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.

I think we’re probably saving a bit, but not much with the increase in costs with everyone at home. I work from home anyway and DH’s commute isn’t far. School fees have not been reduced, but some of the associated costs (activities, lunches etc) have been. Outside school activities are still being paid for as the clubs will go under if we don’t and we want them to survive to go back to.

Childminders was nearly half my weekly pay. Then I had to pay petrol, parking in town. I worked in a large building where you couldn't make toast or heat up anything in a microwave. I used to bring sandwiches but if I wanted soup or coffee or toast, I had to BUY it. Very hard not to buy hot things when I am gone out of my house from 8am til 6pm each day. Then colleagues were coming to work in all different outfits each day, so I needed a few different things to wear.

Since I am working from home and children are not at school/minder, I am saving a fortune. Also I marvel each day at being able to eat a toasted sandwich or heat uo soup at lunchtime. Before, when I was working in town, it was a huge effort to save anything. I remember cold wet days, longing for soup and trying to spare the 5 euro cost. I am not highly paid but I felt I had to keep working as I am in a government department and my job is relatively stable.

So even though DH and I didn't go on holidays, nights out or weekends away, we were still able to save, namely childcare, work clothes, commuting and hot food out.

You’ve answered your own question - your income is down, for understandable reasons, and your spending has gone up, also for understandable reasons.

Many of us can save because we’re in the fortunate position of incomes staying the same/not losing jobs, and outgoings are down because we’re not commuting, buying lunches out or going anywhere bar the local park and the supermarket.

I’m doing more “boredom buying” on Amazon for new books than I should, but we’re not having to buy too many new toys to keep DS occupied as he’s still going to nursery. We spent too much at Christmas and have some birthdays coming up, but other than that we’ve been able to save.

Just as well really, as we’ll never buy a house without building up some capital.

My commute saves about £500pm
I usually spend about £60pw on lunches, drinks and other stuff around the office, so another, say £250pm
I’ve bought virtually no shoes or clothes for the last year.
I spend at least £250pm on dinner, drinks, shows, general socialising.
Last year’s cancelled holidays would have cost over £10k, we were having a post GCSE extended break.

So yes, some costs have increased but nothing like the savings I have made.

Our greatest saving has been petrol - I last filled my car up in Nov. However, we now pay for childcare, which is an extra £99 a week.

We had a few months were our spending was the same/more than pre Covid as we were chucking our money away on things we didn't need inc books, toys and takeaways etc as we were caught up in the quick win mindset. What changed is that we conciously made a shift from focusing on quick wins to long term goals. We chose to stop throwing our money away on goods we didn't need and focus on building our savings, paying the mortgage off and renovating the house.

You say you've been buying lots of books. Why aren't you using your local library so they're free? Many are still open for click and collect. Likewise with toys, our LO is 16 months, so we've joined a number of local FB groups were as a community we exchange unwanted toys between us. Both myself and the husband have £250 keepy back each month. Now I've decided to use mine to overpay the mortgage whenever I'm tempted to buy anything I put the item in a basket for a few days and look at what I have I already have. After leaving it for a few days I'm yet to go ahead with the purchase, whereas previously I was frittering away hundereds each month

I'm saving loads on fuel, holidays, socialising, coffees at work, clubs and activities. The activities to make up for it at home are so much cheaper eg craft packs, zoom sessions, board games.

Our income has gone down, but the savings from above have really cushioned the blow.

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

Ours usually fund food and snacks while out from their allowances.
Obviously when they're at home they eat what's here, when they're home all the time they don't buy their own food!

Amazon... 🤦🏼‍♀️

No not saving as dh is working as normal , I lost my job
The kids football and rugby paid back in sept so no saving there

Oh yeah, and I have had a leg wax or pedi in a year now!!!!

SleepingStandingUp

“So DH buys lunch for work from his spends but lunch at home comes out the DWs pot as she pays for shopping? DC might eat at Granny's or use their pocket money to eat out / limited to what they can spend at school on food but are now home for 4 meals a day and snacks and are boredom eating. Again all dining directly from DWs food budget.”

Exactly right.

Savings here (2 adults 2 teenagers):

Petrol - I last filled my car on Christmas Eve, usually a tank lasts a week if that.
School bus fares
Holidays - we would have probably spent £2-3K more than we did in the last year
Clothes - we're just not bothering apart from basics from supermarkets
Events - we would normally go to cinema, theatre, football match a few times a year each
Drinking a glass of supermarket wine on zoom with friends instead of paying pub prices
Takeaways cheaper than eating out
DCs sports clubs have reduced fees
No coffee shop visits
Lass impulse buying by doing click and collect supermarket shopping

Things that have cost are tech - we bought a tablet for homeschooling, utilities bills, Disney+ subscription. Overall we are living much more cheaply though.

