Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.
chenzi
Posts: 195
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 3:07 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by chenzi »

our nanny is also following social distancing and is not meeting anyone outside our family! And anyway she was my kid's teacher till the day we were asked to stay at home. So we have been part of the same "community circle" continuously.
ciscovp wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 10:58 pm
chenzi wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:22 pm While overall expenses have gone lesser, with both kids at home, we have hired a nanny who is a teacher on furlough from my kid's daycare. She doesn't get paid from the daycare.
We have hired her and pay her around $80/day for four hours every day. Our employers in tech still expect us to do some work and these four hours help us to catch up and get office work done! {We still pay 50% fee to daycare to reserve the spot!}
So does the nanny work remotely? During this period, I would not hire someone who does not permanently live in the house.
dink2win
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2019 5:53 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by dink2win »

Expenses have been the same, as gas and restaurants have gone down but groceries, utilities, online shopping has increased to match.

Hopefully this was just because of the panic shopping in the first month and next month hopefully the gas and restaurants stay low but the online shopping and groceries revert more back to a normal level.

Overall long term outlook is bad as bonus and profit sharing will be impacted at the end of the year.
User avatar
market timer
Posts: 6535
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:42 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by market timer »

I am saving around $2500/month due to zero travel, dining out, and beer.
mancich
Posts: 1219
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:05 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by mancich »

Overall, down. While groceries are up, we're saving probably $300/month on gas, and DW and daughters aren't going to various stores on the weekend, which inevitably ended up with something or another being purchased.
madbrain
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:06 pm
Location: San Jose, California

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by madbrain »

My gas expenses were close to $0/month due to driving a PHEV, and my employer giving free EV charging. So those expenses didn't go down. Electricity use at home still going up. I spend more time sheltering at home in the hot tub in the California sun.
Last edited by madbrain on Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
madbrain
Posts: 6809
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:06 pm
Location: San Jose, California

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by madbrain »

market timer wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 3:52 am I am saving around $2500/month due to zero travel, dining out, and beer.
No beer here either, but a lot more pastis and Bordeaux.
halfnine
Posts: 2421
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 12:48 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by halfnine »

Our grocery shopping will definitely be going up when we get back around to the shops. As a family of four our costs were around 300/month as most of our meat, fruits and vegetables were bought at 25% as the day-of discount pricing happened about the time I would go to the store. Those days will be over for a while.

In the short term our non-grocery shopping went up as well as we spent a lot of February and March pre-buying many of the items we believe might become hard to come by, get more expensive, or are likely to experience shipping delays. We've also spent money to upgrade home security as well as to upgrade our gardening potential.
linuxizer
Posts: 1784
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 6:55 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by linuxizer »

Down: Childcare. Once per week pizza.
Up: Groceries. PPE (just bought a PAPR 😳). Home office supplies for us and school kid. Online educational materials. Books. Toys.
mw1739
Posts: 1147
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:44 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by mw1739 »

I'm guessing a slightly positive benefit for day to day expenses (excluding the 3 trips we had to cancel).

Down: Gas, Eating Out, School Lunches for the kids
Up: Groceries, Slight increase to online shopping

Deciding to tackle some spring projects with my extra time at home will cost much more than any of the savings.
User avatar
CrazyCatLady
Posts: 395
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:19 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by CrazyCatLady »

The only thing down for me is gas.

Up are groceries, dining out (I'm trying to support my local spots and tipping more than usual since its delivery), cat food (more cans since I'm home more) and litter (can't stand the smell, so changing at least weekly), and utilities (had to increase internet).

I also had about $1,000 in one time costs to set up an office to work from home.

