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.

@QueenCoconut

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...

You see, I’m looking at a list like this

The only thing I can relate to is the sort activity for the dcs (and I dont think they ever reached £70 a month) and the school trips

The things I was frugal on, such as buying clothing basics in sales and during special offers and grocery offers have mostly disappeared or become inaccessible to me.

If you didn't used to spend on commuting and eating out you probably won't have gained anything.

We have saved but spent on other things on the house that we would of done eventually

Saving per month
No bus / travel costs £100
Kids sports club saving £80
No gym costs £280 for the family
No eating out aprox £200 per month
Working from home so less ironing is only collected every fortnight £50
Cancelled holidays
Less clothes shopping for the children & me
Less haircuts for the boys £30
Don't get my eyebrows done £10
School lunches / coffee at work etc £80

We have lost childcare arrangements at the beginning of pandemic so whilst sad for kids, this has saved the maasive fees. Tbh i’m not sure how we would have afforded to pay them anyways with my stbxh crazy financials decisions (crazy in my and family financial spreadsheet’s opition!)

Heating bills much higher. Weekly food shop higher. But only buying one takeaway a week at most, rather than eating out several times a week. No money spent on going out. Overall definitely saving.

I have not saved money and am worse off...
Was furloughed but luckily have been receiving 80% and now flexi furloughed and been redeployed to something completely different but can initially do from home and then have to go out the house for a couple of hours(delivering food parcels)
I realise I am very lucky in that I have been receiving any money. Eldest ds returned from his last year of Uni at beginning of lockdown 1 and I had no additional money to cope with the increase in food bills plus all the additional increases in energy and water bills.I did initially make a saving on petrol but as soon as we could meet in gardens I visited friends and family so it was only a very minimal saving.
Once eldest ds got a job he and his girlfriend got a place and moved in together, so now just me and youngest ds. Saving on food but I still have to heat the house which if we were out at work and school I would only have to do for a few hours not like practically all day now.
Perhaps it is because I am a single parent. Jobs still needed doing in the house ,car maintenance, birthday and Christmas presents bought as usual, yes bought more stuff on Amazon to entertain us like most people.
I had savings at the beginning of last year, not much but now I have none.

The lack of commuting and lunches is a big one for us, particularly my OH as he was commuting into and buying lunch in London every day. No holidays, or big events like weddings (not that we were getting married, but it always costs and arm and a leg as guests). No kids activities like swimming and after school clubs. We renovated our house relatively recently so don't really have many more maintenance costs. No kids birthday parties. We have bought some stuff for the garden, but we haven't really bought more stuff for hobbies or books. We haven't spent more on the kids over and above what they usually get for Xmas and birthdays. No football season ticket. We were both exercising from home/running before lockdown, so that's just continued and we had basic equipment. Apart from subscribing to Disney Plus, which we'd probably do anyway, we already had Netflix and Amazon Prime. I get ebooks from the library and digital magazines via the library too.
I guess part of the fact we can save is just circumstances and stage of life, we didn't really need anymore "stuff", and we had lots of at home entertainment already set up.

No kids classes, no petrol, less car maintenance, no meals out, trips, activities or holidays. No childcare, no baby sitters, no large purchases I'd want to see in person.

No commuting or travelling, no fuel costs, no meals out, no entertaining, no theatre or any other visits. No holidays.

Looking forward to catching up at some point. 😀

Mine is commute, saving £250 per months. Not buying lunch every day saves £100 a month, all of that is straight in the savings! We are being really strict on ourselves as we want to take advantage of this so those little 'treats' you mention we don't have.

We have saved mostly on petrol and not eating out. We already had sky and Netflix. My old habit of picking up lunch each day was bad for the bank balance, a home made cheese sandwich, packet of crisps (from multipack), apple and mug of tea costs perhaps 20% of what I typically spent pre lockdown.

We've also saved on holidays, our trip to New York by queen Mary 2 would have been £3k and the trip with my parents late spring would have been another £1500. We are fortunate to be able to afford it. We are increasing pension contributions.

