Money now nearly a year after COVID hit

[Candystriper29]

Have name changed for this as it’s a bit outing when linked to my other threads.
How has everyone managed financially since March? We are stuffed now. Our Italian restaurant business has folded, we are now on UC. All extras stopped Such a change from this time last year.

No change. I'm a full time carer for my daughter and our benefits are the same amount as they were in March.

So fucking screwed.

DP lost his job in October, as the business closed down, then this month I lost my PIP and due to Covid there are massive delays in assessing people.

We have no savings because we ran through those in the first lockdown. The only saving grace is that we now get full housing benefit, so at least we don't have to worry about rent.

But I honestly don't know what we are going to do next month, DP does have a new job buts its casual work, so I am not sure whether this is better (so no gaps on CV) or take a risk and remain on unemployement, where at least we know we are going to get something

Left my job just before lockdown, but with a payout. It took a lot longer than I'd have expected to find another, but I also managed to cut back quite a bit so the payout lasted fairly well. I've just started a new job, but the salary is about 10% lower.

In all, a bit worse off, but no real problems

We’re both emergency service workers so have worked all the way through. Our children are adults so no home schooling. We’ve had several holidays cancelled, like most people but have been refunded. We’ve saved about 20 grand with not being to holiday or go out. I was very unwell with covid for a couple of months before Christmas and still haven’t quite recovered, but thankfully my children and husband have been fine.
I know we’ve been extremely lucky and we’re very grateful for that. I really feel for families who are struggling, both financially and mentally. It’s been a complete shit show of a year.

@giddyasakipper

DH owns pubs in London. He is not entitled to any benefits and has had little to no income since lockdown started. Virtually no help from the government and all rent/business rates still expected to be paid.

Thankfully I work from home on the same salary as before but he is looking at losing the last 10 years of hard work and money he's put into this business.

This is heartbreaking for him. How lucky that you are still able to work. This thread is helpful in terms of empathy. So sorry to everyone who is so much worse off. DH is furloughed, so we are marginally worse off, when transport costs are taken into account.

Oh works in construction so no change here.

I am so sorry to everyone who has been hit financially over the last year. It is bloody awful

We have managed to save a lot more than usual due to a cancelled holiday, childcare being closed for months, kids activities all closed down etc. However my MH has never been as bad due to the stress of work (NHS), juggling shifts with DHs shifts to cover childcare and home school. I also have been left with lingering long covid symptoms after contracting it in work and not taking long enough off as I needed to get back to help my colleagues.

I work in healthcare so about the same.
Bot sure how much we've saved because we couldn't do much. But I think we are luckily about the same as last year.

It’s definitely a case of some people are doing really well and saving heaps of money - some people have suffered badly and have nothing coming in!

My husband and I have been working from home since March!

Got a few flights we had booked refunded

We aren’t going out at all - Cooking all our food at home, no commuting !

We are managing to save loads - only thing that’s costing us more is electricity

I don’t think there’s a middle ground - it’s one or the other more money or no money :(

And it’s all luck of the draw what bloody industry you happened to work in before Covid 😩 it’s awful

Not much difference either way apart from plans being on pause. I handed in my notice in January 2020 to return to freelance work around my toddler; the plan being I would start with the client I'd already set up at first and then take on more clients and put DD into childcare. That hasn't happened and I'm earning a third of what I planned to be by now, but we're not worse off than when on maternity leave.
DH's salary has been unaffected. No great difference to costs other than cancelled holidays and no evenings out (although they were already fairly infrequent but would have been increasing by now!)

DH works in travel and spent the vast majority of last year on 80% of salary - fortunately he works for a large, international company that is doing better in other regions, so no large scale redundancies (yet!) - athough he did make a very lucky in hindsight move from contracting to permanent a couple of years ago, otherwise he would have been let go at the first chance.

I've been a SAHM for the last 10 years and had been planning to go back to Uni for some postgrad stuff this year - the reduction in DH's salary wiped out the money for the fees so it hasn't happened, plus the industry I was planning on heading into (arts based) has currently been decimated, so I'm not sure it's such a good plan now.

Not ideal, but things could be so much worse.

No change here. I was on mat leave from March - December so my income was lower, but planned for. My DH was furloughed for a few months but at 100% pay. He was then put at risk of redundancy but then got a new job on a marginally better salary, so slight benefit there. Its also for the council so relatively secure.

My work has never been busier so no risk for me to lose my job.

With our daughter now in childcare we are technically worse off, but it was a known worse off and not due to covid.

Same incomes here as we are still working (key workers)
I’ve also ways been bad at managing finances, however I’ve noticed that we seem to have spent loads during lockdown. Savings haven’t been the same. Not really bought anything expensive recently either 🤷‍♀️

This time last year DH had a new job lined up (took a few months off in between), I was pregnant and we were about to move.

Then I found out baby had a severe chromosomal issue at 25 weeks. DH let go from his job the day before he even started. Had to drop out of the house purchase.

DS is doing better than expected and we’re just about surviving on my maternity pay and a very low paid contract for DH. Squished into a one bed flat.

We had such an awful few years before hand and I remember us coming back from viewing the new place saying ‘we’ve made it at last’. Oh how wrong we were!

@Bargebill19 what industrial cleaning is it?

Savings...I haven't worked since March, no UC or other assistance. It was money saved for house deposit.

@FedUpAtHomeTroels

So sorry to hear your resturant has gone. I'm still working as normal (nurse) but one of my sons is in the resturant industry and furlough is hard, He wasn't contracted for anywhere near the hours he actually worked, so now lives on 80% of 12 hours a week, instead of the 40-50 hours he used to work. He applying for everything he finds and we are trying to help keep him afloat as best we can. It sucks!

That's disgraceful, why didn't his employers work out an average of hours worked to base his furlough claim on.

Husbands job went with first lockdown (he was usually away in Europe twice per month but with no travel they froze his contract as he needed to be onsite). I was starting mat leave at the time so not ideal. He got a job after a few months but it’s a temp contract on significantly less money but it’s a job and the bills are paid. We will be fine I’m back to work soon as a HCP and I’m probably going to go back more hours than we had originally planned and pick up overtime to try and get us evened out.

So sorry to hear about your restaurant OP

No change for us as DH and I have both been working throughout (mainly wfh). Saved on commuting costs. But DH's brother is struggling massively (self employed) and three close friends have lost their jobs.

DH has worked as normal throughout. I was furloughed and then made redundant in the autumn. Going self-employed now but have had to make spending cuts.

Income is down slightly, DH has lost all OT, but we’re both KW so jobs are secure.

Outgoings have reduced a fair bit

We’re trying as much as we can to support small and local businesses and will continue to do this in the future.

Sorry to all those struggling, it’s really tough.

No change. Both wfh full time. Saving money due to no commuting, lunches out, work clothes etc.

About the same I think. Saving a fair amount by WfH etc, but we are spending that on tutoring for the children because their provision from school is rubbish. So no better or worse off I guess.

We are still getting things like take aways and buying from local businesses .

We're ok, Dh teacher and I'm prof services wfh. Took a 20% paycut from March to October but saving on commute, childcare etc so could absorb it.

Many of my friends are not in the same position so I'm aware we are very fortunate.