March has been a weird month, y'all. Social isolation, then a mandated safer-at-home order. Other than the obvious implications on my social life, what kind of impact did this have on my finances?
I don't have a quarantine stockpile
First, and probably foremost, I did not panic buy. I did not go doomsday shopping. I don't have a lifetime supply of toilet paper or canned goods. I've realized, though, that I do use grocery shopping as an excuse to get out of the house. So, I've been doing larger shopping trips so that hopefully I need to leave the house less to get supplies.
I also signed up for a produce delivery service, Imperfect Foods. I haven't gotten a box yet (first one scheduled for early April), but I'm excited to have a way to get fresh produce without leaving the house (to help me with my goal of going to the store less for social distancing) while also supporting their mission to reduce food waste. Win-win!
Use this link to sign up and get $10 off your first box if this is something you're interested in trying, too.
Birthday loopholes are a thing
My birthday isn't until the middle of April, but as the birthday related coupons have started rolling in already, I decided I needed a plan for how I was going to deal with this. A big part of me says that I shouldn't buy myself anything, but another part is really upset knowing that I'm going to be spending my birthday in social isolation, and so I came up with the Birthday Loophole:
I had been trying to shop more at Meijer because I think they have good prices, good produce, and I use coupons there. But after a whole bunch of really frustrating and irritating experiences at that store, I am so totally done. Forget it. It's not worth me leaving the store angry and it casting a black cloud over my day. So, I'll be shopping from now on at Aldi (good prices) and Trader Joe's (happiness).
And I'm still a smart shopper at these stores. As a funny example, I went to TJs one morning right before my state's official safer-at-home guidelines went into place so it was dang busy. I bought three huge bags full of groceries and the bagger commented that most people are spending almost $50 per bag, but I spent about $25 per bag -- good work, he said! And I was really proud of that. Have I mentioned that I adore the people who work at TJs?!
No social life + less grocery runs = happy budget!
Since my already minimal social life has been squashed to basically nothing, and since I'm trying to be a smart and efficient grocery shopper, this actually has had a pretty great impact on my spending. Yes, I went over my usual amount for groceries with my modest stock-up, but overall, I only spent 63% of my monthly average from 2019. YAY!
Also, I want to say that I understand this is likely a very difficult time for people who are unable to work. I am very, very grateful to have a job that allows me to continue working and earning an income to keep myself afloat. That's part of the point of doing this no-buy, though. So that I can increase my savings and make it possible for me to survive the last year of my education without a job, and only take out the loans I need. Doing a no-buy is a great way to think more critically about where your money is going and build up an emergency fund -- because you never know when you may need to dip into that.
Thanks for reading,
Olivia
I don't have a quarantine stockpile
First, and probably foremost, I did not panic buy. I did not go doomsday shopping. I don't have a lifetime supply of toilet paper or canned goods. I've realized, though, that I do use grocery shopping as an excuse to get out of the house. So, I've been doing larger shopping trips so that hopefully I need to leave the house less to get supplies.
I also signed up for a produce delivery service, Imperfect Foods. I haven't gotten a box yet (first one scheduled for early April), but I'm excited to have a way to get fresh produce without leaving the house (to help me with my goal of going to the store less for social distancing) while also supporting their mission to reduce food waste. Win-win!
Use this link to sign up and get $10 off your first box if this is something you're interested in trying, too.
Birthday loopholes are a thing
My birthday isn't until the middle of April, but as the birthday related coupons have started rolling in already, I decided I needed a plan for how I was going to deal with this. A big part of me says that I shouldn't buy myself anything, but another part is really upset knowing that I'm going to be spending my birthday in social isolation, and so I came up with the Birthday Loophole:
- I am allowed to buy myself small presents, but they need to be useful (I ordered myself some blue light glasses I've been thinking about for ages, and a neat glass water bottle because I'm trying to bribe myself into drinking more water!). Under $35 spent total, and they should arrive around my birthday.
- I am allowed to buy myself take-out on my birthday. If it weren't for this social isolation, I would for sure be spending it with my friends or family, enjoying a nice night out. And since I'm banned from doing that, I think it's only fair I get to eat something yummy anyway.
I had been trying to shop more at Meijer because I think they have good prices, good produce, and I use coupons there. But after a whole bunch of really frustrating and irritating experiences at that store, I am so totally done. Forget it. It's not worth me leaving the store angry and it casting a black cloud over my day. So, I'll be shopping from now on at Aldi (good prices) and Trader Joe's (happiness).
And I'm still a smart shopper at these stores. As a funny example, I went to TJs one morning right before my state's official safer-at-home guidelines went into place so it was dang busy. I bought three huge bags full of groceries and the bagger commented that most people are spending almost $50 per bag, but I spent about $25 per bag -- good work, he said! And I was really proud of that. Have I mentioned that I adore the people who work at TJs?!
No social life + less grocery runs = happy budget!
Since my already minimal social life has been squashed to basically nothing, and since I'm trying to be a smart and efficient grocery shopper, this actually has had a pretty great impact on my spending. Yes, I went over my usual amount for groceries with my modest stock-up, but overall, I only spent 63% of my monthly average from 2019. YAY!
Also, I want to say that I understand this is likely a very difficult time for people who are unable to work. I am very, very grateful to have a job that allows me to continue working and earning an income to keep myself afloat. That's part of the point of doing this no-buy, though. So that I can increase my savings and make it possible for me to survive the last year of my education without a job, and only take out the loans I need. Doing a no-buy is a great way to think more critically about where your money is going and build up an emergency fund -- because you never know when you may need to dip into that.
Thanks for reading,
Olivia
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