I've saved money.
No commute. No childcare costs. No kids activities. No meals at work. Less general frittering on snacks and coffees. No holiday this year . No expensive days out
Food is more expensive but we're going to the shops less and planning better.
I have spent money on Disneyplus and Amazon Prime. And on Outschool lessons for the kids. But overall we've saved.

We never spent on fuel anyway, meals out have been replaced by takeaways, didn't pay for clubs etc..
We spend more as the kids eat more snacks, more xbox games, and the heating always on, electric used more.

We’re saving money on commuting, saving money on lunches and impulse vending machine purchases! Saving money on fuel, buying much less clothing etc, no wandering around the shops and impulse buying. We’ve not been actively tracking how much we save each month, but there’s definitely savings.

@unmarkedbythat

Most of the people I know who say they are saving money are those who were comparatively well off to begin with and used to spend a lot on things like nights out, short breaks and big holidays, lots of new clothes, regular hair and beauty appointments, etc.

Yes this.

I am not saving money at all. We rarely went out drinking/dining as we couldnt really afford it so lockdown hasnt affected that. They only saving we have made is around £60 a month on petrol but that has been eaten up by increased food and electricity costs.

I feel that people who have managed to save had huge commute costs and had active social lives as they are no longer spending on it.

our has gone up quite a bit but thats because DG used to provide childcare for us a couple of times a week. But obviously that hasnt been possible all yer so actually we now pay £600 per month more on childcare than we used to. Honestly, with two little ones we were not going much on holidays, eating out etc anyway so I reckon we are spending more and not less since last March. As per usual, those that already had money are saving a lot more i.e. it's the discretionary spending that is being saved - rather than core spending except perhaps travel for work. So if you already had money for kids activities, holidays, going out etc - then you are saving but if most of your cash only goes on core spending then no - you might actually be losing money this year. Guess life is never fair.

I've saved £160 a month on school buses and schools dinners. I can't remember the last time I bought petrol, used to use a full tank easily every month.

We used to eat out weekly but now have more takeaways just to reduce the monotony so maybe around even there. DC aren't spending money doing activities, seeing friends, needing new clothes for those.

I work from home usually so my extortionate utilities remain extortionate. Last years holiday refund paid for (any possible) holiday this year so not needing to save for that.

I've done lots of decorating etc and brought new games and crafts for the DC, plus the Disney channel and Netflix. But even so, I have easily saved a few hundred a month.

The savings on kids activities really depresses me.

Saving about 500 per month between us when you adjust for extra bills in the house. One of the biggest savings is after school club, that was costing us a couple of hundred a month.

Some months there isn't much of a saving if Amazon has taken a hit but we're trying to be sensible.

We've built up a pretty decent amount in savings. Unfortunately we've to do some emergency work in the house which will put a dent in it.

Savings
No holidays
No commuting
No lunches / coffees with friends
No dinners out
No entertaining family at Christmas
No hairdresser

Costs
Drop in income of 10%
Student DC back at home, so extra food/ utilities
New desk / scanner
Postage. Posting stuff to my shielding parents
Gifts e.g. M&S food gifts to my shielding parents.
Wee treats - posh ice cream, fancy soap, giant Toblerones
Mood boosting, but not very expensive, stuff for the house - new cushions, a new door mat, new towels, new mugs, all bought online. We're buying something household each month.

We're still quids in.

@LetItGoGo

The savings on kids activities really depresses me.

And me.

I just want to go walk round the farm with them or go for a swim. Nowt fancy.

@LetItGoGo

The savings on kids activities really depresses me.

yes i get you.

I have been putting our savings aside so we can do some epic things - eventually.

Right now I am hoping it might be possible to take the Dcs and a best friend each away for a long weekend on the Isle of Wight towards the end of summer. I am hanging onto this hope with all my heart.

definitely more spent on heating and food!!

Not buying anything otherwise.

Also barely earning anything thanks to Covid but am very lucky that DH has a stable job.

But overall agree with what others have said about those with disposable income (and fortunately for us, we're in that group) being able to save while those with nothing to spare are probably worse off than usual.

I'm spending more on food and alcohol. I have no commuting costs anyway as I walk to work.