COVID savings from working from home?

[Wally Fairway 5,543]

So today will make 1 week of work from home, and I'd guess we have saved at least $200 
Likely 3 or 4 tanks of gas (3 of us work in an office), only had restaurant food once this week, no dry cleaning, no movies, no greens fees, no bar tab

Longer term savings, because I think this goes on 4-6 more weeks - no oil changes for cars, no vacation travel, no new clothes purchases (looking at you Mrs Fairway), 

So I'd guess I'll reduce my spending by about $1,000/month - which is a nice side benefit, until they lay off those of us working from home

[Pescado_Rojo 19,416]

I'm probably spending more. I already worked from home unless I was traveling to customer sites. I was usually on the road 3 days a week, 3 weeks a month. When I was on the road I had a Per Diem, so being at home more, I'm spending my own money on food. I guess the dry cleaning savings offsets some of that, but not $100 a day. 

I AM losing some weight not eating restaurant and hotel food 3 days a week, though. Getting out and walking or riding my bike every day helps, too. 

[Rip76 4,925]

Absolutely zero.

Company truck w/fuel & toll tag

Travel every other week to Dallas stopped for now.  (When I travel all expenses are on them)

Grocery and liquor bill higher here now.

Higher utility usage.

[Underdog 28,611]

Wife and I work at same company but she's able to work from home while I have to be on site.  I'm sure the utilities will be higher since she's using electricity for her work setup, tv, lights, gas wise is the same since I'm driving into work. 

[Jerry Callo 8,700]

Not paying gym memberships for April is saving $180 and no fees for youth sports is another $350.  Still trying to pick up take out from the regular places, because I want them to be there when all of this is over.

[Chapo 104]

Biggest money saver is no childcare

[SimonBolivar 10,958]

Saving a lot but now I want to buy a keyboard to learn the piano (lol something for a garage sale later) so it'll wash out.

[UDontKnow 10,444]

Anyone else peeved that the majority of us can't take advantage of low gas prices? 

[Rip76 4,925]

You know, Fuck all that nonsense I wrote above.

I'm becoming a better father because he is staying with me a lot more.  (BECAUSE, I'm not traveling.)

[ZB'Tejas 593]

13 minutes ago, Chapo said:

Biggest money saver is no childcare

No childcare? That sounds nice because I'm still paying for my PreK program even though it's unlikely she even goes back this semester.

Normally traveling a few weeks a month so that means my eating and drinking is no longer covered. Having way more drinks with the wife at home each night. We are cooking at home almost each day so although grocery bills are higher the savings going out to eat definitely outweighs that. However the wife's Amazon habit seems to have increased so right now I might be coming in just barely ahead (financially anyway).

[gecko 1,104]

Our restaurant bill is next to nothing.  It's not even remotely offset by the grocery bill.  

[Parliament 14,255]

I can't take customers to lunch and expense it.  Boo

[BonzoMontreaux 1,038]

Gas, tolls, wife's lunch bills (she works downtown in law office)), down to eating out\drive thru two times a week.  I have had to spend a little extra money on setting up a home office for the Mrs. 

[fattyflattie 4,639]

30 minutes ago, Rip76 said:

Absolutely zero.

Company truck w/fuel & toll tag

Travel every other week to Dallas stopped for now.  (When I travel all expenses are on them)

Grocery and liquor bill higher here now.

Higher utility usage.

All of this. 
 

7 minutes ago, ZB'Tejas said:

No childcare? That sounds nice because I'm still paying for my PreK program even though it's unlikely she even goes back this semester

And all of this, x3. 
 

My wife figured out she doesn’t know how to cook nearly as many meals as she thought she knew, and add limited groceries on top of that, meaning we are definitely doing our part supporting the local restaurants.   

[UDontKnow 10,444]

3 minutes ago, Parliament said:

I can't take customers to lunch and expense it.  Boo

But that's more time for wearing jorts! Unless of course you wear jorts when treating customers to lunch.

[texhorn 351]

Anyone else peeved that the majority of us can't take advantage of low gas prices? 

Good time to fill up your trash cans.

[StruggleBus 3,922]

I'm saving a lot but I'm also getting fat(ter). 

[TexanTraveling 42]

Hmmm...no gas, cleaners, lunches, happy hours, bars, restaurants........saving money

Drizly (online liquor delivery), liquor stores, DoorDash, HelloFresh......losing money......

I have also been taking advantage of a lot of sales, my favorite clothing brand is having an unheard of 50% off sales for obvious reasons. I also just bought a new puppy saturday.

