From bills to grocery shopping: the money lessons I've learned in lockdown


Updated on 01 June 2020 | 0 Comments

The lockdown has provided me with the opportunity to take a closer look at how I manage my cash. Here’s what I learned.

The lockdown has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Even as someone who works from home normally, it’s been a challenge, and I know that I’m incredibly privileged with a wife who used to be a teacher and a couple of well-behaved kids.

But it’s also offered the chance to make some changes to the way I manage money, and I think I’ve learned a few things along the way.

Where was my money going?

Many of us will have taken the opportunity provided by lockdown to have a closer look at precisely where our money was being spent each month in the pre-COVID world.

And at times, it has made for pretty painful reading.

The big one for me has been food. As a family, we spent way too much on food just in our trips to the supermarket. I live very close to an enormous Tesco and we were in there every five days doing sizeable shops, with the occasional ‘top up’ as well. 

Understandably, things have had to change.

Now we shop once a week, and are more disciplined in working out exactly what we will be eating and what we really need, rather than being tempted into an extravagant purchase by the ‘deals’ at the end of the aisle.

And as a result, our overall spend has dropped noticeably.

It’s not just the supermarket spends either ‒ we indulged in too many takeaways and trips to Costa. Don’t get me wrong, we will do that again once life gets closer to normal but it won’t be anywhere near as frequent. 

Opinion: let’s not lose sight of the few money positives to come from coronavirus

Person sorting out bills. (Image: Shutterstock)

Bills, bills, bills

Every month, a big chunk of my bank balance disappears on bills. But if I’m honest, while I knew how much it would come to in total, I didn’t pay much attention to the size of the individual bills.

For example, what is my broadband bill, compared to my mobile phone? How much does my gas and electricity set me back?

Again, lockdown has provided me with the chance to look at these bills in a bit more detail and make some changes.

Knowing how much your bills come to in total simply isn’t good enough ‒ if you want to ensure you’re getting value for money, then you need to know what you’re actually paying.

I’d like to think that I’ll take this more engaged attitude with me into the world once lockdown ends.

Coronavirus lockdown money mistakes: transferring pensions, mortgage holidays & more

Use a savings safety net wisely

Our garage is a bit of a mess. It has an old metal roof that has developed holes, which means we have carefully placed buckets on the floor.

Earlier this year, we looked into getting it knocked down and replaced with something we are likely to use for more than simply a dumping ground for the boys’ bikes and my old golf clubs.

The prices quoted were, in all honesty, far more than I was comfortable paying but we’ve built up a decent savings safety net and I was sorely tempted to dip into that to cover it.

The pandemic has been an important reminder of why that would have been a bad idea.

That money is there as a safety net, to cover the big, important expenses and ensure we’ll be covered the next time a gigantic, world-changing event happens.

It’s not there to help me turn my fantasy of a home gym into a reality, especially considering I’d probably not use it enough to justify the expense.

How to build up an emergency savings fund

Man on smartphone next to a weight. (Image: Shutterstock)

The importance of routine

Back in the early days of lockdown, my kids and I would do the Joe Wicks workouts every single day. It was just part of our routine, and I lost weight in the process.

But the novelty wore off about six weeks in and the kids didn’t want to do it anymore.

And rather than carrying on myself, since I was enjoying it, I told myself I’d just exercise at a different point in the day. What actually happened was I more or less stopped exercising altogether.

The fact is that I’m a creature of habit. If I have something set in my routine then it happens ‒ if I do it on an ad hoc basis, then chances are it will soon fall by the wayside.

This is important for my finances too. If I book it into my routine that as soon as I get paid, I put a chunk into my savings, then it will happen.

But if I hold on until the end of the month, in the hope I’ll have money left to transfer over, then I probably won’t. By leaning into this, I can get my own finances in far better shape.

These are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned during lockdown, and which I hope to put to further use in the future.

Have you had any ‘financial epiphanies’ during lockdown? Tell us in the comments box below.

Comments


Be the first to comment

Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature

Copyright © lovemoney.com All rights reserved.

 

loveMONEY.com Financial Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with Firm Reference Number (FRN): 479153.

loveMONEY.com is a company registered in England & Wales (Company Number: 7406028) with its registered address at First Floor Ridgeland House, 15 Carfax, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1DY, United Kingdom. loveMONEY.com Limited operates under the trading name of loveMONEY.com Financial Services Limited. We operate as a credit broker for consumer credit and do not lend directly. Our company maintains relationships with various affiliates and lenders, which we may promote within our editorial content in emails and on featured partner pages through affiliate links. Please note, that we may receive commission payments from some of the product and service providers featured on our website. In line with Consumer Duty regulations, we assess our partners to ensure they offer fair value, are transparent, and cater to the needs of all customers, including vulnerable groups. We continuously review our practices to ensure compliance with these standards. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy and currency of our editorial content, users should independently verify information with their chosen product or service provider. This can be done by reviewing the product landing page information and the terms and conditions associated with the product. If you are uncertain whether a product is suitable, we strongly recommend seeking advice from a regulated independent financial advisor before applying for the products.