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.

No commuting costs
No petrol costs
No holiday costs
No after school costs
No holiday clubs
No nanny cost
We read books online for free and listen to audible
Cook daily except maybe once a week
No reduction in income

Personally I have saved so much money.

Saving on eating out,holidays,clothes ,hair dos and other beaty treatments ,going out generally eg cinema
Spening more on food and heating,but conservatively we must be spending about 20k less over the year.

Don''t care though ,would much rather be out living my life and spending

^^ we normally travel far on holiday so that’s a substantial saving (family not from here)

Ours is the same if not more. More money on food, as no free school meals and spent more on toys at Xmas as little to do. Kids always seem to need something. They didn't have many clothes and now wearing there home clothes not uniform so had a to buy and replace a few things.

Don't mention all the craft stuff we are needing for school activities ( reception)

I can't believe people's kids are in their PJs all day, we have to go out and get some air or we'd be insane.

DP has saved loads.
Lots of company perks which they pay for when working from home in terms of savings on bills.
No childcare costs.
No restaurant meals.

He has saved an absolute fortune.
No holidays.
No gigs.
No travel costs.

Ive just thought of another work related cost I'm saving on. Collections- for staff birthdays, new baby, leaving presents (and the associated night out), sponsor forms.

No commute - saving £15 a day
No eating out - saving maybe £200 a month, offset slightly by increased takeaway to support local businesses
No nursery as shut - saving £600 a month

Oh yes plus holidays, days out, petrol etc!

@gratitutesmynewattitude Are your kids primary age?

Believe me, when they're 14 and 16 you can't drag them out of the house quite so easily!

I however, have to go for a walk every day - I now know the local area more than I ever would have thought...

Well you can claim back tax if you buy work equipment from you own pocket!

I'm saving money by not getting masses of work done on the house. I think you answered your own question op!

Sorry, thread too long to read it all before commenting.

I don't think savings and additional expenses are spread evenly between couples and this will have an impact if couples don't share finances.

My husband is saving a fortune on commuting and lunch etc costs with no additional expenses at all.

My communities costs are the same and get the groceries, which has sky rocketed as everyone is at home and loads of extra meals to cater for.

In our case it doesn't matter as we share money but in similar household that don't, the woman will be really struggling while the man will be saving a fortune!

*commuting costs

No commute : £140 per month
No weekends away/ days out : probably over £150 per month average
No horse riding :£50 per month
No school clubs: £20 per month
No work do’s , collections for people leaving, having babies etc :£20 per month
No holidays :£ 8k-10k per year
No hair appointments for family £80 per month average
No nails, waxing, brows etc beauty apts:£ 50 per months
No eating out £ 80 per month
No random shopping £ 100 per months at least
No lunches / coffees at work £25 per month
No parking at work £20 per month
No birthday parties £ 25 per month
No socialising/hosting £40 per month
No school trips :£300 per year

It’s an absolute fortune, the only increase is a takeaway once a month , an audible subscription , and we decided to renovate the house but we would’ve done it anyway this year...

Hairdressers closed, pubs closed, no travel, restaurants closed, this is saving us a fortune-subscribed to britbox though and brought a lot of books😀.

I spend £300 a month almost on commuting normally, plus about £20 a week on food at work, at least, plus new clothes for work every now and then. Daughters have clubs and activities, most of those are not happening and no school trips to pay for. I used to have a cleaner but she left in March 2020 and we've been doing it ourselves, that saves £240 a month. Plus I normally eat out every now and then and we can't do that. We already had Netflix, Sky Q and Amazon Prime. Our overseas holiday was cancelled last year and we got a full refund.

We spend more on food shopping, takeaways and energy but it doesn't add up to the above. We are very lucky to both still be working.

We've saved; I used to put away 15% of our income every month but I'm now finding that we are left with about 35% of our income unspent. Partly to do with commuting, holidays, meals and days / nights out, hairdressing etc - so all those expenses will return to some extent, but I will certainly be more mindful of what we are spending from now on, now I have realised how much it all mounts up.

