To ask who else just isn't spending AT ALL!?

[junebug21]

Just that really... is anyone else noticing their bank account numbers rising!!? Due to being home on full pay and not spending on childcare, petrol, kids clubs, coffees etc etc all my pay is stacking up and I'm mind blown by how much I normally would be spending!! We are very lucky to not have many bills (no mortgage) we literally only pay insurances (life, house etc), electricity, Netflix and phones! I feel like I have been wasting A LOT of money beforehand! (I am aware that there are many not in this position etc and we are v lucky) but I also feel like I'm missing something and I owe someone/something a lot of money!!?? Anyone else??

i think this thread illustrates nicely why such a large percentage of the population are have no idea just how f--ked the country is.

Thank you, @Crimsonnightlotus , @HollowTalk and @BrutusMcDogface

I don't want this thread to become all about me, me, me (I have moaned on plenty of other CV threads), not least as there are other people even worse off than I am, but this one just upset me terribly. I just don't understand how anyone could be insensitive enough to start a thread about how well they are doing, when it must be obvious that other people are really, seriously struggling.

I will get over it because the existence of my teenagers/young adults means I have no choice, even if every second currently feels like a million lifetimes, and even though I now fantasise about being dead several times a day.

We are super lucky to still both be working full time. Me from home and DH is going to work as normal. But not eating out and buying stupid stuff means last month we save £1700!
I'm not sure what we even really spend all of it on as we never really have much to show for it!

Did you RTFT, @ADayAlwaysHasToEnd, or even just read the last few posts?

The one blessing in this for me is that I am saving so much money and if house prices drop a little too I could be in a position to buy in 2 years. Without being at home for 2 months on furlough it would have been a good 5 years.

@cantata I get it. I'm a business owner and it is utterly destroying watching the business I have built up and invested a huge some of money in dying because I can't trade. I should probably also flounce off MN because threads like this annoy the hell out of me, as do the comments about how dare the government talk about a public sector pay freeze. No one is going to be able to have a pay rise for years after this. Public sector will at least have jobs. Private sector not so much. When furlough ends I'm laying all my staff off. As will thousands of businesses like me. It's time for everyone to haul themselves out of their furlough bubble and get real.

If there's one thing this shows, is how unequal and unfair it all is. It is totally and utterly shit for so many. I guess we are still early days into the pandemic and no one knows what the future will bring.

It's swings and roundabouts here at present. I'm grateful for the SE grant which will help off set my losses over the past three months. Who knows whether we will get any more, so I've been trying to diversify. My expenses have gone up.

dhs income is stable at present. dd doesn't need much of her uni loan and we aren't paying for her accommodation this term. But our food bills are definitely higher, especially as I've struggled to get supermarket deliveries and sourcing much of our food locally is more expensive. Fuel bills are higher. We've had unexpected cat bills and car bills (car much more expensive due to furlough affecting availability of parts). We've deferred our holiday and a couple of other things rather than cancel which will help those small business owners.

Longer term, best not to look at the pension situation. dh peaked and it was grim.

No. Also overspending on food ( and wine). Stupidly decided to go for“ less but better quality” and bought a lovely weekly meat pack from the high end butchers.My entire food budget in normal week.
Plus the normal shop of veg, bread, dairy etc. minus about £7 quids worth of meat.
I’ve gone mad.

Massive savings.

I donated £200 to the food bank last month and still put £800 into savings. Insanity.

I would struggle to save £100 or £200 in a normal month.

Some of its explicable. I'm not paying for a bus pass, childcare, kids activities.

But that doesnt account for everything.
The rest (and I'm embarrased by this) was just carelessness.

Our main recreation now is going to the allotment with flask of tea!

And its just as much fun as frittering money away at a cafe or soft play. I hope I can remember that when things get back to normal.

I'm very aware this is dumb luck and undeserved. That people are risking their lives to bring me things to my door. That people in the next street are going wihout food.

I think it would be good to normalise a regular charity donation from those of us who are arbitary winners in this situation.
Perhaps to the tune of the usual cost of our commute.

Cantata, your life is worth so so much more than money. You are invaluable.

I disagree that the op shouldn't have started this thread. Should people not post about moving house because some people are homeless? Where is the line drawn?