I've lost certain reimbursements (i.e. Work meals) and just had my pay cut by about $3,000 a month, so I want to see where my numbers are after a month. I'll likely have to cut out dining out so I can continue to invest in my taxable account (first world problem, I know).
Dandy
Posts: 6701
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:42 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Dandy »

Normal expenses down a good percentage. Decided to spend on having exterior work done on our house by my brother-in-law's company. He needed the work since jobs that required indoor work were postponed due to the pandemic. So, mutual benefit I get needed work done and help out the extended family a bit.
User avatar
fredflinstone
Posts: 2829
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:35 am
Location: Bedrock

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by fredflinstone »

Rent, utilities, and car insurance are the same, but restaurants, travel, hotel, gas, dry-cleaning, and gym expenses are down at least 90 percent. Even my grocery expenses have gone down a little, as I've been eating less and have been more careful not to waste food. I had a one-time cost of $175 for home gym equipment.
sd323232
Posts: 898
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:45 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by sd323232 »

working from home, my overall expenses went down, my car gas went to nothing, i dont drive to work anymore and the gas here is 1.65, cant complain.
Rainmaker41
Posts: 733
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2016 11:34 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Rainmaker41 »

We do not have much in the way of nonessential spending apart from traveling. Our upcoming trip is lost with the prospect of an airline refund unclear, but hopefully we will make that up later in the year.

Our commuting expenses have crashed, which we have more than offset with food bank donations. So, technically, our overall spending has gone up.
Last edited by Rainmaker41 on Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
85% Global Stock, 15% US Fixed Income
Call_Me_Op
Posts: 9881
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 2:57 pm
Location: Milky Way

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Call_Me_Op »

About the same - but food costs are up due to price gouging.
Best regards, -Op | | "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Einstein
Coltrane75
Posts: 349
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:32 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Coltrane75 »

BrownEyedGirl_27 wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:03 pm Congrats on having 10 months! What is the hardest fun expense for your family to cut down on and why?

I am not single income HH, DH makes the majority of our income, MFJ, but I am job searching right now (I was furloughed, job available again likely in early May or June depending on the situation). If I find a more secure, higher paying job, I will stay until we have kids or continue part-time if that is an option. If we both lost our jobs tomorrow we could live off of our savings and investments not counting 401ks for a year and two months. I felt something was a bit off in January (I wasn't thinking about Corona back then) and I upped my 401k contributions to 50% of my paycheck. I am very glad I did regardless of what happens with that job.
Thanks!

The most difficult expense to cut back, not implementing but living with, has been dining out. We really like going to small restaurants in our neighborhood of the city. I really miss not only the food but the environment, being a regular. Also the regular bar I go to where the staff knows me pretty well.

Impressive timing with the upping of the 401k. Seems like you're in a good position. My wife just recently quit as we are looking to try to have kids.
ge1
Posts: 816
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:15 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by ge1 »

Just adding to my earlier post (our expenses are down 25%): This has been eyeopening really to see how much less money we can spend. It made me realize that if we really had to we could basically retire now (age 48) with our current portfolio. Not to mention the fact that I feel like I'm spending more time now on things I really enjoy (spending time with family, long walks, reading books, reaching out to friends etc).

Interesting times.
michaeljc70
Posts: 10843
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:53 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by michaeljc70 »

Sure. No dining out, no shopping for non-essentials and no travel have decreased our expenses. We did spend quite a bit more than normal in ramping up for this buying in bulk (more than normal, but not hoarding), but that stuff should carry us for a while. However, most of our biggest expenses (mortgage, property taxes, health insurance) obviously haven't changed.
Last edited by michaeljc70 on Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
jebmke
Posts: 25476
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by jebmke »

Coltrane75 wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:39 am The most difficult expense to cut back, not implementing but living with, has been dining out.
Quite a few of our local, independent restaurants are doing curbside carryout. We have actually increased our (normally light) "dining out" in order to support them. Local indie wine+beer store has curbside pickup so I ordered some beer from a local craft brewer.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Dandy
Posts: 6701
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:42 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Dandy »

