Well, is it true so many of us have saved a little fortune during the pandemic?

Leo has said it again recently, the media have spouted it. All those savings made by many are ready to be poured forth to create a little economic bonanza which should surely offset some of the economic woes we may face.

Speaking for myself, I find I haven’t really saved. My steady modest income fortunately remained unaffected by the pandemic. I had some travels booked this year, some of which I had to forgo and lose the full amount as the Ryanair planes flew empty. Did get some refunds. Certain parts of some trips weren’t refunded. Rebooking meant further expenses in certain cases. All in all I am down more than I would have been because of the pandemic, having spent money with zero return. Totting it all up I can’t see much in the way of savings.

How are others finding it, have there been net savings made, have ye broke even, or down somewhat?

I’m out & about on mobile, don’t see a way to add a poll. Maybe if ye could say in replies

SAVED

NO SAVINGS

LOST SAVINGS

A few have..

Inflation is negating it I'd say though..

CptMonkey

I have saved a bit but not enough to really do anything extra.

My outgoings didn’t change a crazy amount during the lockdowns.

Princess Calla

I suppose it would depend on what your lifestyle was like before lockdowns.

There would be a few in my office that came in every morning with a take away coffee and the same at lunch so for 5 days that's close to €40 a week alone on coffee. So I'm sure they noticed the extra cash.

Others brought in their own sandwiches and used the free tea/coffee facilities so they wouldn't have noticed a change.

Anyone that pays for travel would notice again if you cycled/walked you wouldn't.

Some would have a pint after work or might grab an early bird dinner.

It won't be deposit for a house savings but I do think some people noticed alot of unnecessary "habit" spending.

dublin49

saved about 10k on holidays and probably same again on other stuff

jester77

It's not that I've saved, but that I haven't spent. I would eat out every day for lunch, some evenings, cinema trips, gigs and weekend outs, that all stopped for 18 months. Along with clothes shopping, just realised that I bought almost no clothes in that time. Plus a couple of vacations didn't happen and trips back to Ireland to with the kids to visit the grandparents, probably 10-12K that I haven't spent in that time.

ForestFire

No, not saved anything extra due to pandemic....

Saving 10K on a holiday(s)!! Is that 1 year 2 years or 5 years😊 of holidays?

Did you not go on a stay-cation even? Our stay-cation cost about the same as another years holidays to be honest.

Strumms

Saved a good bit...

my main vice... holidays / traveling has been put on the back burner...

usually away twice a year for proper holidays and in addition a couple of trips to see a match and or a gig but nothing of that nature has been possible..

bought a lot of clothes which I needed anyway but prices were great, favorite labels giving stuff away.

Mister Vain

I've definitely saved more. It there was no pandemic I would have been abroad 3 or 4 times by now, and probably would have changed my car too. I installed a small home gym at the start of the pandemic so the monthly gym membership is gone now too. My only other expense was a new PC last year after my old one finally died.

jester77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942134#Comment_117942134

I did this year, but last year I had stuff booked that got cancelled. Trips to Ireland each year are expensive, don't have much change out of 2k after I pay for flights, insurance, accomodation, car, and child seats (they cost more than the bloody car to rent in Ireland).

dublin49

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942134#Comment_117942134

at our age its all holidays with kids reared so over 18 months at least 3 holidays missed and weekends away.

ednwireland

nope

Hippodrome Song Owl

Saved the same but am not in as good a financial position. Occupational Health made me work from home Nov 20 to Sept 21 until I was vaccinated, so I lost opportunities for additional income (though I'm obviously lucky they were willing to pay my salary while I couldn't do my job beyond some micky mouse clerical tasks given to me). I also feel cost of living has increased. I didn't forego any spending really due to Covid.

RobbingBandit

Subscribes to post

Spends nestegg on new Bandit tools

Tails142

Saved a packet not sending 3 kids into creche, nearly lost my mind having them in the house 24/7 and trying to juggle work on top.

Money used towards deposit on a 7 seater car for family that was needed.

I noticed having to pay for fuel again when things started to reopen, so the reduced running of the cars was a big saving too.

Would have spent 60 a week on food at work so that was gone but I got mileage and expenses which dried up a lot too so it balanced out a bit, or I was probably worse off on that front really.

In more debt now than before but pandemic definitely reduced costs for a while as our outgoings on creche were huge.

I don’t have a commute myself, and used the car about the same as I had before pandemic except during the very strict part of the lockdown when distances were limited. However I would have been going into town the odd time on public transport, but then not using petrol. However my car is hybrid and very thrifty on fuel.

I noticed a huge amount of cars on the road at all times of day during pandemic, so it’s not as if people were not running up petrol bills.

