When the pandemic started, many people developed new habits since some old habits were impossible or difficult to continue. It’s time to evaluate which new habits should be kept. Some habits changed for the better, and some changed for the worse, but many people spend less money than they did before the pandemic.
Did you start cooking more? If so, that’s great! Keep going. It’s cheaper than eating in restaurants and usually healthier.
If you switched your restaurant experiences from dine-in to takeout, maybe do a mix in the future. It’s especially helpful if you like to drink alcohol with your meals. My dad and I used to go out to eat once per week, and he sometimes cooked instead. Since the pandemic started, we’ve done takeout, or he cooks. He saved so much money on our alcohol! Since I actually like takeout, I suggested we keep it in the mix. He likes getting out of his house, but he agreed that takeout will be good on occasion.
If you started working from home, you probably ate lunch at home instead of picking up something from a restaurant. When you go back to the office, maybe you can keep up your new habit and take food from home to the office. Eating lunch in restaurants on a daily basis adds up to so much wasted money. I’ve worked from home for years prior to the pandemic so it wasn’t new to me. I always took my lunch to work when I did work in offices. When I recently ran into a previous boss who I haven’t seen in almost twenty years, she asked if I still ate a peanut butter sandwich every day. Yes, I do. However, a couple of years ago, I did switch to peanut butter on one piece of toast.
Did you start having groceries and restaurant food delivered? If you’re comfortable leaving your house for any reason, then you don’t need to waste money on those expensive services. I’ve never used those services. In addition to not liking the price for those services, I’m not willing to put financial information on a phone because of security flaws.
Did you start drinking and snacking more? Maybe it’s time to reduce both. I started drinking more which caused me to snack more. I plan on reducing both. Fortunately, I stopped eating most junk food a couple of years ago. My snacks are now a little healthier, and I’ve noticed several benefits.
If you stopped going to the gym and started exercising at home, maybe you don’t need to go back to the gym. Are you getting the same results without a gym expense? If so, fantastic! I’ve always exercised at home so I was able to keep my old exercise routine. If you stopped going to the gym and stopped exercising completely, maybe it’s time to develop a new exercise plan, whether at home, outside, or at a gym.
Did you stop paying someone to cut your hair? Did your new hairstyle bother you? When you resume your trips to the barber shop, maybe you can go less frequently than before the pandemic. Did you or a family member start cutting your hair? If you like how it looks, maybe you can continue doing it at home. I’ve been cutting my own hair for several years.
So, what new habits are you keeping? Are you going back to any old habits? If so, why?
Linda 🙂
The Heart of Frugal Living 