I try to support local businesses and recently ordered 3 take out dinners -- it was a treat after several weeks of home cooked meals. Intend to order 4 lunches to use as dinners today to use over the next few days. Also gives my wife a break of trying to figure out what's for dinner when shopping for food is not so easy anymore.
User avatar
Will do good
Posts: 1138
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:23 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Will do good »

whodidntante wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:16 pm
Will do good wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 3:16 pm
whodidntante wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:14 pm My expenses have plummeted since dining out and travel were always major components. I have largely parked my rocketship that eats gas and tires. I'm wearing slovenly clothing that I normally cannot wear, saving wear and tear on my M-F best. I've also booked substantial capital losses which should help with taxes for years to come. I'm temporarily finding myself with cash stacking up, which I'm putting to work in various ways, some of which I can post without y'all making fun of me.
Please share, we all need a little smile. :sharebeer
It's nothing too crazy, at least in certain circles. Trading futures and selling puts.
As your pic suggested, you are a gambler :twisted:
LuckBeALady
Posts: 111
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:33 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by LuckBeALady »

bloom2708 wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:25 pm
il0kin wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:20 am I have to ask, because $500/week for dining out is something I can’t even imagine, why? I don’t mean to be negative or harsh as obviously it’s affordable for you and by all means spend your money how you choose, I just can’t imagine that $26,000 yearly in food could easily be halved and saved in regular times.
I didn't dare ask this. Thanks for asking.

Not to mention the health effects of eating out that much. Add the alcohol in. Yikes. I guess you don't care about a long retirement if you eat $500 out per week.
I think this may be unnecessarily snarky. 26k may be a small part of the poster’s yearly income- there are some seriously wealthy people on this board. And you could easily spend as much on a beautiful organic salad or fish or sushi as a high calorie entree. I don’t know, smells like sour grapes in here.

For us, expenses are down. We typically spend way more on restaurants and pubs and live music. Our Portugal trip is postponed.

No kids at home, don’t commute by car anyway, nothing else has really changed.
EnjoyIt
Posts: 8272
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2013 7:06 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by EnjoyIt »

ge1 wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:14 am Just adding to my earlier post (our expenses are down 25%): This has been eyeopening really to see how much less money we can spend. It made me realize that if we really had to we could basically retire now (age 48) with our current portfolio. Not to mention the fact that I feel like I'm spending more time now on things I really enjoy (spending time with family, long walks, reading books, reaching out to friends etc).

Interesting times.
Same for us. Despite the drawdown, because we are spending less, extrapolating the last 3 months expenses over the year, we are slightly below 4% of current portfolio value. We prefer not to spend less and hope that our portfolio recuperates within the next 1-3 years.

The only thing I really miss is my gym membership.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: | viewtopic.php?p=1139732#p1139732
User avatar
meowcat
Posts: 786
Joined: Wed May 09, 2012 5:46 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by meowcat »

Yes, down, significantly.
What the bold print givith, the fine print taketh away. | -meowcat
DCChak
Posts: 152
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2015 7:41 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by DCChak »

Reductions:
Gas - down to nearly nothing
Tolls - down to $0
Parking - down to $0
Daycare - half-price, with our 1 y/o staying home, to save our spot.
Student loans - wife's MBA loans about to be suspended for 6 months. Likely to keep paying, or more money to fill up full Catch-Up TSP contribution, but nice CF help if we need it.
Restaurants - much lower, only delivery/takeout maybe 2x/week
Gym - deferring our plan to sign up at Life Time once again. Walks and runs instead.
Travel - fewer car trips to Grandparents 4 or 5 hours away.

Increases:
Power - bill yet to be seen
Water - bill yet to be seen

No teletherapy sessions required yet. Fingers crossed. :D
KyleAAA
Posts: 9498
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 5:35 pm
Contact:

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by KyleAAA »

il0kin wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 11:20 am Definitely down, mainly food (Friday evening dinner) and we have been carefully asking whether purchases are worth it.

I have to ask, because $500/week for dining out is something I can’t even imagine, why? I don’t mean to be negative or harsh as obviously it’s affordable for you and by all means spend your money how you choose, I just can’t imagine that $26,000 yearly in food could easily be halved and saved in regular times.
Depends on where you live and what you order. $500 per week eating out could be a very small amount of food for some people. Certainly I've had $100 pp dinners where I left hungry. If you are relatively well-off, this is a trivial amount of money. Even if you aren't particularly well off, it's still not too bad. Spending aligns with priorities. To each their own. $500 per week doesn't sound unreasonable to me.
Last edited by KyleAAA on Fri Apr 03, 2020 12:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Buckybogle
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 9:37 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Buckybogle »

