Saving money (covid related)

[gimmethesimplelife]

Just curious - is covid helping you save money in a way?

I can think of one thing I wanted to buy for 24.99 but I passed. I just couldn't part with 24.99 given the reality of the covid economy and how many are suffering.

I just can't see spending money right now on things that are not life and death - and given Arizona's covid resurgence I'm even including local travel in this. Rob

[Yppej]

Yes. I have no desire to put on a mask to go shopping so only go for essentials. I think the economy will only recover when mask mandates go away.

[Teacher Terry]

Yes we saved money by not going out to eat and not drinking. I did spend some of it on new clothes since I lost 30lbs and a few things for the house before I knew that I was divorcing. I shop online and amazingly most of the clothes have fit. We get carry out much less than we ate out.

[jp1]

Not me. We spent way more money than I've ever spent in my life a few months ago. Since then SO has dropped several thousand dollars more furnishing that purchase.

[ToomuchStuff]

Not really. It has cut into convenience trips (need x to fix y, etc), or the one store that I would just go "look/shop", it has cost in other ways. USPS misdelivered a bill and the person that received it, overwrote who the check was to. (same check, been cashed twice), think the same people tried an ACH transfer as well (cost me time and had to close my bill paying account that I have had since the 80's). Friend that died, leaves me pet and I am buying the house, so bigger expenses. Becoming an owner of the business, so more costs and headaches, etc.

[pinkytoe]

Definitely. No more eating out and carry out only every 2-3 weeks. No travel back home since Sept so only a tank of gas every month and a half. No thrift store visits. No haircuts. Canceling amazon prime this month and will order anything online from other vendors. Cancelling local newspaper. The savings account goes up and up.

[razz]

I have donated 3 times my usual annual donations so no saving for me. I need so little in food, clothes, etc., and am so comfortable in my home and life as it is.

[happystuff]

Trying to save and definitely socking the gov. checks away, but prices for food and now gas are still going up, so I think it is turning into a wash.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Less than you would think. So I save money in gas not commuting to work. But that is largely made up for in increased electricity bills for heating and cooling and lights and computer being that I'm home 24/7. I got faster internet to work from home that's another extra monthly expense. I save money since I quit my gym membership, if I felt it was safe I would rejoin the gym in a second. I have bought much less clothes, like almost none although I got shoes, because trying them on doesn't feel safe. I don't make big purchases like furniture but I was putting those off anyway, it's not like I'm buying furniture all the time. I've gotten a few small refunds from auto insurance and the like. I haven't had car maintenance as I barely drive. I discovered cash back credit cards since I no longer use cash.

I mean what else do I even buy? A few used books and the occasional thing for the house, yea I've bought those still - mostly online, made a rare trip to a big box. I've spent a ton of money on masks. I've bought really expensive toilet paper etc.. Sometimes gone to more expensive grocery stores to avoid crowds.

[Chicken lady]

I think we’re spending more. Less on gas, more on take out to help our favorite restaurants, keeping the heat up upstairs during the day because we’re both home and I’m teaching in the woodstove zone, so Dh needs to be upstairs and electric heat his workspace, buying things for the baby (not covid related), donated our concert subscription money, shipped all the Christmas stuff, bought 2x as many gifts to help strangers this year, helped buy an election ��, purchased a bunch of stuff for Dh to finally finish things he has time for around the house, replaced the truck because we had to soon and couldn’t imagine a better deal, running the dishwasher more often because I’m baking - healthier but not cheaper, feeding the chickens a lot of fruits and veggies because curbside pick up keeps giving us stuff that is basically compost, tattler lids (which it turns out I like and will be cheaper long term) because they were all I could get this year.

I’m showering at home more days a week because my $15/month health club is closed - but I don’t know how the shower compared to gas, that’s probably a save?

[bae]

I think I'm spending a fair bit less overall. Not nearly as much for dining out, or food to cook at home, or for entertaining at home. Less on various home-repair projects as I'm doing more myself instead of hiring workers. Far far less on travel.

[frugal-one]

Sadly not spending any money on take-out or restaurant food, hardly any gas for the car, can't go for haircuts, travel is out, not paying much more for food than normal, utilities the same since we are retired.

[catherine]

All my restaurant budget (in other years $160/mo) and most of my "splurge food" budget (in other years $100) is going to regular groceries, and it does seem we are spending a couple of hundred more on food, mainly because we rely on the local markets that have somewhat higher prices than supermarkets, because we can't buy food in bulk and we are trying to support the local agricultural economy.