Edited March 30, 2020 by TexanTraveling

[gsoda3 3,254]

i wish we were saving money on prek.  he's not going but we're still paying.

[baboso 6,054]

Let's see:

$23.50 per day for doggy care

Approximately $20 per day on lunch

Probably $40 per week for after work drinks

Gas and depreciation from no 26 mile RT commute in Atlanta traffic

Probably $5 a day in laundry/dry cleaning

Easily, at least $300 per week savings.

[Armybrat 40,832]

Had to cancel our twice monthly maid service, no happy hour, no fast food (still get restaurant takeout once a week).

But, I’ll bet the psychiatrists, divorce lawyers, and bars are gonna do a booming bidness when this settles down.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,892]

49 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

Anyone else peeved that the majority of us can't take advantage of low gas prices? 

That's one of the reasons they're low

Edited March 30, 2020 by NeverMarryAStripper

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

My rent, utilities and internet run around $1,300  a month

Gas $100 or so

Meals $150 or so

I'll save on the meals and gas, still got rent right now.

[mchookem 16,326]

not sure...i'm the entertainment director in our household, so all food/beverage/entertainment/travel/grocery expenses are mine. 

spending significantly more on restaurant food/takeout b/c 1) our house is under construction (i had my meltdown about it a week ago, i'm dealing lol) and kitchen is a wreck and only 75% operational, and 2) like Jerry above i'm really trying to help our local spots, already lost several hopefully just temporarily. am also tipping the max every time. 

balanced out by a grocery bill that has probably been <$150 for the past month (see above). i'd also been following this thread...i started stocking staples in February

i'd estimate we're saving $150 minimum on bar bills, per week. i stocked up on liquor before the shutdown, but really...we're social drinkers. no socializing, very little drinking (did buy a gallon of margaritas for $60 last friday, gotdamn were they and the accompanying tex-mex good, lol... the things we miss...) 

movies, travel, just regular bouncing around town doing whatever, spending here and there...none of that. gasoline bill at zero. 

i'm recently retired so was already home most of the day, husband now WFH but utilities probably negligible, we're only using 3 rooms in the house and can't run A/C b/c of the construction (thank god the weather has cooperated so far).

actually...looking at all that, i'm thinking we are saving a shitload, even with tripling our restaurant food bill! 

*runs off to balance checkbook* 😀

but really...i do miss the socializing. a lot. that's starting to get to me...

[gyroprotagonist 2,592]

get 10 extra hours per week due to no commuting.  So save gas $ and have extra time.

Lunch was not too much at $5-7 per day, but I guess it adds up.

getting takeout less often.  maybe once per week now

cancelled lawn service after confirming the old lawnmower still works, but still paying maid and afterschool nanny even though we have not used them in 2 weeks.

so net savings, I would say.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3,861]

i'm saving a ton.

 

i eat out every day for lunch, and don't like to eat garbage. probably average $18/day.

i regularly go to the coffee shop 2x per day.  about $11/day.

we will get breakfast tacos for the family 2x a week. $25 each time.

we are tired after work so eat out more than eat at home for dinner.  probably $75 per time.  so $300/week.

we have a house cleaner lady come by 2x a week.  now she's not coming at all, but we are still paying her for 1x a week so she doesn't suffer. save $140/week.

not fueling up, but short commute. probably $15/week.

no gym.  $180/month.

no austin bouldering project, random movie nights, baby sitter whatever.  untold amounts.

 

extras are groceries big time, some electricity.  nothing else really.  I can't wait to get done with this and do the math.

[Post Oak 20,209]

no gas no eating out but our grocery bill has been about 25percent higher the last few weeks.  although its starting to level off.  probably about $400/month

[Parliament 14,255]

48 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

But that's more time for wearing jorts! Unless of course you wear jorts when treating customers to lunch.

Not in the winter, I don't.

[RexWilson 1,346]

I've been spending a lot at Home Depot since I have plenty of time for the home improvement/repair projects I was always putting off.

[Js1 85,310]

Yeah probably saving $50-$100/week just from lunches, coffee, going out to dinners, etc. 

[UTPhil2006 3,807]

No sports probably will save me easily $1000/mo all things included

[Dnaguy 11,943]

58 minutes ago, texhorn said:

Good time to fill up your trash cans.

[Jiggy-Z 3,432]

5 minutes ago, Dnaguy said:

Hoarding that is what leads to freak gasoline fights.

[South Austin 52,463]

1 hour ago, Chapo said:

Biggest money saver is no childcare

Not for me. I need to get work done and can’t be a homeschool teacher or entertainer for my kids, so I’m still paying a nanny, and probably a few more hours a week because she’s not limited to after school care.