Duplicate
Last edited by Buckybogle on Fri Apr 03, 2020 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Buckybogle
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 9:37 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Buckybogle »

Removed
Last edited by Buckybogle on Fri Apr 03, 2020 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
wander
Posts: 4424
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:10 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by wander »

Saving about $400 a month for gasoline. I think car insurance companies should give us some breaks on premium price as people are not driving daily. :D
bloom2708
Posts: 9861
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by bloom2708 »

Buckybogle wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 12:19 pm Sheesh, this may be one of the most condescending responses I have ever seen on this site. How do you have any clue to their lifestyle?
So bad you had to post it twice. I take back my comments. No harm intended. Food is more controversial than finance any day.

Uncle.
Isabelle77
Posts: 958
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 12:43 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Isabelle77 »

We're saving on gas and sports team fees. But I'm spending more on groceries, I used to shop once a week for the entire week and be nearly out of food by the end of the week, I don't feel like I can cut it that close right now so I've been ordering more. I've also been buying projects for my kids, lots of knitting yarn for my daughter and model kits for my son. Oh and wine. Too much wine. :mrgreen:

Oh and we've donated money as well, mostly to our parish but to the food bank as well.
Broken Man 1999
Posts: 8626
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:31 am
Location: West coast of Florida, near Champa Bay !

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

Perhaps a couple of hundred dollars monthly from less eating out. We still get takeout from many of the restaurants we normally go to, but no liquor in a takeout order.

Last night I had baby-back ribs, sweet potato, washed down with a nice cab someone brought to our Christmas party.

We had reservations at Bern's Steak House for next week, but they called and cancelled us. It is really hard to get reservations, maybe they will give us priority when this is over. My intent was to treat DDs and their families as I do every now and then.

We spent a extra bit last month for the tile for master bath remodel, last month it was due to start in six weeks, but I am pretty sure the date will slip. No worries. It will get done when it gets done. Same with DW's scheduled knee replacement near the end of June. It will get done when it gets done.

So far the health care company that provides my aides have not pulled them from me. If they do, I completely understand. They will get their hourly pay from me directly even if they aren't allowed to visit me. I don't want to lose them, and I don't want them stressed if I can do something about it.

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
Sherwood
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:27 pm
Location: PNW

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Sherwood »

I am currently supposed to be on day one of a three day golf trip to Bandon Dunes. So there's a $1k+ saving right there :(
mroe800
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2020 12:37 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by mroe800 »

Groceries are more expensive as we’re getting them a) more often; and b) typically delivered. Otherwise expenses are down due to much less delivery/take-out food (starting 0 take out now) and no commute (previously ~$700/month).
Walkure
Posts: 1023
Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2017 9:59 pm

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by Walkure »

Almost no change. Was expecting (in early January) to leave for a partially-employer-reimbursable week in northern Italy this Saturday, but that's been postponed for the foreseeable future. :annoyed
Otherwise, I'm the poster child for the paradox of thrift. If everyone earned, saved, and spent the way I do, we'd be in a never-ending deflationary depression. So I really don't have any right to complain when the rest of y'all (the general public, not my dear fellow bogleheads personally) take a few weeks off from spending money you don't have to buy stuff you don't need. But for all of our sakes' I hope they go back to their old ways quickly! :twisted:
JackoC
Posts: 4714
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 11:14 am

Re: Are your personal expenses down during stay home and shelter?

Post by JackoC »

I don't expect a major change over a significant period. Various big categories are fixed either by external factors (prop tax, med insurance) or our own decisions (biggest category charitable: already did our ETF shares xfer to our DAF acct this year, can't take back, don't plan to add to it). And discretionary stuff will have some tendency to wash. Grocery was quite high last month somewhat offsetting drop in eating out, though I expect some net reduction in the two next month or few. We cancelled a $16k Europe trip (before paying anything), but I plan to give our grown kids about that in cash to ease the pressure on them (that's aside from xfers of mutual funds we expect them not to liquidate, which we don't consider 'spending'). Spending on stuff like clothes and durables is mainly up to wife but probably mainly shifts to online rather than the amount changing a lot.

