I have to admit I never thought I’d be writing those words!
While being at home for days on end has definitely been rough on pretty much everyone, the pandemic has given at least some of us the opportunity to save some money. Here are the main four areas people are saving money in during the pandemic:
- Commuting
- Eating out
- Drinking
- Travelling
1. Commuting
My husband takes the train to work every day. At two times a day, five times a week, that really adds up. With him now working full time at home, we’ve saved a lot of money on commuting costs. As well, we’ve been able to decrease the insurance on one of our cars as we really aren’t using it these days. So we’ve definitely saved money on commuting!
2. Eating out
Normally we’d go get takeout once a week. However, we decided to skip it for several weeks as we felt it just wasn’t worth the risk. As well, my husband would go buy a cup of coffee a few times a day while at work, so we’re also saving money on that (although we are spending more on coffee at home now!). I think a lot of people we know are following the same pattern – they just don’t want to deal with the risk of picking up food, so they’re avoiding it completely.
3. Drinking
We’re past the stage in life where we’d go to clubs or go out for drinks with co-workers. But for people who do this on a regular basis, they are definitely saving a lot of money. In a big city like Toronto, drinks can often cost up to $10 apiece, so if you go out for drinks a few times a week and now you’re not – you could be saving a lot of money.
4. Travelling
Again, we’re at a stage in life where we’re not doing much travelling. I did have one overnight trip booked – but I could cancel the hotel at no cost, so I saved some money by not going away. A lot of folks may have ended up putting down deposits they won’t get back, but if you were planning a trip in the near future, and didn’t have anything put down, you may have saved yourself some money due to this pandemic.
The Takeaway
I’m not going to try to put a rosy glow on this – we’re living in uncertain times and it’s a lot to process. It feels like life has gone from normal to scary almost overnight. No one knows what the future holds. But I’m trying to see the silver lining in all of this – and that lining is that we’ve saved ourselves some money at least!
In my next post, I’ll talk about areas where people are spending more money during this pandemic.
How has COVID-19 impacted your spending?