Regarding coffee, I like to sit down in peace and comfort whilst enjoying mine, and with potential shelter should a shower occur, so I wasn’t one of those folk joining the very long queues for coffee to perch against a car park wall drinking it. Now I frequent coffee shops, it’s just something I find very relaxing and sometimes interesting earwigging in on conversations. Now I find there is plenty of space in the coffee shops, so I am running up a coffee expense which I don’t in the least begrudge. I didn’t seem to save very much overall doing without it.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058210513/well-is-it-true-so-many-of-us-have-saved-a-little-fortune-during-the-pandemic

leo defaulting to his parties economic ideology, i.e. rush to the banks and spend spend spend, oh and borrow borrow borrow. fcuk off leo, just stick the bill on the public books, it ll be fine, and far safer to

Dempo1

I've been fascinated with these mysterious Billions hoarded in savings accounts across the nation. I don't recall my Mortgage payments, Utility Bills, Car TAX 😳, Car Insurance 😳, Household Bills and other daily, weekly and month expenses being put on Hold during the Pandemic. I saved a bit on Heating oil last year, but was rightly ridden this month, Heck, I save a little on commute, but my Lawnmower took care of that.

No doubting some might have saved but theirs those who actually increased costs, working from home, Leo seems to think people's daily costs somehow diminished or disappeared during the Pandemic.

Leo has being spouting this mysterious Billions in personal savings Shyte for over a year now, its a nonsense and even it were partly true, whatever was saved will soon be used with inflation and Utility bills expected to rise, not to mention Childcare costs and god help those in the rental market.

Anyone I know is Skint 😏 (Or maybe.........🤭)

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942327#Comment_117942327

ah theres no question, many have saved well during this, more than likely folks doing okay in life, mortgage almost done or done, kids rared etc, but you can be damn sure those that are in the midst of it, are still not doing too well, and still dont have a pot to p1ss in

Amirani

It's not like Varadkar has plucked it out of nowhere, the Central Bank has published the aggregate values of private savings accounts. There have been large increases.

tmabr

Saved a fortune on childcare. Saved on petrol and lunches.

all the stuff I pay for just for privilege of having a job.

if I was in politics all this would be free.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942348#Comment_117942348

My oil delivery man asked if I wanted to sit down before he started filling tank 😁

I hear you , I personally did not save and have been feeling costs increasing over the past few months. Car insurance didn't go up, but it certainly didn't go down etc. I'm lucky in some ways, in having a smallish mortgage and single but often wonder , even on good incomes, how parents cope with childcare and other household costs etc .

passatman86

Yes i have saved , the last time i checked it was roughly 17,357 indian rupees. Would have had more but the wife insists all our spare rupees go towards our new house we moved into recently

retalivity

Yes saved a fortune, mainly due to not travelling or eating out/drinking. Also realised i dont need that many clothes if im gonna be working from home newrly 5 days a week, so havent bought anything new, bar underwear or socks in a year+.

Unfortunately, ireland wont be seeing my saved 'millions'...i'll be spending it all abroad. I was gouged enough on my staycation to fall for that again

Jim_Hodge

Yes, saved thousands. It just kind of built up. No nights out, holiday, browsing in shops or driving as much. I know plenty who are the same and are planning big spends on Cars, home improvements, etc. Some are talking of clearing their mortgages.

There has, without any doubt, been billions saved that will find it's way fairly quickly back in to the economy.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942348#Comment_117942348

There are also those who are comfortably pensioned off and pepper the Covid threads with thinly-veiled "do what you're told" repartee. Disconnected from the struggles of the many, these NPHET cheerleaders are nauseating.

dotsman

SAVED.

Looking at my financials, I have 50K more than I did on Jan 1st 2020, and have also spent 25K on a new car in that time.

However, very little of that is from savings relating to the pandemic, and more to do with savings I would already be putting away and returns on existing investments.

To be honest, I walked to the office before the pandemic, so there was no financial saving on the lack of commuting. The savings from not eating out at lunch time were probably spent on a lot more dinner deliveries than prior to the pandemic. So the only real source of savings is a cut down in the nightlife. However, I still enjoyed something of a nightlife during the pandemic so maybe saved a few grand there. The only thing I didn't do during the pandemic was international holidays so really probably saved a few grand there as well. To counter that, I did spend several grand on online purchases that I wouldn't have otherwise made, and were more to relive the monotony/boredom of Jan-Mar 2020 (was probably getting a parcel delivered every second day during those 4 months!).

seenitall

I’m one of the big savers, yes. I save like a squirrel and usually spend every cent not allocated to either the outgoings/bills or savings, on holiday travel. I don’t smoke, drink, go out in excess, own a car, a PC or any other gadgets, I buy new clothes only very rarely these days. I mainly cook at home. In other words, I stick to a ridiculously small amount as my monthly budget. But I do spend on travel for myself and child. So that has been severely curtailed for the past 18 months or so. So I’ve saved quite a handy amount as a consequence of that. Too bad it may end up eaten by inflation. Any advice on that conundrum by any chance? (Oh and no, it’s not nearly enough for a mortgage! :D)

dublin49

Older people who in general spend more on recreational spending then younger folk saved more.Simply because the holiday/entertainment/restaurant sector was the hardest hit .

