To ask about your financial situation after covid?

[MrDarcysMa]

Hi all, I don't have any friends in the same situation so just wondering what other people's situation is....now and after CV? I realise many people will be worse off than me, as well as better off so this isn't meant to be inflammatory - just curious really and trying to get some perspective on my situation. Both DP and I work FT (usually) no kids and recently purchased first home after 10 years of renting and saving.

I work in a company where I do a worthwhile job but it does not bring money in directly for the company so I may not have a job after the furlough scheme ends.

-Very lucky atm to have 80% income via furlough (although it's only of my basic salary no overtime or commission)

-Joint mortgage and bills with DP who earns more than me but is wfh on 20% pay cut

• We're ok on current income - about £800 in the bank less per month but we're not spending much/ going out

• After furlough I will likely have only PT hours if so - we should be able to pay mortgage and essential bills and food if DP still has a job but no unnecessaries or fun stuff (if pubs etc re open!)

• If I lose my job we will have to do mortgage hol for a few months, give back the car we have on pcp which ends soon, and hope I can get another job after 3 month mortgage holiday or my company is in a position to have me back!

• Overall we are managing ok now financially but if we both lose jobs after CV which is a very real possibility, we're screwed.

I am better off. Still working but not going out to restaurants, cinema, day trips etc.

@WombatChocolate

We don't live in the UK, so don't start counting how much you'll get yet unless you live in the same country as we do...but you would have known about the (appr.) £800 for every resident, it has been in the news here for weeks. Husband says if I want to use a part of the money to buy a new phone (mine broke down a month or 2 ago and now using a very old phone but I really miss my old phone ) then I should order asap, the one I would like to have will be sold out soon. I was thinking how utterly bizarre that comment is given how many people currently are struggling.

Thank you for clarifying. I didn't realise that when you referred to 'the country that we live in' you were talking about elsewhere, partly because you expressed the amount you would be given in sterling and because when you referred to your husband as a civil servant, it is very much a UK term.

@WombatChocolate

That's why I said the equivalent of £800

luckily we have shares in Amazon as well and we know that they will continue to do well

I thought their performance would be stellar but the share price has dropped and $80 bn & JB warned shareholders to buckle up. Sure it's a blip though.

My financial situation after Covid....

💩

It's ok whilst we have a mortgage holiday but my company instigated up to 50% pay cuts even though still working from home doing their same work/out put as before.....they say its temporary but dependent on getting company back to pre Covid turnover which may never happen.....

Once the 3 month mortgage holiday is over we are going to struggle

I'm the main earner by a considerable amount.
Our childminder was expecting full fees paid even though she was closed so we had to give notice so also have the thought of working from home with a young child until September

We are fine generally.
DH has been furloughed so we are down about £400 a month there

I am on maternity leave (first month) so I’m down £1600 a month but I had been aware of that for 9 months so can’t complain.

Means that we have a bit of back up savings to tie us over and hopefully when I’m ready to go back to work ok be back where I was before and much of this will be a distant memory

DH job less stable than mine as he works for very small company. If he managed to get back to work and all be ok there then we will be fine.

We were due to remortgage in 2 years and we really needed to borrow more to extend but are considering managing with house as it is and keeping outgoings lower for the foreseeable

I’m better off because of saving on my extortionate train travel. Civil servant in a priority work area so secure job. I’d just had a substantial pay rise too and this was the first month I’d had my proper wages as HR messed it up a bit. Also saving money on childcare, meals out etc.

DH's payrise has been put off until later in the year but other than that the same as before which makes us very lucky.

If we survive we'll be slightly better off. I'm disabled so my income hopefully won't change or I might even be able to find some sort of job, because more people can work from home.
Family members all work in low paid retail and their jobs are as secure as they can be, one is being offered training and more responsibility.

I’m going to be in trouble as I don’t get a salary for two months in the summer as a language teacher at a private academy. The lockdown hit in the months I save to cover the summer. I’m on an ERTE (same as furlough in the U.K.), but because it’s so expensive to employ people here, many of us are paid some of our salary cash in hand as the employer can’t afford to give us a living wage and pay all the contributions to the government, so I’ve only been getting 70% of around 75% of my salary. Salaries are shit here anyway, so I’m fucked. Thankfully DP kept his job, but again, he is on a much lower salary due to the rubbish salaries they pay here, so things will be very tight for a very long time.

Better off but not by loads. Cheaper mortgage, no childcare or kids clubs or sport to pay for. Much less commuting to work. No gym. Both still on full pay. Also saved £20k on buying a flat.

To be honest, I’m more financially comfortable now than I’ve been in a long time. Thankfully I’ve been furloughed from work on 80%, I was only P/T so I have a little income from universal credit. I’ve been told that my job will no longer be available to go back to which resulted in a very stressful few weeks but it’s led to me securing a new career for myself and my dream job! So when this lifts I’ll be straight back into working at a slightly higher salary than before. My outgoings are a hell of a lot less at the moment too. So financials are good and I’m grateful. The rest is tough though. I’m a younger single parent in a small house with no garden and a 4 year old. I should take out shares in oyster bay wines 😂

DH is frontline and I’m a key worker. I’m working less hours doing easier work for full pay so we are very lucky. Spending more on food but saving loads on fuel, school clubs, parking, eating out, cafes, clothes, holidays etc. Like others have said, it has made me think about where my money goes...I guess I’m a bit frivolous so will probably calm that down when things are back to normal and save more! But then again, I want to enjoy life too and this pandemic has also highlighted that you never know what’s around the corner. Balance is what I will be aiming for I think!