We had a COVID wedding so you could say that that's a big expense, but it would have been a lot bigger if the wedding hadn't been downsized due to COVID.

We saved on not "snowbirding" to New Jersey. (Autocorrect kept changing snowbirding to snowboarding--we definitely did not snowBOARD to NJ this year)

Net-net we did not save a penny this year, but next year will be different.

[SteveinMN]

I guess we're spending less. I could look it up, but... :) I know we're staying afloat on the reduced income we get from DW's pension (plus a pension of mine) so we're saving some money.

Less travel, of course, and less fuel needed for both cars (though DW's gas bill is rising due to commuting between here and DD's and DMiL's). Saving bigly on haircuts now that I'm not going to the barber every 4-5 weeks and DW decided to go naturally gray.

We've been getting takeout once a week from a local indy restaurant (more than we used to eat out); otherwise, every meal is cooked at home and the grocery bill shows it. We've also reduced the number of trips we make to the supermarket. I used to have no problem buying most of what we needed at one store except for what was on sale at another; now I just pick up what we want where I'm buying everything else (unless the price is just ridiculous). The heating bill is higher because both of us are home and one of us needs to have it warmer than the other does.

We've donated the stimulus money that's come in, ate a couple of gift certificates we'd purchased for leisure last year (those places are hurting, too), and somehow managed to max out our dental copay.

Next year likely won't be better financially. We figure most of the year will look like this year, but we're planning on some remodeling and (looking more likely) some purchases to replace some appliances and furniture that have done their time and then some. We can do some of the remodeling ourselves but won't want to do all of it. So we'll see....

[mschrisgo2]

Definitely saved. I’ve spent way less on gas, from March through June, only $40. Total on gas. Averaging about $30/month since then, compared to average of $200/month. Almost no bridge tolls. Less car maintenance, and my tires will last a couple of years longer than previously projected.

No haircuts- I used to wear it short so got a cut every 6 weeks, long now and I’m probably not going back to Short.

Almost no fast food- no grabbing a burrito or burger just because I’m out and about at lunch time- and no dining out, actually planning and cooking meals, healthier and way less expensive.

Two cancelled vacation trips, easily $2000 there.

Since I’m home, I’m able to adjust the heaters throughout the day, and even though December was very cold and damp And our rates have gone up, my December gas and electric bill was $30-40 less than previous years.

After needing to make several returns, I’ve delayed buying clothes until I can actually try them on (I’ve lost weight, yay!) My closet is pretty lean at this point, but better that than stuffed, messy, with things worn out or not fitting well, or synthetic fabrics that I hate.

Cancelled my Prime membership, because I hadn’t seen a 2-day delivery in 4 months, and now have satellite internet, so much is easily accessible for entertainment.

I’m now debt free (paid off the big vet bill from April), and my credit card, have healthy savings, and a good supply freeze-dried food, and a 5 month supply of dog food.

I’ve also completed a lot of little projects I had sitting around- and ditched a couple completely that had passed their “best by” date, LOL.

Living not “tiny” but small, and feeling rich beyond measure!

[happystuff]

Wow, mschrisgo2! Congrats!

[Teacher Terry]

Mschrisgo, you have accomplished so much. Congrats!!

[Gardnr]

Just curious - is covid helping you save money in a way?

I can think of one thing I wanted to buy for 24.99 but I passed. I just couldn't part with 24.99 given the reality of the covid economy and how many are suffering.

I just can't see spending money right now on things that are not life and death - and given Arizona's covid resurgence I'm even including local travel in this. Rob

Sadly, yes. No travel and no 3-4 restaurant meals each week. now we might get restaurant fare 2x/month? Sometimes not.

I was last at the grocery store Dec 23.

I did spend $ online buying/shipping clothing items to 2 girls who lost everything and a disabled/fixed income friend has taken them in temporarily. $350 well spent!

[Rogar]

My last auto insurance billing actually dropped by about twenty five percent, with the explanation that there had been less travel and fewer accidents. Which seems appropriate since I've only filled up with gas about every other month for some time. I don't have dental insurance and have saved a few hundred by not having routine cleaning and checkups. Maybe a hundred to so a month on restaurant meals and and another few hundred on cancelled theater tickets. Possibly a smaller amount by doing more scratch cooking and bread making.