For me the biggest savings are gas, dry cleaning and eating out.

[F250 28,766]

1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

Saving a lot but now I want to buy a keyboard to learn the piano (lol something for a garage sale later) so it'll wash out.

I've been WFH for a decade. I remember going through the initial discovery of savings; gas, vehicle maintenance, lunches, etc... Then I incurred the work from home costs. LOL

My biggest expense was building a home gym and a mountain bike. However I've probably saved money since the initial investment on equipment 10 years ago.

[BradInATX 9,208]

3 minutes ago, F250 said:

I've been WFH for a decade. I remember going through the initial discovery of savings; gas, vehicle maintenance, lunches, etc... Then I incurred the work from home costs. LOL

My biggest expense was building a home gym and a mountain bike. However I've probably saved money since the initial investment on equipment 10 years ago.

Almost verbatim my story. Having the home gym right now is really nice, still able to lift during all of this. I'd probably be going even more crazy if I worked out at a gym and couldn't go.

To the thread, I'm saving $1400/month on day care. Last month it was prorated to about $700 because we pulled him out mid-month, and all of that went to buying new backyard things to keep him entertained while I attempt to work on the laptop outside. This month dada's getting some new mf'ing golf clubs though.

Edited March 30, 2020 by BradInATX

[po elvis 2,070]

Gf and I already worked from home and were pretty good about eating in. Not saving too much there. I am losing money not being able to go to the poker room. Or I am saving money by not going to the poker room. Not sure which one.

[SDG 3,319]

I work from home anyways so by far my largest savings is my weekly bar tab which I usually spend $150-$200 per week.  Drinking at home is a lot cheaper...

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

Those that are saving on day care, did they shut down or did y'all just pull them out?

I'm still paying our after school care because it's a small business.  I would hate to have to find another place when I have to go back to work.

[Bash Riprock 1,695]

i should be getting a stimulus check. single guy.

 

i kind of want to give it away to someone that really needs it. my job is safe.

[LABEVO 928]

My savings is gas, lunch, and not eating out probably is mostly offset by the video games I have bought to keep from being bored 

[Sgt Hulk 13,714]

saved some, then wifes hours got cut to zero because her small acupuncture office can only afford one person to work, so taking an L

[Helobious 9,448]

All the incredibly unnecessary (former) spending I'm seeing in this thread is making my head spin. Hope this is a wake up call for Americans. 

[chikin23 384]

i should be getting a stimulus check. single guy.

 

i kind of want to give it away to someone that really needs it. my job is safe.

I'm here if you are still looking to donate.

 

[BradInATX 9,208]

2 hours ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

Those that are saving on day care, did they shut down or did y'all just pull them out?

I'm still paying our after school care because it's a small business.  I would hate to have to find another place when I have to go back to work.

We pulled our 18 month old out, but the school ended up closing two days later. That was two weeks ago. Our spot is held by a deposit of a half-month tuition (which will be applied to future tuition when we go back), so we'll be able to re-enroll whenever this blows over. 

Edited March 31, 2020 by BradInATX

[Stunns38 3,460]

Those that are saving on day care, did they shut down or did y'all just pull them out?
I'm still paying our after school care because it's a small business.  I would hate to have to find another place when I have to go back to work.

We pulled her out but the daycare is open due to the number of hospital staffers (in the medical district)with kids enrolled. Didn’t want to risk running into an infected nurse. School is running with 20% of normal kids. We still have a spot saved.

[UTPhil2006 3,807]

3 hours ago, Helobious said:

All the incredibly unnecessary (former) spending I'm seeing in this thread is making my head spin. Hope this is a wake up call for Americans. 

It’s almost as if they’re acting like the Yankees 

[Anastasis 23,469]

welcome to the last 10 years of my life. 

 

btw, there are lots of fucking deals to be found on shoes, clothes, etc. right now. Gonna start looking for some suits that can be tailored when they get here. The retailers are trying to move everything.  

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19,100]

35 a day in dog walking
25 a day for breakfast/lunch/coffee
15 a day transport

So roughly 75 a day during the week or 375 a week. Plus 265 a month gym membership and untold amounts since I'm cooking at home and NOT ordering our or going out. Also no random shopping trips.

[FartingMonk 3,606]

No sports betting

No bar tabs

Not having to take the girlfriend out to eat

Employer buying dinner for us that have to come in until this is over

Gas being super cheap and no traffic

Groceries for 2 weeks is one night of eating out.

So yeah.  I'm being forced to save