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.

@lockeddownandcrazy well surely that’s how the country works, corona or not. We have a social safety net. I’m quite happy that children can be given a tablet for school or breakfast, paid for by my taxes.

Am I fucked off rhat I’m working full time AND homeschooling? Yes I am, but that’s not the fault of people who get benefits and comparing myself to people who are furloughed so have time to spend would be ridiculous as they might not be in work in the longer term.

I hope you find a way of navigating your own frustrations with this situationthat won’t cause you to have longer term resentment and anger. It’s not healthy.

Just not being able to go out to eat is around £400 a month. Commuting costs and new clothes as I haven't bought almost nothing new for this year. Expending more on groceries and energy but not enough to cancel the savings. We've been lucky. Many of my colleagues lost their jobs.

We have saved more money. But we are not spending extra on the things you are. We don’t have takeaways and the children have loads of toys from Christmas and birthdays to keep them going. The money we saved though has allowed us to buy new bedroom furniture. But I don’t see that as ‘lockdown has cost us more because we spend X in bedroom furniture’. More ‘because of lockdown we’ve been able to spend X on furniture.
I think you’ve just swapped your spending from X to Y. But if you don’t buy Y then you will save money!

Not using much petrol & not paying out for school dinners has helped us

We are much better off financially, but it has not been worth the emotional toil.
DH is a school teacher, and teaching online has been so much more work then normal, attempting to provide work that is engaging and easier for parents to help, he is heartbroken the kids are suffering so much.

I am NHS and redeployed to Covid ITU, we haven’t been blessed with children so I am doing mostly 14hr night shifts as others cannot due to child care.

We are earning the same (plus over time for me as they are desperately on their knees for staff). Between shifts the exhaustion and toil hits so not spending anything.

I think we are very lucky that we aren’t on the breadline struggling to feed children etc, but personally the financial gains do not placate the emotional toil on mental health.

£4K saving on commuting costs pa, not buying new clothes (minimal clothes for DS1 and DS2 as they are mostly living in pyjamas), no eating out or takeaways (slightly offset by higher food bills but a net win), no swimming or sports lessons, no holidays, and spending whole weeks at a time staying at my DMs caring for her (no utility bills for those periods and her paying for food). Only maintenance of house has been essential work.

We are both still working so have the same amount coming in. No commute for dh, only me so less spent on fuel. We purchased new books and art and craft stuff in the first lockdown. Kids are 4 and 3 so do not get bored very easily, jumping on a mound of cushions keeps them easily amused. Not travelled to see my family, no weekend breaks away. We stick to a budget for food shopping and takeaway is a treat once a week if that. We have purchased an exercise bike and are looking for a reasonably priced treadmill and of course utilities have gone up. Less online shopping, I would normally do more. I am not just popping to the shops whenever I feel like, previously £10-15 could get frittered away so easily. We purchased a printer in the last lockdown and already have Netflix and disneyplus.

Not paying commuting costs, not paying for me popping into Tesco every morning for a breakfast roll and picking up a couple of extras each time, no breakfast and after school club fees, no meeting friends for lunch or coffee.

We have an occasional takeaway, but usually just cook. No meals out, no cinema, no day trips. I'm sure we've saved money.

Simply not paying for holidays has saved us £10k in a year.

So we had a lot of work done on the house last year but that was planned - they started 2 weeks before the March lockdown and left in November - that was fun! So I am not counting those outgoings as they were pre-planned and saved for.
Fortunately neither myself nor my husband have been made redundant or taken a loss in earnings - we count ourselves very lucky as we know many others who have lost their jobs. We already had Netflix and Prime.
The biggest outgoings due to pandemic has been buying a desk for me; DS1 we got him a tablet for his lessons; weekly shop has gone up circa £30; Disney + and paper and printing ink!
Where we have saved is petrol, sports clubs, not going out for meals or take aways, no days out, no holidays, no clothes shopping etc
I definitely think we have saved money during this pandemic

All families have different life styles. My other half has been WFH since last March. I am retired and have been at home for some time. we save on fuel, £60 per week for what is normally a daily 80mile round trip. Only car in use so it's a huge saving. I usually manage to clock up 12000 a year in my car (including holidays). I have barely managed 5000 since March 2020. No horse riding for DD, no eating out, no bus pass fees for teen son. I would agree that we probably eat more, but generally speaking, if you really want to, it is an ideal time to save money.

Saving as won't eat takeaways
cooking all meals from scratch ,much cheaper

We're both wfh so we've saved a lot on commuting (petrol for me, train fare and station parking for DH). Also on holidays, socialising and childcare (after school club for DS2). Yes we're spending a bit more on food, but it's small in comparison.

Even if you aren't saving money yourself, surely you could understand or imagine how others are?! I never understand the inability to see past your own circumstances. It's always been a thing on mumsnet but covid seems to have accentuated it!

I can understand how some others are. Others however have to spend more eg heating on all day as working from home, more to feed as children not at university and spouse not out getting work subsidised lunch etc etc

@midnightstar66

Even if you aren't saving money yourself, surely you could understand or imagine how others are?! I never understand the inability to see past your own circumstances. It's always been a thing on mumsnet but covid seems to have accentuated it!

I think its more that the OP is in denial that they arent great with money tbh.

So how can anyone save money rather than oh crap I spent too much

Fuel bills hugely decreased. No more takeaway coffees, lunches, quick trips to the supermarket, meals out, cinema trip, holidays (no more joy 🤣).

No more clothes because we're not going out. Except the food, heating and gas have gone up, the cost of clothing the kids has gone up.

I have bought things for our house and garden to make it more comfortable for us to live in at the moment such as work equipment etc.

My heating bill has never been so high but apart from that, every other expense has gone down here.

There's quite a bit I won't waste money on again too... thoughtless takeout coffees, eating out in places that really aren't that great, gym membership, too many clothes and makeup.

To be honest the heating bills here are only partially covid related. The cold weather this year has been ongoing and pretty relentless. We've had waiters in the last few years where that heating hasn't been needed much at all but this year we've needed it a lot more than usual

We are lucky to have both worked full time during the pandemic (husband took a 20% pay cut for first three months of lockdown but back to full pay since.)
We don't have any TV subscription packages (iplayer and All4 are fine for us plus 2 DC ages 11 and 14.)
Weekly food shop has increased but no holidays, mini breaks, shopping trips, petrol, clubs etc really adds up.
We've done some DIY and bought a new bed for DD, armchair and second hand sideboard, but also listed unwanted stuff on selling sites (which funds the occasional treat like a takeaway.)
We've managed to put away £10.5k so far, which may come in handy if our house sale doesn't complete before the stamp duty holiday ends!!

I've been working the whole time and have in fact done quite a bit of OT to cover sick colleagues (not working from home).
However, because I'm bored I'm buying more expensive gadgets for the home and loads of clothes (trying to re-vamp my wardrobe so I will look like a goddess when we emerge).
I eat and drink out a bit normally, but not at expensive places, so the supermarket price increases have swallowed that up.
Holidays I guess are the biggest savings and a bit of petrol money.

No childcare costs because my manager is working my hours around the schools keyworker provision. Less traffic on the roads so less petrol costs. What was taking an hour and a half in traffic is now taking 45 minutes.