AIBU to not understand how people are saving money during this pandemic?

[squishedblueberry]

I know commuting costs have cut and buying lunch and dinner out etc but we seem to be spending more and more.
I appreciate we are lucky to be able to do this before anyone jumps on me but am baffled as to how people are saying they are so much better off.

Signed up to Disney Plus and Netflix to keep ourselves sane. Spending more on takeaway because eating is one of the few things we can still do that feels like a treat.

I’ve ended up having to buy equipment so I can work from home as has DH. Bought countless entertainment for DS as he’s getting so bored so toys, books, games etc that we can play together, crafts and things. We had to replace the deck as it was unusable and we are spending so much time at home we wanted to make the most of it (didn’t have to I know, but it was dangerous so DS couldn’t go out on it).

We’ve also ended up having to do some jobs to the house because things have finally given up due to us being in it loads.

And that’s before the books and things we’ve ordered for ourselves to try and keep ourselves sane, supplies for hobbies, having to buy more expensive clothes from DS as can’t nip to Primark and pick up vests etc cheaply and he’s growing like a weed.

I know this is all very privileged and we are lucky to be able to afford it but it amazes me when people say they are so much better off. We’ve also lost money on a couple of auks holidays so that adds to it and I’ve lost work so am down on income to what we usually have.

Signed up to Disney Plus and Netflix to keep ourselves sane. Spending more on takeaway because eating is one of the few things we can still do that feels like a treat.

I’ve ended up having to buy equipment so I can work from home as has DH. Bought countless entertainment for DS as he’s getting so bored so toys, books, games etc that we can play together, crafts and things.

And that’s before the books and things we’ve ordered for ourselves to try and keep ourselves sane, supplies for hobbies, having to buy more expensive clothes from DS as can’t nip to Primark and pick up vests etc cheaply and he’s growing like a weed.

No, can't imagine either.

We used to get a weekly takeaway. We do the same now.
We used to do lots of free walks/trips out with the kids. We do the same now.
We never went abroad. Same.

We are spending way less on:-
Petrol
Lunches out (working day and day trips)
Nights out - zero for the last year
Nights away - zero for the last year
UK self catering breaks - zero for the last year

Work bought my WFH equipment.

My dc have enough books and toys to entertain themselves anyway.

Well you just spend as you see necessary really. I wouldn’t be able to afford takeaways. It isn’t a question of whether I would enjoy them! I also live in a mess because I can’t afford to get work on the house. It is the same as always really. Everyone is different and has different experiences and priorities.

We're both working as normal (NHS) but no longer socialise in the pub at the weekend (~300pm min), no driving out and about (~50min) no popping for tea out (probably 100pm). So we're easily £500 up per month just from not socialising. Appreciate we are fortunate to be in this position!

@squishedblueberry - shouldn't your employers have helped with cost/provision of office equipment? Even my notoriously mean employer ensured we could have monitors, chairs etc from the now empty office.
We have saved on:
No holidays
No eating out or takeaway coffees
No fuel
Time to cook from scratch because of no commute
Time to shop around for better value - eg utility bills
Few haircuts
Very few new clothes, although we don't have kids at home

Our gas and electric bills have gone up from being at home! However there is things I could do to save money but at the minute I’m buying out of boredom for example last week I bought and read two books on my kindle so that’s a tenner gone there etc, little things like that add up and that’s where I go wrong!

I think it depends a lot on age as well, we have 1 kid at Uni 1 at home, haven’t been on holiday last year or going this year no skiing at winter easily saved £25,000 on that alone. Though if this had happened when the kids were younger and my husband and I where not in senior roles at work we would have saved maybe the cost of 2 self catering holidays in Europe so only about £4000.

No holidays or days out - the savings on this for us is thousands of pounds and it eclipses the extra spend on utility bills and food.

Forgot to mention no gym or hairdressers either.

We are saving a grand a month out of net pay by not getting on trains!
We do seem to spend on foid but tbh at about 120 a week it's probably not more due to all the top up shops I'm not doing.
I think in some ways it's kinda more differentiated the haves from the have nots.

We’re saving money. £1800 alone saved on DHs season ticket. No money spent on holidays or fuel and hotel costs for visiting our daughter. No eating out, no trips to the pub. No driving to the shopping centre and buying something we don’t need but like the look of. No Christmas party. No haircuts, no hair colours, no waxing. No dry cleaning of suits. No trips out. No theatre. No cinema.

We have taken out subscription to Disney+ (already had Netflix) and DH and DS have had new chairs for working/schooling from home but the savings far outweigh the costs.

I might actually sit down with our spreadsheets and compare the last twelve months to the previous twelve months!

Everyone is different so you're being unreasonable not to understand that not everyone is you.

I save c£500pm not commuting. I'm probably saving the same again not eating out/going to cinema, theatre/days out etc. And another few k over the year for no holidays and no fuel to visit friends and family.

I live rurally so very few take aways. Online grocery shopping seems to reduce impulse buys (though my brain has gone into survival mode and is buying more than I need).

I don't have kids so no worries about extra for them, no extra entertainment really.

I have taken to buying a load of stuff I don't need and being more generous with gifts, and sending random gifts - though Christmas was probably a few hundred pounds less than usual.

