In what ways have you cut back on spending since the pandemic hit?

[meetkitty123]

Actually my family was doing AMAZING from March to Oct. My husband was receiving unemployment, we were saving on car expenses since we werent going anywhere, no more going to the movie, no more eating out. All we doent on was regular bills and groceries. We didn't need to buy clothes or new shoes because we were always home. By Sept I was able to saved over 9700. Which was awesome. We had a tax dept we had to pay of 10,320. We would finally able to get out of that dept! Just two more weeks until Nov and we be set to pay it... Oct 26 I look into the account to see if I can pay it early only to find my account which should have had about $10,400/$10,600 only had $1,900 🤬... MY HUSBAND GAMBLED AWAY OUR SAVINGS! If he hadn't we would have been able to pay our house taxes and still been in the positive especially since we were still waiting for our federal taxes to come in.
After October I had to cut cable, cut back on ordering pizza on Friday nights, I cancelled my bathbombs membership I quit buying organic we cut back on Christmas and 3 kings day spending, no February Vacation (we were planning a staycation) I began couponing and using store points. I was stricter on electricity and water use and Most importantly I applied for a job in the middle of the night on Oct 26 was called in for an Interview on the 27 and hired and started training on the 28th.
The biggest accomplishment came 2 weeks ago when I finally saved over $10,320 dollars and was FINALLY ABLE TO PAY THE HOUSE TAXES!

[mimi051998]

If it wasn't for Covid, I wouldn't have saved enough money to buy myself a new car. At the beginning of 2020, I stopped shopping because there wasn't a point if I'm not going anywhere right🤷🏾‍♀️. I saved that money for months to be able to get my dream car. I don't spend money on fast food again and lost a couple of pounds. Which was good for me anyway😆. So, I guess things turned out pretty good with me.

[matchrestore]

Prior to the CARES act and subsequent relief packages, it looked like we were going to have to tighten the belt significantly, as I work in the event industry and most of my work has dried up for the last year. Without additional payments from the relief bills my unemployment only paid about 55% of my regular income, meaning we would have had to cut out a significant amount a month.

• We cut a few streaming services, saving around $40 a month
• We cut cable and went internet only saving around $90 a month
• We shopped around for new homeowners insurance and auto insurance, saving around $125 a month
• We drove significantly less, and my wife (who still commuted to work daily) switched to driving my more fuel economical sedan, we figured that would be around $150 a month, but we never verified that
• We stopped eating out or getting coffee out completely, saving around $300 a month
• I refinanced my private student loans to a lower interest rate and longer term, saving $300 a month (but it will cost more over the life of the loan)

All of that adds up to around $1035 a month in savings, which only scratched the surface of what I stood to lose, the next step would have been daycare at $1000 a month.

It ended up that I still worked part-time, and collected unemployment due to reduced hours, and the additional payment on top of state unemployment meant I've averaged about what I made in 2019 in 2020. We've relaxed some of our belt tightening, but the savings in insurance, cable tv, student loans, and streaming services are still there, and the amount of our wages we keep each month has allowed us to start renovating our home with a good size down payment on a $93k construction project.

[MrWolf]

Me I've been piling that money as i do earn even more from my business.

But the wife spends even more which I don't like at all.

Sure vacation has been cut. And most things i spend money on but as much i increase those number's she decrease it fast.

So I've put a limit on her credit card because i had enough. And she did blow it in one day so no money from me till next month.

And i do take care of groceries and all the bills.
But the amount of makeup, shoes, dresses and stupid stuff she buys goes over the top.

I am actually very angry about this. Recently they did open restaurants and mall's and oh boy that spending machine is out of control sometimes.

But they seem to close again so i got that going for me which ain't rice but saving that money is nice.

So spending more indeed. And earning more indeed.

But if this goes on furhter I can't think the monster she will become.

Ain't fair sometimes.

[JDavid25]

That's not too bad at least you are spendin it on mostly essentials.. Just in your own words overspending it on that.. Well not the gambling.. And well, I since the lockdowns I haven't had to pay for 7 days bus passes which costed a decent amount.. So that saved me a bit of money.. Maybe.. I actually think I pay a bit more.. I think I'mma just get a monthly pass and not worry about it.. LOL.. And I don't buy a whole bunch of junk food anymore.. But yeah.. I usually try and save my money as much as I can..