I was already on sick leave due to pregnancy complications, husband has been WFH. We have three and five year old boys.

Myself and my husband both work for the local government authority so are very fortunate to still receive full pay. I have saved a lot per month on fuel as we have a car each, however my food bill has rocketed thanks to my savage children so we are breaking even.

We have been very lucky and my heart goes out to those struggling.

This is going to affect people for a long time after this all goes away and I plan to be making regular food bank donations when I’m able to go out and do my shopping

We have doubled the amount we spend on food but we paying for that directly just through what we are saving on not paying for lunch, coffees (and sometimes breakfast) at work. We are also saving on trains and fuel costs, school fees, and the dcs activities. I am normally a huge online shopper but combination of not in the mood plus not wanting to put the workers at risk so I have hardly done any shopping. I am wearing more from my wardrobe trying to use all my shower gels, lotions and beauty products that have been cluttering up my bathroom for yonks.

I can’t see my spending habits changing for a while. As a pp said you can see why businesses are panicking if that’s how other people are thinking.

We are slightly better off at the moment, my DH receives PIP so that hasn’t changed apart from the annual increase in April. I started working from home the week before lockdown and was furloughed last week (been on it 3 days), my employer is paying the extra 20% so I won’t be paid less. My job entails a lot of home visits so I normally spend about £30 a week on petrol, I haven’t filled the car up for 6 weeks. We are being more careful with food and shopping locally but less often. At work there is constant raffles and collections which can cost me £10 - £20 a week. We can’t eat out so another saving. Our holiday was cancelled and the refund from Jet2 has gone back into the bank this week and then moved to savings account. Not huge but I estimate we are easily spending £150 a week less and luckily it’s been warm so we haven’t had to turn the heating up. There will be negligible extra electric for charging laptop and phone for 6 weeks. We don’t have kids at home and our grandchildren aren’t visiting so not having to buy treats/drinks for them or take them out.

Our income hasn't changed as on a combination of pensions, PIP, DLA and tax credits. Have two teens with special needs, am saving on fuel and impromptu takeaways etc. + the cleaner. + not going on holiday so not needing to save for that or buy new summer clothes. I've been paying extra off my car loan and am buying a summerhouse for the garden instead.

I’m not sure. DP currently getting small Bonus for going into work plus no more school fees so we could potentially be better off.
I’m still working full time but in the travel industry so on shaky ground.
I do have a decent pension though so if I lose my job will probably take than and try and find some part time work.

Thankfully my dh is the breadwinner and his job is secure and he can work from home. I am self employed and I'm not sure I'm going to have a job to go back to. We are luckier then most but we were swimming in debt that my job was digging us out of and now it's stopped I think it's going to mount up again. Especially if I can't keep up with repayments. I'm genuinely concerned for our future. All because of debt. If we hadn't been young and stupid we would be comfortable but for as long as I can remember we've been swimming against the current. I was just getting into a nice place where I thought we may be able to go on a holiday soon but that's over now. I think the next few years is going to be a struggle for most people. Financial stress on top of health stress is really beginning to take its toll on me. If I knew my job was secure and I could resume in a month or 2 or 3 it would be fine. Who knows what the future will bring now.

We have thankfully been very fortunate to be coming out financially ahead in this. I’m a SAHM and my husband’s job has allowed him to work at home so we haven’t had a reduction in salary. However, my children’s school’s have offered discounts (the most substantial being a huge discount on nursery fees, and no lunch costs for my older child) of over £1k. Yes, we’re spending a bit more on groceries, but saving a lot more by not having regular daily coffees out, my husband used to purchase lunch at work everyday, little/no shopping, etc.

I am sole director and owner of a small limited company. In the Event Industry. Need I say more?
Totally decimated. We still have half a dozen events at the back end of the year but anyone's guess if they go ahead and even if they do, what will attendance be like?
Fortunately other half is still on full salary, which is a decent amount.
I would take another job but at 62 next birthday no one seems keen.
Don't want to retire but it may be forced on me.

I’m feeling pretty prosperous what with the mortgage holiday. eBay taking a bit of a spanking from me this month. Not sure exactly when I will wear the bargain vintage Jaeger dresses etc....

I'm extremely lucky so please don't think I'm bragging. I've worked damn hard this year and fortunately the company smashed their targets so last month I got a really good bonus. This week pay reviews will be announced so I'll also have a salary increase. Not driving almost 100 miles a day (working from home) is saving money (though I feel like I'm just spending it on food. Lol) so overall we're doing ok.

I am still working full time so no change for me. My DH is furloughed so on 80% but hopefully his job is safe. He will however need to likely cut his hours post lockdown due to childcare issues.

We are lucky can take a financial hit for quite a number of years if necessary. No mortgage and no way we are doing any international travel until there is a vaccine so will save money in that sense