cooking more and eating much less processed food. Difference in food bills is noticeable though, as food does seem more expensive. however, we're not going out for meals or coffees so it's all relative, I guess.

Also, liking the fact I'm doing daily morning exercise and my knees have stopped hurting. Who knew...well lots of people did mention it but I didn't think that they meant daily exercise.

I've found the opposite with a few things that I have been subbed for the more expensive version, now I can't go back

No. My food bills have went way up as I can't get hold of the cheaper own brand foo I usually buy and am having to buy premium.

Not really. I'm shopping once a week at Aldi like normal. They have almost everything on my list. My main saving at the moment is probably petrol as I normally drive around a lot for work. Rarely eat out, so not much saving there.

And I am doing a lot less exercise as I generally drive to do nice walks in the countryside 4 times a week. Walking around the streets requires a lot more willpower to do as it is exercise, but not particularly enjoyable.

not spending £15 a week on karate class. Seriously missing it so will want to return

Shame they're not running something online so you can keep supporting them. A lot of small businesses like that will really be struggling.

We're still paying the dance teacher and other 'fitness' activity club fees. They're going above and beyond online, and I want them to still be there at the end of this.

Basically it will be well off people saving money, not so well off people either the same or spending more.

I’ve bought shopping in smaller stores, rather than bigger supermarkets, and it’s so much more expensive, but I just didn’t want to queue for hours

I’ve found I’m spending more trying to entertain my son with complex disabilities . Although I’ve saved on petrol , the money is going on sensory toys and electronics to help calm him

We are saving a shit tonne of money, predominantly on gym memberships, eating out and socialising. I’m also not buying many clothes or skincare. But I do not view any of that money as squandering and I’ll look forward to getting back to a bit of spending with abandon.