[flamiE]

Mainly clothes and travelling expenses lol I live in leggings these days and I’m not even ashamed to admit it. It feels like there’s just no need to buy clothes 😂 and I travel only to the store 😂😂 that’s been my main destination for a year now, I change it up every now and then so I don’t get bored lmao I don’t think what I spend on petrol is nearly as much as what I used to spend on public transport pre-pandemic.
I most definitely am spending the “saved” money on other things though. I’m just trying to go through the pandemic. Lol

[CrazyGirl2]

I guess my partying went to zero for a lot of 2020, so I was able to bank some serious coinage. I have a trust fund, so I usually paid for everyone to get into clubs etc… paid for their drinks sometimes when a friend would say “oh I can't go out, i dont have anything to wear, I’d literally buy my friends some new clothes! Growing up near Disney with TONS of things for kids to do was cool. But it put a strain on my allowance from the trust fund. I didn’t realize how quickly money just went, or how MUCH just went, until those first two months! Because I dindu nothin’! And I banked like 3 GRAND! And I STILL had insurance for my jeep, and my internet and phone bills, and still did some on-line shopping. So, if anything it taught me to maybe spend less taking my single friends out, and spend more time with my boyfriend!

[razelove]

Well, daycare would be the obvious one, but not being able to work is a pretty heavy blow. Not so much financially as to sense of self, I am now defined by my marriage and children rather than anything I do or have done.

It does make me wonder a lot, like how far not just as a society, but as a planet we've gone to stop this virus from spreading... What would have happened if HIV or any other "novel" viruses were treated as seriously when they were discovered? There is a decent chance to see this fade away like polio if inoculations roll out smoothly for the general public.

[exitseven]

We haven't been eating out. I didn't go to my summer house at all last summer. I fill the tank on my truck once a month if that.
I spent a lot on home improvements. I did a lot of the work myself but I did hire a contractor to do some of the stuff I couldn't do.

[hannah7]

On January 1 I cancelled my Netflix and my cable TV. Saves 83 dollars a month. I bought a really nice antenna for 55 dollars, we live in a big city and can get at least 20 channels with that. Paid for itself the first month.

I got refunds for all the vacations I booked in 2020, but that's not a permanent reduction, I saved my vacation days and will take them this year or next year :)

[Anonymous]

In May, 2020, my now-ex made false allegations and had me arrested for domestic violence, I was released but couldn't return back to my home, even though it was leased solely in my name. I had to do an eviction and when I finally got back in the house, she had emptied the contents. I spent about $10,000 replacing things in my house. No, my spending has not decreased.

[Meldrum]

My cable is less than $100, I set up a budget for my gas and electric @ $150 a month. My groceries average around $300 a month and I sometimes get BK special. No home phone. I had one for fax but I don't send or receive them anymore. $70 a month for vehicle insurance, $430 a month for lot rent. My phone is usually around $80 a month.

No house to deal with, with the huge utility bills every month.

[Wiredone]

We have fast food once a month instead of dinning out on the weekends. That saved $300. We don't go out anymore we just stay home and watch tv. I only buy what is needed, not what I want. I put all the vehicles on one insurance policy. That saved me $400 a month. I stopped buying snacks all together, $100 savings a month. I'm working more now so I make more money and putting more in my retirement fund. I just wish uncle sam would stop putting his hand out for money all the time.

[Anonymous]

Damn things are expensive in the US. 120 for internet and 180 for cable? Per month? 100 phone bill? Are there no cheaper alternatives? I pay 15, 15 and 25 per month for those.

Anyway my spending hasn’t changed, I’ve been focused on making more money.

[Not_Average]

I’ve increased my spending since covid considering I’ve more grown my wealth through this pandemic dramatically. Crypto currency and buying at the bottom of the market in March has changed my life a lot. No longer have to cut back or worry about bills 😎

[Tstrbrainer]

No much change, I don't spend much, but if you start spending more suddenly, it's difficult to change it suddenly.

And 8k dollars💰? Are you kidding me 😲?
It's cool, but still, it's quite more than what many families make in a year in many countries

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

I've managed to keep what I can in my bank, I can't afford to spend much I'm going to try to buy a new laptop cause this one I'm on keeps shutting down with errors so I'm debating on what brand to go with, I'm so sick of Dell, HP I swear them SOBS sell their computers with viruses or malware so will see what I can do but I got budget?

[Hans222]

I've simply not spent the money you can't spend... bars & restaurants are closed.
That's about it. Fortunately I kept my job and have been quite busy so the salary was safeguarded 😄👍

[0112358]

Still spending too much eating out - even more than before. But a lot of costs have dropped. Personal training for me and kids sports - gone. Gas down. Transit for commuting has been zero.

[MikeTheBartender]

Tell us about the 8k?

I work in essential labor so I actually worked more and made more money than usual.

[BUNroaster]

buying 3 black market Nintendo Switches, and 3 Animal Crossing games. Paying someone monthly for a PS5 and subscribing for an Xbox Series X $35 dollars a month payment deal. I guess that counts right? I dont even play games much

[Almost10inch4funlol]

i simply realized how much i spend on eating out 😂🤦🏽‍♂️ so i cook more now