I'm surprised about the money Im saving & grieving the loss of a relative from Covid. It's not black & white.

I haven't spent nothing, but yes, I have a lot more left at the end of the month than normal. In fact, over the lockdown so far I have saved the entire cost of my not cheap holiday for 2021!

This thread really made me feel depressed. There seems to be no empathy for others in some people's mind.
If you are aware of the situation, there is no way you are able to brag about how this pandemic done good for you. Yet people are still posting about how lucky they are financially because of this. Where is the sprit of support?
Yeah, lucky if you can save up to buy a house, forget about the people who may lose it. Yay!

Not really as I'm on 80% so what I'm saving I've lost on income so it's nearly even but still more at a loss. Wish my employers topped up I would be rolling in it at the end of this! ... I'm just so glad I changed my car just before this happened so my monthly payments are almost halved. Bloody glad I wouldn't of been able to afford my old car really on my pay cut!

I'm spending all our surplus on internet shopping. Bought some power tools last week.

I'm not saving anything more than usual tbh. A lot of my costs are fixed such as council tax, insurance etc. I'm not travelling to work but I don't work far from home anyway so not a lot of saving. I'm working at home so bills might be a little higher than normal. I don't spend much at work, don't drink coffee and either took my own lunch in or got a soup at about a £1.

My food costs are higher as there are no deals and I'm sticking to one shop plus a top up so no real shopping arfound for nargains.

We actually don't spend much otherwise normally, I'm fairly low maintenance (maybe 2 haircuts a year), I cut DHs and adult teen DSs have long hair which I've been trimming mostly. We like maybe a takeaway per month and a meal out per month usually bit increased food costs probably making up for that.

I really can't be bothered shopping on line at the moment and also trying to limit any pressure on delivery services.

I have my daughters first birthday in a few weeks so I have been buying presents for her but other than that I've not been spending anything and been saving on travel fare due to obviously not visiting family. Train fare was costing a small fortune.

When furlough ends I'm laying all my staff off. As will thousands of businesses like me. It's time for everyone to haul themselves out of their furlough bubble and get real.

Sympathies, I will be doing the same. We have lost 90% of our work but I thought I had enough to keep us going until October if I took no salary at all .

Had a central government contract for 9 years- they effectively ended it today due to a change in approach. The work due in June was needed to keep us going and 1 phone call and that is it.

@unlimiteddilutingjuice I like your idea of donating to charity what my commute would of cost! I would of normally spent around £200 a month on commuting. I'm not going to look up some good charities to donate to

Thanks, Kitten.

Dibble, I think there's a difference. I wouldn't turn a hair at a thread started by someone moving house. People move house all the time, for all kinds of reasons. They might need advice or support with this for myriad reasons. Very few people are going to start a thread saying "I'm moving house, wooh me".

The difference here is that people don't have to start a thread about how well off they are as a result of lockdown. It's not something they need advice about or support with. It isn't something that would fulfil the original MN brief of being "by parents, for parents". It's someone feeling idly glad that they are doing well out of all of this (for I don't believe the OP posted deliberately to make people feel bad), without thinking for a single second that it might make someone else feel even shittier than they already feel.

No canteen, no eating out, no drinking out, but I don't think those things are a waste in normal time. I'm finding it hard to adapt to having every meal at home. Constant food prep and washing up, not enough space in the fridge. It's a pain.

No. I thought so at first but the spending is ramping up. Food bills seem to be through the roof, then there are take aways and wine deliveries. We've bought one child a bike and the other one a basketball hoop. Bought loads of bedding plants, thinking about getting a new garden table....It seems to be getting out of hand....

Where is the sprit of support Yeah, lucky if you can save up to buy a house, forget about the people who may lose it. Yay!

Probably in the same place where people who have a home sell it for double what they paid but decide not to take the extra profit because you know ftb's 🙄

Managed to clear my overdraft and save a couple of hundred in the same month. Unheard of. Joint account also looking healthy. Niece is doing our shopping so don't like to ask for extra fripperies. I did have a bit of an online spree but only maybe £100's worth. Am planning to treat myself to some designer sunnies next payday though.

I have to agree - I think this is an incredibly insensitive thread.