My commute is over 200 a month in london, so lunch more expensive as well. , mor and electric and gas but mire than covered by commute. No theatre and cinema, no weekly lunches with friends.
Dh still driving to work,

Grrr, haven’t

I've not had to buy winter boots or a winter coat - which although I don't do it every year anyways, I'm not doing this one extra as no one will see them and I barely go out atm.

I'm spending less on : petrol/ clothes and haircuts/ meals out/ cinema/holidays/ kids activities / school canteen money/buying new school uniform

I'm spending more on : food shop. We have 2 teens at home all day. . . .

My income has been down a lot as I'm self employed so I am relieved that my outgoings have reduced.

I am savings loads due to no commute, no socialising etc.

I also have given up alcohol as a means to preserve my MH, and am on a diet so no takeaways. I have lost over 2 stone in this past year, and feel much healthier for it.

Also saved shit tons of money on cancelled holidays expenditure.

I do have things that need doing to the house, but I really couldn't have anyone here unecessarily until pandemic over, so that will have to wait. Don't watch much TV, reading books and do "leave in porch" swapsies with local mates.

My only increased expenditure really has been online clothes and beauty shopping which is a habit that crept up on me a bit.....

I don't think you can count home improvement as a covid cost. It would need doing any way.

I used to spend at least £200 a weekend on eating out ( more if we went to fancy restaurant s) £10 a week on coffee for me more than that on DH coffee. £30 per week commute cost + petrol.

Holidays are my biggest saving, must be £6k minimum last year for 2 srandard abroad holidays for the family, more if you take into account the Disney trip missed and the UK break we went on instead of our usual city break abroad. No days out, no theatre trips, no cinema, no clothes needed to wear yo gathering with friends and family(I still buy clothes but mainly practical). Kids clothes lasting longer as I'm not worrying too much if pants are shirt or get ripped etc. Who do we see who cares? It's just to wear to the park (where the rips happen in the first place).

We already had Netflix and prime so no extra cost there.

I spend more on books and last year some games and home learning materials but its not a significant cost.

I'm spending more on supermarket shop and Amazon but saving money on pret and costa lunches.

If you already had a frugal life then you won't save more money now.

£200 per month commuting costs

Shopping in a more organised way so not top up shopping with the inevitable unecessary extras

Not spending much money on clothes for any of us as just in loungers a lot of the time. Nobody ti notice that its the same 2-3 outfits on rotation.

No new work shoes

No hair appointments

No days out involving lunches, entrance tickets etc.

No baby groups, soft plays, meet ups for coffee and cake.

A Netflix subscription costs a lot less than canteen lunches and going out every weekend.
I don't bother with takeaways. The point of a nice meal for me is going out to a restaurant and spending time with friends.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

I've not had to buy winter boots or a winter coat - which although I don't do it every year anyways, I'm not doing this one extra as no one will see them and I barely go out atm.

Whereas I have spent more money than usual on outdoor clothing (warm shoes and socks mainly) as going for walks is the only thing to do.

We probably are saving on after school clubs and a small amount on my travel costs but we own ltd companies so desperately trying to keep them afloat. Household income down by 80% so tiny savings don’t make any difference!

OH still going to work but getting decent bonus, though this covers mt loss of wages

We're not spending £300-500 a month on outings anymore

It depends on what your lifestyle was like before - if you spent a lot of money socialising out of the home previously, you will be making large savings there - a large glass of wine I like to get in our local pub is around £14, but I can buy a bottle that I like for home for around that price, sometimes less. Often a few rounds at the pub would cost us £40-50, we couldn’t drink that amount of alcohol at home prices.

We are also cooking at home more, so saving on eating out costs and the food o buy for home is much cheaper than what we buy when out for dinner.

We’ve saved on commuting costs and work lunch costs, but have probably spent the saving on coffee and healthier exciting lunches at home.

Our gym is closed, so our membership is frozen, so we’re saving money on that, which was a significant chunk of our socialising budget.

We had Netflix, Spotify, Sky and Prime pre-covid, so haven’t had any additional costs there, we’re just using them more now.

A lot of people will also have been able to strip out costs associated with “keeping up with the Jones’s” or unintended purchases I.e. bored at lunch, so mooch around the shops and buy a new top

I wish I'd saved 25k on holidays 😯😂