Longer term depending the market's path we'll be more or less likely to make every some-years purchases like cars, jewelry etc. Those, like how expensive a car for example, are pretty 'wealth effect' driven. I have no appetite for that kind of spending at the moment, but who knows in a couple of years, which is probably the soonest I would actually have gotten another car (newest one now is a 2018).
User avatar
midareff
Posts: 7711
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:43 am
Location: Biscayne Bay, South Florida

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by midareff »

I have reduced my RMD to the minimum allowed by law and decreased our draw from taxable about 12%. Together they comprise about $K monthly which I will use to buy CDs and increase savings cash in case a good opportunity to buy property comes up..
jebmke
Posts: 25476
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by jebmke »

I deferred my tax payment to July 15.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Rus In Urbe
Posts: 701
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2017 1:12 pm

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by Rus In Urbe »

*
Seems like this question was asked by someone else.....

I retired in December. An account with RMDs and two SSs cover our basic expenses.
A five year CD ladder (3.1-3.4%) kicks up an additional 40K in fun money.

We have not changed our spending on purpose....however:

No change:
1. Most major expenses are fixed.
2. We're still paying housecleaner, hairdresser, others who are not currently working for/with us but need the income.
3. Yard Guy still working outside.
3. We usually cook at home anyway.
4. Live entertainment (music and theater) are pre-paid subscriptions; performances cancelled of course.

Decreases:
1. No future travel (ordinarily we'd be planning fall and winter travels).
2. No major interior house upgrades (on hold for now).

Increases:
1. Tree Pruner (met with him outside, at a distance, with mask) and decided to have them do ALL the trees on our property.
2. More restaurants in our area (upstate NY) are now offering delivery, so we order in once a week or so. Nice splurge.
3. Called our exterior painter to do a touch-up job; she could use the work.
4. Sending out many more philanthropic checks.

So---it ends up being almost a wash or a slight decrease.

Business as usual for us. And a lot of worry for those who are not as fortunate as we are....

Stay Safe! Cheers. Rus. :beer (with a Quarantini)
I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money. ~Pablo Picasso
runner3081
Posts: 5994
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by runner3081 »

Food spending is going up a bit. We don't eat out and grocery store sales have been non-existent, so we are having to pay full price (we heavily shop the weekly circular ads).

Otherwise, spending is fairly normal. We only buy what we need mostly, so not a big impact.
User avatar
watchnerd
Posts: 13614
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:18 am
Location: Gig Harbor, WA, USA

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by watchnerd »

Spending massively reduced to almost nothing in the following areas because of stay at home orders (not income or markets):

--Gas
--Eating out
--Road tolls
--Entertainment (symphony, jazz concerts, wine tastings)

I'm guessing we're making additional saving in the range of $700-$1000/month.
Last edited by watchnerd on Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Global stocks, IG/HY bonds, gold & digital assets at market weights 75% / 19% / 6% || LMP: TIPS ladder
MikeG62
Posts: 5065
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2016 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by MikeG62 »

There is another thread running on almost the same topic.

We have not reduced spending because our financial assets have taken a hit during this downturn. It has been reduced for us by the lockdown associated with the pandemic. All of our T&E has been shut down. My guess is it won’t likely ramp up again this year - I hope I’m wrong, but that’s my assumption at this point. Discretionary spend in a number of other area have been curtailed simply because we aren’t going out.

We will end the year with a very large favorable variance to our budgeted spend (mid five figures at least if not more).

More generally, our plan does not require spending reductions during downturns (unless they are really, really big - much bigger than what we’ve experienced so far this year). It’s built with the assumptions that they will happen from time to time.
Real Knowledge Comes Only From Experience
User avatar
watchnerd
Posts: 13614
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:18 am
Location: Gig Harbor, WA, USA

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by watchnerd »

MikeG62 wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:09 pm There is another thread running on almost the same topic.

We have not reduced spending because our financial assets have taken a hit during this downturn. It has been reduced for us by the lockdown associated with the pandemic.
Ditto.

We've been on lockdown as long as anybody in the USA, as far as I know.