I was so worried about the extra expense of DD starting at university this year and having to top up her maintenance loan, but in fact we've probably saved enough in the last year to pay for all those top ups for her first year or two without even noticing.

Saved loads by not going out. Was spending on fortune on hospital related expenses, but now all my appointments keep getting cancelled. Well aside from blood tests which are now within walking distance.,
Less use on clothes and footwear saved a fortune there. Never mind school uniform and other school related costs.
No major home improvements as I'm anal about keeping things in good condition.
. Already had prime so save a bundle on entertainment and books anyway.
Did the occasional free trial of whatever video streaming and made money
No days out to anywhere for the teen who has also saved a fortune.

Both dh and i are still working but have ds home from school, dd is only 1 so would of been home anyway. All its meant for us is more money. Had to buy a printer, paper, ink, more electric being used, more food being eaten, more gin being consumed!!

I'm saving loads. I'm single and used to be busy all the time, drinks out with friends, meals out to socialise, I was always away at weekends visiting friends and family and whilst we would often buy food in, it was still the whole petrol costs etc... to get there.
I'm not buying as many nice clothes as nowhere to wear them. I'm sure once the pandemic is over I will be skint again but have enjoyed being able to save and therefore now buy a flat!

I’ve only filled up car twice since last March and still have half a tank left. Normally fill up every 4 weeks. Very few new clothes (have bought a few things), have had around 5 takeaways since last March, obviously no eating out/cinema visits, pubs/coffees or days out I’ve been twice to hairdressers since March and that was just a cut rather than cut and colour every 5-6 weeks. No holidays or travelling to see family (spread over UK and France)

We buy more expensive meat and beer and get bread from local “artisan” bakery for example but on the other hand we get Click and Collect from Supermarket rather than popping in whenever we need anything so impulse buys are far less.

I get where the OP is coming from. I can’t say I have seen a difference between lockdown and no lockdown.

I have less income (self employed) and have had to invest more (to try and make up for said lost income).
I guess we were frivolous in the first place. No takeaways, one hols in the year (which we took), no long commute, buying lunch at work etc...
And we don’t have young children to entertain/homeschool.

I think it’s quite obvious from this thread that the biggest savings people have is from not going out and no communting.

So basically those people who either were frugal or had little choice but to be frugal are still in the same place and spend the same amount of money....

I depends on your lifestyle. DH and I live in London, have busy jobs, earn ok money and have no kids. Pre Covid, we were living the kind of life you would expect.

We are now not spending on:

• Commuting costs. We’re saving at least £300 a month.
• Lunches a couple of times a week from Pret, Itsu and the like, and for my husband, coffees. This really adds up.
• Eating out in restaurants. We used to do this two or three times a week either together or with friends.
• Pubs. This is expensive!
• Buying clothes and accessories. I’m only wearing comfy stuff for working from home and I’m not browsing shops in central London at lunch or after work and impulse buying a new dress for the weekend.
• Holidays and weekends away to visit friends.
• The gym. I cancelled my membership and am doing home workouts.
• Buying convenience food for dinner on the way home.

I’d say our lifestyles have changed for the better now we are not always rushing around. I have much more time to plan and make us healthier home cooked meals. Our diet has definitely improved and is cheaper.
My work also pays us a bit extra to cover working from home bills.

I get the less income.

I can't think of anyone making more right now. (But there will be because that's the way of things.)

DH is still commuting to work as normal.

My work moved online so able to save $ on driving plus I can fit in more clients per day if I don't have to drive all over the state.

DH and I have bought no new clothes/shoes all year. I've had to get some clothes for the kids.

We use the library A LOT. We have not bought any books for ourselves.

Kids need minimal stuff to keep them busy - drawing, painting, legoing, and reading.