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?

Shopping has become more expensive for me however when I weigh up how much I was spending on coffees, lunches, dinners and general days out, I am actually saving in the longer run.

Also saving heaps on not having to entertain kids with cinema, party gifts for their friends birthdays that seem to be every week(!), family lunches out, soft play and so on!!! Although I did lose out on a holiday that didnt get refunded!

The people who notice savings will be the people who had the money to spend in the first place and who chose to spend that money.

A lot of people, never noticed their spending, as it was frittered away slowly over the month until their next payday. Hence why "pay your self first", I.e putting money into your savings like a bill on payday is such good advice.

Some had the money to spend but have always been frugal, preferring to save.

Some never had the money so prices going up and the withdrawal of offers means that they are having to spend even more of their low income on food.

I think that many people in the double income bracket waste money and I always take it with a pinch of salt when they talk about needing two incomes to survive. Yes, some lower paid people absolutely need two incomes to survive and then still live hand to mouth. Others have just grown accustomed to spending up to their income level and even with two decent incomes, spend up to this.

I'm in the non existent income camp who is noticing food costing more and who didn't do much anyway that actually cost money. I will save on petrol only, still paying for a dance class as it's via zoom at the moment and I had already paid in advance for my kids termly activities. Didn't do nails, hair cuts etc as a regular thing.

Eating out came from days out budget and that's not every month and if I didn't have the money to put into that budget, then I didn't.

My bills are kept to the bare minimum already. If I suddenly came into more money/income, I think I would be the same.

We are spending a lot more - cant get the multipacks, or the own brands, so having to buy premium stuff - like andrex toilet roll for example - its just the same as our usual but 3x the price! Will be glad to get back to big bags of pasta etc soon before we are totally broke.

Hey ho. We're saving a fair amount of money (on eating out, swimming lessons, music lessons, theatre tickets) but I'd rather be spending it. I was a happy grasshopper in my early to mid-thirties, before DD was born, and I occasionally wondered whether I would have been better off saving all the money I spent on theatre tickets, ballet tickets, opera tickets, dinners with friends. Now I know, categorically, I was right to spend the money and have a lovely time.

We're spending a bit more on food at home because of no school lunches / sandwich lunches in the office, and our gas and electricity bills have gone up. I'm also buying random stuff online that I wouldn't have thought of getting before (crumpet rings and a blini pan, anyone?), because I'm filling my spare time at home rather than out.

We're not saving on cleaning as it's not the cleaner's fault that she can't come so we're still paying her, and we're doing the cleaning ourselves. I fucking hate cleaning and will weep with gratitude when the cleaner can come back.

Over the last 6 months I have been using a budgeting app and so had finally got on top of what I spent. I had helped me cut down frittering as could see where it was going and also I could see stuff in current location the rather than only realising the month after when the credit card bill came in.

I have never been one for spending on coffees out / eating out much so that's not been a big saving - we are having 1 takeaway a week - before it was probably 1 every 2-3 weeks.

I have found that there are some great yellow sticker bargains - loads at 25% of cost when I have been in late afternoon.

flirtygirl, cross-posted, and of course you're absolutely right. Sorry if anything I said sounds crass.

Aldi Ketchup is red vinegar juice. Avoid.

Lidl Ketchup is the only one apart from Heinz that does not contain 'Modified Starch' and is v.good.

Yeah food is the opposite for us as well. Costing an absolute fortune to buy the branded stuff.
And no deals either.

Doesn't matter in the short term cos we are saving a fortune on fuel and kids activities.

But long term, once things re-open we'll be back to our usual spending. I don't think we really waste money usually.

A lot of other spending is just on hold for now, we'll have to do it once we re-open. (Kids clothes, adult shoes, replacing household items, etc) so the bank balance looks good, but it's a fake number.

Yes, almost managed to pay off my credit cards because of lockdown. Don’t even mind if it lasts another month or two would mean I’m debt free by the end of it!

Yes, doing a huge shop at intervals is saving us a fortune! Never realised how all the top-up shops, meal deals etc add up.

There's much less opportunity to buy random crap, and our petrol consumption is almost flatlining

This too!

Spending far more on food and wine, one teen home from uni and the other home all the time obviously, whereas before she would eat out a lot.

Saving on commuting, petrol, eating out, coffees ...

No. I appreciate going more than ever and when this is over I'll be eating and drinking out as much as possible.
With a few exceptions, premium versions of supermarket foods aren't generally worth the money and most people already know that.
Like others, I'm having less opportunity to buy the non-branded options now, but I'm not so worried about it because I am saving money on not going out.