Less has gone into my pension though, I was out of work for three months and my new job is lower pay, but overall I'm still definitely better off.

For us:

Saving money on commute
I found a new job whilst on furlough which paid more,
Saving money on weekend trips away
Saving money on holidays etc
Saving money on eating out

I didn’t mean skiing is £25000 I meant all holidays because we are paying for 4 adults

I'm saving loads.

£130 a month on the gym
£120 a month on the dog walker
Probably about £180 on lunch/coffees at work
£40 a month petrol
Also stopped buying clothes as the shops aren't open and I'm WFH so sat in gym gear all day.
No weekend lunches with friends - about £80 a month
No tennis lessons - £60 a month
No leg waxing, hairdresser, eyebrows

So saving at least £700-£800 a month!

Saved £100s on kids activities - probably about £300 a month as all their sports and drama etc are cancelled
We didn't commute anyway
No after school care - about £300 a month
No hobbies for either of the two adults, about £100 saved
No petrol or driving anywhere (neither of us commute anyway) - prob about £100 month
Normally we would have seen grandparents (who live abroad) over Christmas and prob Feb half term, that's probably another £500-600 saved in travel costs etc.
No theatres, we go to the theatre a lot (prob 1-2 times per month)
No general activities like occasional drinks with friends or a meal out - £100 a month combined

That's at least £1000pcm saved. Utilities and food have gone up, but not enough to counter the above.

By increasing our savings standing orders, so the money is out before we plan how to spend anything above our baseline of expenses, and being in the nice situation that our incomes have gone up slightly & no entirely unexpected large expenses (even with some pricier than I'd like ones for citizenship fees, DS' iGCSE fees...)

We have added on 2 subscription services (one soon to transfer to DS's account) and bought a few online games, but those were for hobbies and playing with friends we were already considering rather than to "keep us sane". We haven't really bought much in that regard, and it isn't where I'm noticing the biggest impact in our budget.

I have noticed an increase in grocery costs and when we've been working more (him out of the home) there has been additional takeaways during a hectic few month, but there have been less occasions of going out with a 'just nipping in' a shop which tends to lead to unplanned expenses. The kids' pocket money has mostly remained the same even it's been added to an online shop rather than going to one.

We're soon to spend most of it on a house move & updating -- which is why I increased the saving budget to make it we've more for updating rather than frittered away on snacks, which will also hopefully help my sanity and accessibility needs.

It’s entirely up to you how you spend your money of course, but I realised at the start of the pandemic that I could risk spending loads on entertainment so I made sure I used the library app, podcasts, free online events etc. There’s a huge amount out there with a bit of organisation and planning. It was my choice because I decided to see it as an opportunity to save money. If you don’t want/need to then you don’t have to find those things.

We've done work on the house and garden but have still saved money. We used to eat out a lot which was always pretty expensive with two adults and two teens. We do have the odd takeaway but I don't like them as much as some of the food I am cooking now (got more adventorous during lockdown!). Food shop is up a bit but not loads to be honest. No new clothes, no days out, much less petrol, no more takeout coffees/sandwiches at work, less on tutors (art class can't be done on zoom nor can drum lessons). It all adds up!

Netflix and Disney Plus cost less than £20 a month so not exactly breaking the bank for us (already had Netflix anyway). We always do a lot of the DIY stuff ourselves so tends to not be crazy expensive.

We spent so much more than normal in the first lockdown and had less coming in as DH was furloughed.
Company fuel and car so that stayed the same and he usually get all his meals paid for as he works away.
Older DC not eating out that they'd usually fund from their allowances, so extra food costs.
We continued to pay for all clubs etc to help them out.
Our electricity usage was double that of the same months of previous year.
We lost money on a couple of holidays booked way before COVID and had to buy equipment for the younger DC for home learning.
We switched to M&S for food shopping to avoid queues.

Things are a bit different this time round, one DC is back at university, DH is back at work.
We're still paying for some clubs and lessons but a couple have frozen payments now. We've cut down on takeaways as we got a bit sick of them, and have started shopping at other places again too.

Those saying food has increased as they have teenagers at home fulltime, is it that your teenagers are eating more or something else?

Something else… instead of the tuna sandwich I sent them off with every day they’re now eating paninis, fish fingers, pasta, bacon sandwiches, eggs... (the number of eggs we get through!)

I could put a stop to it but they’re stuck in the bedrooms learning on their own, barely seeing their friends and so I think hey, they need some pleasure in life too

The only increased cost we have is food but we are not eating out every week , family gym membership, my petrol as not doing school runs and meeting up with friends, no new clothes as not going out. Not having my hair and nails done , no facials.

No commute- saves £450/month. No parking at station at £10/day. A few months with reduced childcare bills, mortgage costs decreased as interest rates lowered. Work from home benefit to (minimally) subsidise heating costs. Work issued laptop. No holidays and no days out. It’s going to be a shock to the wallet to have to start commuting again.

No travel to work, cars rarely need refuelling, no trips out, no nipping into shops to buy bits as we are relying on deliveries due to me being CEV. It all adds up.

Meh, if you don't spend it you save. You spend on something, you don't save. Simple.