Spending reduced because of that, not finances.
Global stocks, IG/HY bonds, gold & digital assets at market weights 75% / 19% / 6% || LMP: TIPS ladder
Dead Man Walking
Posts: 1212
Joined: Wed Nov 07, 2007 5:51 pm

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by Dead Man Walking »

All of the places that I spend money are closed during this downturn. Other downturns haven’t caused any reduction in my spending. I’m generally a frugal spender.

DMW
arf30
Posts: 892
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 10:55 am

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by arf30 »

Due to being stuck at home we've basically reduced spending down to grocery delivery and nothing else, not even gas. Previously we've been fairly strong spenders (8-10k a month household).
Last edited by arf30 on Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
RomeoMustDie
Posts: 280
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2020 6:07 pm

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by RomeoMustDie »

Johnsson wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:27 pm We're planning to retire 1/2021. I've been watching our portfolio and have felt at least a little of the pain I expect to feel when spending during a downturn. I know others reduce spending during a downturn, and it seems prudent, but how drastic were your cuts?

Our plans for spending a couple months ago were... 2.63% of portfolio for basic living and 3.5% for living largish

Our plans today would be... 3.1% and 4.2%

Our plans if the market drops a total of 50% from a couple months ago would be 3.8% and 5.0%

We have funds for 5 years of living largish in cash-like instruments that are part of the portfolio. In theory we could spend as noted but I would feel uncomfortable spending 5% (and would likely spend less), even if the money was set aside for that purpose.

What have you done?

edited for typo.
I was already cheap so nothing has changed. :beer
User avatar
watchnerd
Posts: 13614
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:18 am
Location: Gig Harbor, WA, USA

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by watchnerd »

MikeG62 wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:09 pm
We will end the year with a very large favorable variance to our budgeted spend (mid five figures at least if not more).
Yes, if I include vacation spending, I expect our total T&E (2 adults, no kids) will be cut down by ~$40-50k.
Global stocks, IG/HY bonds, gold & digital assets at market weights 75% / 19% / 6% || LMP: TIPS ladder
Trader Joe
Posts: 2697
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:38 pm

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by Trader Joe »

Johnsson wrote: Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:27 pm We're planning to retire 1/2021. I've been watching our portfolio and have felt at least a little of the pain I expect to feel when spending during a downturn. I know others reduce spending during a downturn, and it seems prudent, but how drastic were your cuts?

Our plans for spending a couple months ago were... 2.63% of portfolio for basic living and 3.5% for living largish

Our plans today would be... 3.1% and 4.2%

Our plans if the market drops a total of 50% from a couple months ago would be 3.8% and 5.0%

We have funds for 5 years of living largish in cash-like instruments that are part of the portfolio. In theory we could spend as noted but I would feel uncomfortable spending 5% (and would likely spend less), even if the money was set aside for that purpose.

What have you done?

edited for typo.
My spending is the same as it always has been. No reduction.
User avatar
fortfun
Posts: 3146
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2016 7:31 pm

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by fortfun »

We have basically spent zero extra money besides the required items: groceries, mortgage, insurance, and utilities. We barely drive anywhere and I don't trust take out. I think I rented a special movie, on Google play, the other night for 5 bucks. I think that is the biggest discretionary spend in the past 2 weeks. I don't see spending any money for quite sometime. Note, this doesn't have anything to do with the economy, it's because we are staying home, as directed by our county and state. There simply isn't really anything to spend money on, as we don't drink or smoke pot.
mattshwink
Posts: 455
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:01 am

Re: How much have YOU reduced spending during downturns?

Post by mattshwink »

I feel that we are spending less, but it hasn't hit yet. Last month we were the same, even though I am commuting less and we have not had child care in three weeks. But after looking at last month I realized why: We paid tithe for the first three months last month, we paid childcare (they told us they would reimburse) and commuting expenses did not reduce until my April paycheck. We also paid for flights to Europe (still scheduled for mid-August).

This month (April) should be different. Child care expenses should be 0 (and should get back last months). I figure we won't have to fill-up this month. Transit expenses will not be withheld from my paychecks. And we should get back $4,000 from dependent care reimbursement for 2019. It should be a good month.
Post Reply