That's all true. I notice it myself. My Oyster card bill used to be astronomical. Of course I now make a lot less.

Trouble is all that money we are saving is money that was keeping businesses afloat and people in employment.

Over the last 6 months I have been using a budgeting app and so had finally got on top of what I spent. I had helped me cut down frittering as could see where it was going and also I could see stuff in current location the rather than only realising the month after when the credit card bill came in.

What's the app called please? X

We’ve saved quite a bit. No monthly rail ticket for my DH, much less petrol, no meals out or takeaways. And much more care with using up leftovers.

I’ve discovered a local veg box suppliers which is way cheaper and although we now have a Milk&More delivery (which is more expensive), we use every drop of milk.

The only expense I have that I didn’t before is I have spent a lot on online flower deliveries to cheer up various friends and family.

I've saved some money , petrol for work plus I've not been able to get hair/ nails done and eat out but will do those things again when lockdown over .
I wonder about my younger colleagues (late teens/early 20s ) are managing as every day for lunch they'd have macdonalds or a supermarket meal deal plus takeaways eat out several times a week . They must be saving a small fortune. I suppose I hardly go out except for special occasions so not a huge difference for me as spending a lot on food .

@bigmama2020

Money dashboard. It imports transactions from your bank accounts so I can bring in both bank and credit card tx to same place.

It has a tonne of categories you can choose to set your budget and then generally the app will auto allocate transactions - so it knows for example that bulb is gas an electric and sainsburys is food. If it doesn't you can tell it to always categorise transactions from that provider as whatever you choose.

I absolutely love it. It's really quick and easy to use. Each morning I just import my new balances and allocate any transactions. So you can always see where you are against budget for the month.

The app shortens to a money db and is white with 2 black bars.

I can’t say things have changed much for us . I’m spending less on petrol . I’m very careful with money anyway .

Thanks Toomany

I was always about the bargains, cheaper labels and home cooked food.Meals planned, minimum basket order, delivered once a week.

In my position it’s IMPOSSIBLE not to shop more as no shop has everything you want and you are rushed down the new one way aisles grabbing whatever they have left.
The last three weeks I have easily spent £100 a week rather than just £40.
There’s just two of us. It’s now expensive to shop as their are few bargains in meat or fish and vegetables are hit or miss. Theres no way of knowing what will be available in store. So I have lots of potatoes, carrots and cabbage because they last and then have to buy a load of additional herbs spices cheeses and meats to disguise it’s still potatoes, carrots and cabbage, again.

We are spending more.
We live in France and after school activities and school bus fares are paid for the whole school year. We won't get any money back.

We never eat out or go to the hairdressers so we are not saving money here. We used to buy lots of things in car boot sales but they are banned at the moment, so clothes, books etc. are going to cost a lot more.
Our food bill has skyrocketed because we are limited to our small, local supermarket. I expect our water bill to go up too.

The 15 euros a week I am saving on petrol are nothing in comparison.

We usually eat out a lot (most weekends) and the occasional take away, also usually pop to the supermarket if I’m near by and buy things I don’t really need so yes, probably saving a lot. I also buy clothes quite often but now having to make do with last years summer clothes rather than buying new.

I've saved loads this month and put some more into savings. Haven't seen the point in online clothes shopping as I'm wearing comfies at home or work uniform.
I think I already have a good balance of saving and treats normally. I'm always of the opinion life is for living and to keep one eye on the future too: health and money! But not silly over spending.

I've saved some money for shopping if I feel the need. Shops will need the help after lockdown. But we will see. We only go out for food once every couple of weeks and I get the odd breakfast or meal with friends couple times a month. Couple of nights out with my partner. Nothing expensive local pubs and restaurants. Doubt that will change tbh. We don't have huge holidays. No abroad one this year I think it'll be difficult to time it in between social distancing and lockdown measures. But hope to get a couple of short hotel stays in the uk. We will see!

We worked out that we were spending £98 a month on coffees, £66 on fast food and probably £100 on other restaurant meals or treats. DH was concerned when our shopping bill went up by £30 a week as he has no income at the mo, but I did point out that we will still be saving money! The reason it went up is because I had to factor in no fastfood or restaurant meals! Not to mention the top up shopping we used to do. Plus I've bought stuff like nice coffee and stuff to bake with which will last weeks.

I really hope this changes our lifestyle moving forward

Yes me as well. I spend so much on shit. I wouldn't be able to walk passed a Costa or Starbucks without grabbing a coffee, I'd always be picking up bits from Primark that I didn't actually need and buying meal deals instead of preparing a packed lunch.

I used to think I was good with money, but to be honest this lockdown has made me rethink that.