Lockdown Spender Or Saver ?

In the past year, everything spending and saving have changed. While one group may claim to have less because of lockdowns others are claiming to have more disposable income. Spending and saving activities need to be monitored in lockdown. As you may think you have extra money.

Are You Being a Lockdown Spender or Saver

Maybe your spending and saving habits have changed drastically since the first lockdowns were introduced. You could have been a party goer and everything you earned was for squandering in clubs and bars. Or you might be the type of person who would not spend Christmas.

These are two extremes but if you ask yourself the question. “What kind of spender/saver am I”compared to one year ago?” I can safely say your spending and saving habits have changed quite drastically since the introduction of lockdowns.

Where you are probably Spending Less.

Many people have been put out of work and on emergency payments. Naturally, people will not be spending so much and businesses have closed sadly. Mostly because people seem to be unable to use them as they are classified as nonessential services. Here are just a few examples of things you can’t do on lockdown depending on the level. So you are basically saving on these things especially in a level 5 lockdown.

Money Spent Eating in Restaurants

With most restaurants closed this is a place where people have definitely cut back on spending. However many miss the socializing part of it. You could be not saving anything because you are spending as much on junk food from takeaways.

Going to Bars/Clubs

With these closed many will be saving a solid fortune think about how much you saved. Not going on on St Patrick’s Day or New Year’s Eve alone. Never mind the regular party-goers who are out every night or at least weekend think how much they are saving.

Clothing Haircuts and Cosmetics

2020 turned out to be the year the home or DIY haircut came into fashion. With no need to go out in public many people have ditched the expensive cosmetics and clothing. They have done a lot of DIY hair tutorial searching so savings there also.

Going on holidays and transportation in general.

Lower petrol and diesel prices are not much use when all you can travel is inside your own county. If you go on holiday your not going to find many worldwide destinations where everything is open as normal.

Sports Club Membership and Event Tickets.

Besides Gyms and fitness centers being closed and refunding memberships. You could also be a supporter of a club and not have been spending on game tickets and travel to matches.

Where you are Probably Spending More

Take out delivery costs

If you look at the data for the past year for “Take out Near Me”. You can see it has reached almost a breakout point in the past 12 months. That is showing many are starting to order takeouts online using services like deliveroo and just eat.

Money Spent Drinking at Home

While it may be fun to have a few beers at home on the weekends. When it starts becoming a daily habit even drinking cheap beer and wine can become expensive. Research has shown that in the UK home drinking has reached a worrying level. With over a quarter of people saying they have drunk more during the lockdown in the UK and beyond.

Furniture and Home Renovation spending

It’s perfectly natural to start seeing flaws in something the more you look at it just see this post about 8 great masterpieces with flaws. With people sitting around the house in lockdown most of the day and night they will easily tire of the furnishings then we are spending and saving nothing in lockdown. That sofa was fine for a few hours in the evening but when you are stuck on it most of the day and you have extra money you may not think twice about buying a new one, the same goes for other household furnishings like curtains and flooring.

Gardens Patios and Sheds splashing out on the Garden

A quarter of US Adults started gardening since the first covid-19 outbreak. Since the garden is a great place to get some exercise and fresh air and also grow some organic foods and flowers. Sadly however there has been an increase in the sales of pesticides that can be easily avoided and these very expensive products can be substituted in most cases. For example, uses your beer slops for beer traps to stop slugs orange peels to keep cats away from your flower bed, and many more ways to be spending less and saving more.

Cost of Home Gym Equipment and Services

On one side you may have got your gym membership back and are not spending so much money on sports. However, on the other hand peloton, a home workout solution based on a smart exercise bike system has near doubled in 2020. You could also be overspending for skype styled personal home workouts. This is an area of spending and saving you could look into a little more.

Spending and saving with Online Shopping

Shopping online can be a great money saver. But just like regular stores offering buy 1 get on half-price deals for stuff you don’t need. When we shop online it’s easy to overspend just because you are getting cheaper delivery or you think that you cant get the product in the area.

Extra Costs on Entertainment Goods and Services

Game consoles, TVs, Smartphones, Tablets, Paid apps and games, Computers and Laptops, and many more devices to keep you entertained during the lockdown. This market has seen a real boost since people are sitting at home more often. Below is the reason people bought an electronic device during the pandemic lockdowns alone.

Then you have a boost in service users for sites like Netflix, Hulu, and a few others plus more traditional pay-per-view services and cable network subscriptions.

How is your spending or saving during lockdown ?.

So how is your spending or saving working out have you started spending more or less since lockdowns began?. 

Are you spending more in lockdown?

Have you become totally frugal with your spending ?. 

Maybe you are spending much the same?

However, you are spending or saving let us know in the comments maybe you have some valuable tips to share and not just the 50 30 20 rule.