Back when I worked in an office, I noticed my metro costs were $1200 a year.

When I started to WFH and not pay for transit, it was like getting a raise!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why the economy is in the toilet. All those people who used to get money from you are currently screwed.

Yes, but what I am realizing is that a lot of the stuff I spent money on was completely unnecessary and bad for my life style, so I won't be going to back to it.

I'm really wondering how things will be once we return to normal, as this has broken me of many habits I used to do in the past.

You know, I've "broken" many habits for a while due to lifestyle change (ex: pregnancy) and found that they creep back in unless circumstances or something about me stays changed.

Maybe it will be different for others.

We still paid for full daycare in March and April which is $3500 PER MONTH. With a large expense like that, I don't worry about the occasional Starbucks coffee or take out. Next month, our daycare will charge $500 per kid, and that's a saving of $2500! I feel like I won a small lottery.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why the economy is in the toilet. All those people who used to get money from you are currently screwed.

Yes, but what I am realizing is that a lot of the stuff I spent money on was completely unnecessary and bad for my life style, so I won't be going to back to it.

I'm really wondering how things will be once we return to normal, as this has broken me of many habits I used to do in the past.

I realized that cutting my own hair isn't as difficult as I thought. I have curly hair so as long as I maintain the basic shape that I had, it's fine. That's already saving me a ton (and I also wonder why I've been paying so much for so long!).

My biggest savings is the $295 per month that I pay to park downtown. Also saving on gas. I stopped buying breakfast/lunch long ago, so that wasn't a factor.

More broadly, I haven't been impulse buying clothes/shoes that I "need" for particular events. That's resulted in a ton of savings.

We don't have much savings either. We had short commutes. Still have the nanny. Coffee and lunch out sure. But now we spend more on takeout and bigger tips to help some local restaurants we love and as a break from cooking 3 meals a day.

Anonymous wrote:This is why the economy is in the toilet. All those people who used to get money from you are currently screwed.

Yes, but what I am realizing is that a lot of the stuff I spent money on was completely unnecessary and bad for my life style, so I won't be going to back to it.

My husband always worked from home and was reimbursed when he drove anywhere, so he's not saving any money on a commute. Mine was only 20 minutes and my car is pretty fuel-efficient but there's still some gas plus wear and tear on the car that we're not seeing, I guess. We're still paying our nanny and maids even though they're not working, so to me it seems like we're losing money since I still see tons of money going out the door while we're getting nothing in return (other than helping people out that we care about, obviously).

Not all that much. My commuting costs were covered by work (metro card) and I don’t spend much on dry cleaning. Didn’t have a dog walker or house cleaner or anything. We paid for the full month of aftercare in March, but now that’s done-which is my big savings. But I split that with my ex, so it’s only saving me about $300 a month. I would buy lunch and a fancy coffee at work maybe once a week (~60/month), and we usually got weekend lunch out or takeout once a week (~200/month). Grocery bills have gone up so the actual savings is probably about $100.

In March my random spending was almost zero, which was awesome for my budget. In April I had to buy a new iPad (the screen on the old one shattered) and I donated to a bunch of charities so I’ve averaged out to about normal.

We have saved so much money that I’m planning to quit my job if my employer forces me back to the office too soon.

Anonymous wrote:Check out the book Your Money or Your Life. It will boggle your mind.

This. My actual take-home pay after taxes and working expenses is nothing compared to what I thought it was.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a humble brag. 50 million unemployed. We get it you are making money as the deaths pile up. Congrats

Not 50 yet. At least get the facts straight.

Better use of your time would be think about how those meaningful and formerly well paid but now off shored jobs can be brought back to the U.S.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gas for me: $125
Gas for DH: $25
Van Pool for DH: $250
Child care: $875
Random workday purchases: Probably $100
Work lunches: Probably $100
Happy Hour: $50
Family Friday dinners out, Saturday lunches: $500
Entertainment: festivals, shows, museums, etc.: $50

So about $2075 easily. I’m sure I’m missing something. I would have probably bought some new spring work clothes rather than the extra leggings & shorts I got.

Groceries have increased $800 to about $1200. That also includes tips & delivery fees.

Toys & gifts have also gone up... more purchases of stuff to keep my 3.5 yo busy, more gifts / care packages sent to others.

moving forward employers should be ready to pick up this tab or allow 100% WFH

Gas for me: $125
Gas for DH: $25
Van Pool for DH: $250
Child care: $875
Random workday purchases: Probably $100
Work lunches: Probably $100
Happy Hour: $50

Good luck with that. Even CA, which has stricter rules regarding what expenses are reimbursable, doesn’t go nearly that far. And it would be pretty perverse public policy to subsidize more expensive commutes, since that generally means car not transport.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gas for me: $125
Gas for DH: $25
Van Pool for DH: $250
Child care: $875
Random workday purchases: Probably $100
Work lunches: Probably $100
Happy Hour: $50
Family Friday dinners out, Saturday lunches: $500
Entertainment: festivals, shows, museums, etc.: $50

So about $2075 easily. I’m sure I’m missing something. I would have probably bought some new spring work clothes rather than the extra leggings & shorts I got.

Groceries have increased $800 to about $1200. That also includes tips & delivery fees.

Toys & gifts have also gone up... more purchases of stuff to keep my 3.5 yo busy, more gifts / care packages sent to others.

moving forward employers should be ready to pick up this tab or allow 100% WFH

Gas for me: $125
Gas for DH: $25
Van Pool for DH: $250
Child care: $875
Random workday purchases: Probably $100
Work lunches: Probably $100
Happy Hour: $50

Why wouldn’t they just cut your pay by that amount if you exercised the work from home option arguing that park of your compensation was already an offset for those expenses. Same as with employers that pay HCOL salaries to remote employees residing in LCOL areas considering adjusting down. Lots that has to be thought through when this calms down and I wouldn’t just expect it could only break your way.