We have spent less. This fits in two categories though. Things that we just spent less on because of lack of activity and things that we have deferred. The latter will ultimately be spent.
First Category:
Less on Dining out. We get take out twice a week which is a little less than we ate out and we spend less since we don't get a beverage and eat somewhat less expensive places overall.
Groceries are a wash, maybe a little less. Yes, we spend more because not eating out. On the other hand we do grocery orders online which limits impulse purchases.
Gasoline - This is down by over half. We just aren't going very far.
My hair care - I used to spend an average of over $200 a month on my hair between coloring my roots, highlights and twice yearly Keratin treatment. In the last year I have spent $110 total for hair color (bought from my hairdresser) plus about $30 for shears to trim my hair.
Travel - I would have expected us to have at least one day trip or two to visit kids but there have been none.
There are others but those are big ones.
Category two
1. When Covid hit we had just finished a big remodeling project. We were going to then buy some new furniture for the living room and window coverings for our new sunroom, etc. That was all deferred for the last year. This will be spent. One advantage of the wait, though, is that after a year of living with the remodeling I have much more clear idea of what we want and in some cases it is less expensive than the original plans.
2. We don't take a lot of vacations, but we were going to last summer. That has all been deferred probably until next year.
Those of you that are spending less, do you feel less content?
Those of you spending on different things, will this be a permanent change?
No, I don't feel less content spending less. I mean, yes, I would have liked to have been able to go on vacation, for example, but we will do that later.
There are a couple of reduced spending habits that will continue. We will probably continue to get dining out pickup at least once a week instead of going to the restaurant. Also we will probably continue to use grocery orders online with curbside pickup most of the time. We find we like both of these.
During this past year I learned how to color the roots on my hair. I doubt I will go back to having the hairdresser do it. It has turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be.
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