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943118#Comment_117943118

I know quite a few 30somethings who can't believe how much they've saved by not going to the bars a couple of nights a week and not buying coffee on the go.

HerrKapitan

We are all in this together so let's pay up together. Time to give back after taking so much for 2 years now.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943199#Comment_117943199

I don't get what you mean. Who was taking so much? And pay up in what way?

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942327#Comment_117942327

It's not a "nonsense", inflows into deposit accounts have increased.

https://twitter.com/seamuscoffey/status/1339895929684570114

Not for me, personally.

Maybe €100 a month on petrol, and I always made my own breakfast before work, and brought my lunch in with me, so no savings there.

A bit of that would have gone on extra heating and electricity but I really don't mind that.

Don't drink or smoke and last trip abroad was more then 10 years ago.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942642#Comment_117942642

Must say I have loved my travels myself (visited Antarctica once thanks to a generous gift from a terminally ill relative)… even though I will probably travel more short-hop in future. 😊

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943228#Comment_117943228

It is nonsense , what was that Phrase of Leo's, the economy will take off like a Rocket 🤣 , I'm still waiting.....

As I've said I'm not doubting some people have saved but I'm allowed to be somewhat skeptical of what the CSO says. It would appear those who have managed to save have done so on things like

Holiday's (not much use to the Irish economy) and will likely be used next year to actually leave the country on Holiday's, so a temporary saving so to speak.

Commuting, that's about to be absorbed over the foreseeable future (I presume you've notice fuel price increases)

Childcare, absolutely, but again by all accounts that to is going to be increasingly more expensive.

There are other things obviously but I believe, temporary savings so in essence most of what has been saved will be spent primarily on essential goods and services.

This all before you factor in that inflation is rising along with general cost of living.

To seriously suggest Billiions in savings are going to be spent on a free for all spending frenzy is ludicrous, I suspect its more likely people will be very cautious & Conservative when it comes to spending any savings they've managed to accrue. Just a Humble opinion mind you. I'm not doubting there have been savings, albeit I question the amounts being suggested by the CSO and others, I am saying what politicians are saying about how its going to be spent is ludicrous kite flying nonsense.

@Dempo1

@Dempo1 "Commuting, that's about to be absorbed over the foreseeable future (I presume you've notice fuel price increases)"

The price of petrol is shocking. And I believe due to be increased in the budget. I'm glad I won't be going to back commuting every day.

Geuze

Chart:

barney shamrock

Saved a decent wedge so threw some of it at the mortgage.

Our final mortgage payment will be on December 21 so it'll be a special Christmas for us this year.

KaneToad

Saved a bit through not traveling. Doubled up on mortgage payments as it was the easiest way to get a modest return on the money.

Viscount Aggro

Saved about 150K

Since March 2020 lockdown.

I checked the numbers, and this is accurate.

Housefree

Was able to get the PUP and work on the sites fulltime, frig all drinking/cocaine/holidays = €€€€€€€ saved

DoctorEdgeWild

Jaysus, there's some people in here who make great money! (or have great imaginations :D)

Makes me wish I'd stayed in school and got an office job.

No real changes for me, work in a metal working workshop so still went to work every day, no furlough or WFH, no major changes to life other than missing out on theatre tickets which would be a fairly big expenditure for me.

Savings still around the same as before (very, very little!)

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943545#Comment_117943545

...so effectively theres been a drop in the private sector money supply, i.e. credit, available to the economy, and now the expectation is that we ll all rush to the banks, spend our deposits, and take out new loans, should be interesting to watch!

Earthhorse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942126#Comment_117942126

But...not spending is what saving is.

Ash.J.Williams

i went absolutely wild in the pandemic, i'll save more when we open up

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944065#Comment_117944065

I’d love one of those incredibly lucrative desk jobs, seeing the 10ks flying in as I sit in my underwear and hold a cup of coffee in one hand 😂

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944700#Comment_117944700

we do it bollock naked now, whats the point in dressing, fcuk it!

mohawk

I would say my spending was altered. I changed the car, we did a few bits around our home and we now have a baby on the way. I was mostly WFH for last 18 months so saved money on commuting, lunches and childcare. I didn’t buy as much clothes as usual for myself but my son still needed new clothes and shoes etc. We didn’t go abroad last summer or this summer but we did staycation so no savings there. We save for anything we want so never have debt (house only exception).

Be more interesting to see what people were spending money on during the lockdown especially the very restrictive bit of the lockdown where you could not go more than 5km from your home unless it was to work, as far as I could see all we could spend money on was online shopping and takeaways and we wouldn't be much into either.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117944805#Comment_117944805

plenty of us breaking 5k restrictions, it was actually really nice, places were very quiet, but good points