How will spending habits change post-COVID?

[james.hendrickson]

So, last Friday I looked at my spending for April. Its way down across the board because I was working from home due to Covid-19.

Here is a snapshot of my notebook tracker.

The downside is my fitness also was worse that week also. I'm still working on what I can to do keep losing weight.

[disneysteve]

So, last Friday I looked at my spending for April. Its way down across the board because I was working from home due to Covid-19.

Here is a snapshot of my notebook tracker.

James, I have no idea what that photo is supposed to illustrate. You went to Whole Foods and bought groceries and whatever that last $4.25 was. How did your April spending compare to a typical month?

[james.hendrickson]

Disneysteve, its way down from a typical month - I spent like $200 bucks on food and whatnot in April. The $4.25 was for a movie on YouTube Movies.

[disneysteve]

Disneysteve, its way down from a typical month

As expected. I think most people, even those who are still working, are finding their spending down a lot. There just isn't all of the usual places and ways to go out and spend money. Sure you can shop online or pay for entertainment like a movie rental (which we did once also) but overall, I think most people are just staying home and using things they already have to keep busy. I know we've watched more Netflix and Prime Video than usual.

Now the real benefit will come to those who use this opportunity to beef up their savings. Maybe start an EF if they don't already have one who pump it up a bit if you do. Even if it's putting aside an extra $100 or $200 that didn't get spent since the quarantine began, it would be a big help going forward.

[james.hendrickson]

As expected. I think most people, even those who are still working, are finding their spending down a lot. There just isn't all of the usual places and ways to go out and spend money.

Thats exactly right. I read in Bloomberg that consumer spending is down by about 7.5%.

[~bs]

You spent $50 on groceries for the whole month? That's pretty crazy!

[james.hendrickson]

You spent $50 on groceries for the whole month? That's pretty crazy!

Well, it was like $200...but still, its much less than previous months.

[~bs]

Oh, i thought that was for the entire month. Still, $200 is good, even for one person. and im assuming you have a family.

[disneysteve]

Oh, i thought that was for the entire month.

The picture is confusing since there's no context. We have no idea what the numbers represent.

The point, of course, is that most of us are spending less - sometimes a lot less - as a result of being stuck at home.

[Like2Plan]

Our spending has gone down because we are not traveling. There are some places we still want to see. This break has not made me want to travel any less, but DH and I are still trying to wrap our heads around what the new normal is.

[disneysteve]

Our spending has gone down because we are not traveling. There are some places we still want to see. This break has not made me want to travel any less, but DH and I are still trying to wrap our heads around what the new normal is.

Same here. I'm very ready for at least a weekend getaway. We were just saying that this morning. If for no other reason than that we've been home with our daughter 24/7 since March 13th. It would be nice to have some time just the two of us, have a couple of nice meals, and hang out together somewhere other than in our family room.

Lack of dining out and lack of travel are saving us a bunch of money, but I'd rather have that spending restored.

[breathemusic]

Ugh, I think I'm an outlier here in that my spending has likely increased. I'm actually getting more take-out now than I ever did before because it's one of the few ways I can social distance and see a partner of mine that I don't live with. We walk to get a meal and eat our separate take-out and stay apart and wear masks. Sure, we could pack a picnic dinner and each bring out own, and I might suggest that we do more of that, but I also have been not minding supporting local small businesses.

At home, we also got 2 puppies now that we have 3 adults all home full time and able to train them (our previous dog passed last fall and we finally were feeling ready to have another), and we've also been spending a lot of our quarantine time working on house projects, which means expenses to fix up various things. I'm certainly not sad about it since most of this is all stuff that we had been planning to do at one point or another anyway. It does help that my nesting partner and I are both getting back more in taxes this year than we first thought, now that we finally filed (we actually thought we were going to owe, hence putting it off, turns out we're actually getting a nice chuck back, so happy surprise!).

Long term technically we'll save on travel and things of that nature, so it will likely all balance out. But short term it doesn't feel like it.

[cypher1]

I'm actually getting more take-out now than I ever did before because it's one of the few ways I can social distance and see a partner of mine that I don't live with.

Same here. Since I'm saving more with less driving, I've been treating myself to eat out 1-2 times a week. My favorite chinese restaurant is now open during stay in order. So I've been trying to support them more, by buying more food and having leftovers. Getting a little burned out on cooking at home, although grilling is back in session.

[bjl584]

Disneysteve, its way down from a typical month - I spent like $200 bucks on food and whatnot in April. The $4.25 was for a movie on YouTube Movies.

How did you make it out of a Whole Foods spending less than $13? lol

[disneysteve]

How did you make it out of a Whole Foods spending less than $13? lol

Maybe he just went in for lunch.