It doesn't add up to a huge amount and there has been a little comfort spending and extra donations to partially off set. I suspect people who have spent larger amounts on leisure or luxury travel might be the big savers.

[iris lilies]

Like everyone else, we took no trips this year so we’re certainly saving on travel. But there sure are a lot of Amazon boxes finding their way to my address… Just the packaging alone horrifies me.

[Tradd]

IL, I’ve been selling some scuba gear online and the boxes from incoming orders have been recycled for the stuff I’ve sold.

[iris lilies]

IL, I’ve been selling some scuba gear online and the boxes from incoming orders have been recycled for the stuff I’ve sold.

The bits of eBay selling I have done recently needs packaging. I go outside to our alley communal dumpster and pull packaging materials from the recycle bin. It is very handy.

This reminds me that I miss alleys in suburban developments and appreciate them SO MUCH. When did alleys leave us in urban planning? After WWII? I guess.

[Yppej]

The bits of eBay selling I have done recently needs packaging. I go outside to our alley communal dumpster and pull packaging materials from the recycle bin. It is very handy.

This reminds me that I miss alleys in suburban developments and appreciate them SO MUCH. When did alleys leave us in urban planning? After WWII? I guess.

In my area those are called milk roads, so maybe they went away when milk was no longer delivered. My neighborhood was built in the early 50's and we still have the alleys.

[jp1]

This reminds me that I miss alleys in suburban developments and appreciate them SO MUCH. When did alleys leave us in urban planning? After WWII? I guess.

I miss alleys too. The neighborhood I grew up in in Denver had them (it had been built in the 20’s) and it was great. We didn’t have to ‘put the trash out’ on trash day. And my friends and I routinely played in the alley because there was very little traffic. NyC and San Francisco, on the other hand have never had alleys. And the 70’s suburban subdivision where we live now doesn’t have them of course.

[Tradd]

Less than you would think. So I save money in gas not commuting to work. But that is largely made up for in increased electricity bills for heating and cooling and lights and computer being that I'm home 24/7. I got faster internet to work from home that's another extra monthly expense. I save money since I quit my gym membership, if I felt it was safe I would rejoin the gym in a second. I have bought much less clothes, like almost none although I got shoes, because trying them on doesn't feel safe. I don't make big purchases like furniture but I was putting those off anyway, it's not like I'm buying furniture all the time. I've gotten a few small refunds from auto insurance and the like. I haven't had car maintenance as I barely drive. I discovered cash back credit cards since I no longer use cash.

I mean what else do I even buy? A few used books and the occasional thing for the house, yea I've bought those still - mostly online, made a rare trip to a big box. I've spent a ton of money on masks. I've bought really expensive toilet paper etc.. Sometimes gone to more expensive grocery stores to avoid crowds.

This is pretty much me. Higher utility bills, but not by much. This winter has been pretty mild so far so I've been keeping the heat pretty low. I'm not driving for work, but I'll drive to dive, although I've not done that for the past month. I used to get lunch out (fast food, Subway, etc.) a lot before I got laid off from the previous job in late March. I often now go 5-6 days without driving. I'll only go outside to check the mail. Now that I'm home so much, my small 1BR place was getting feeling really crowded. I sold 6 scuba tanks and my single tank diving gear over the past 6-8 weeks. My savings account is fat now.

I had cancelled my gym membership in July, but then I was a sloth and restarted it when there was a deal. But then maybe 6 weeks after I started back, the covid case numbers were going up, so I stopped going mid-October. I've been trying YouTube workouts, which left me very unsatisfied. I just got an under desk cycle last week. I'm using it in front of the TV instead. I've been doing 30 minutes just about every day. I can get a really good workout. I've cancelled my gym membership again.

I grocery shop at the regular Chicago area chain store (Jewel) as I shop for me and my senior friend at the same time. What she wants isn't to be found at Aldi, where I shopped before the shutdown last spring. I'm probably saving some money. I really shop the sales. Nicer just going to one store once a week and I'm done. I also can get my allergy meds at the grocery store pharmacy, which is really convenient.

[Simplemind]

We have saved a ton. Not doing our volunteer work, visiting, going out, or getting groceries so we rarely need to buy gas. No salon visits. No gym memberships. No eating out, concerts or movies. No housekeepers during covid. Groceries are a little more spendy being delivered but not nearly as much as we spent going out. No need for new clothes. We usually gift each other travel for Christmas so that was out until further notice.