Saving Money During Coronavirus Quarantine (Sort Of): 4 Ways This Single Mom Saved Money During the Pandemic by Dawn Taylor

While the coronavirus quarantine has been difficult in many ways, I realized that it has saved me lots of money. Here are some areas I have saved money:

1. Gas for the Car

There was a stretch early pandemic where I went weeks without leaving the house. Not having to drive everywhere meant not having to fuel up!! I work fairly close to home, but for time management and several trips back and forth a day to work, school, etc., I drove way more than I wanted to.

Now that my daughter has her learner’s permit and wants to drive all the time, we shall see how much I am spending on gas with all the driving!

2. Shampoo, Body Wash, Deodorant...

I went from teaching fitness classes in person to virtual teaching via ZOOM. Can I tell you how little I cared about things like showering when I am not in close proximity with people? In person, I sometimes showered a few times a day, it was a must! Now, I shower once a day, if that and no one in my classes knows better.

To my family members that I live with, I am sorry.

3. Dining Out

Not that I ate out a lot with my family, but when we did it was expensive. Dining out with three or four people is easily $60 (and that is low end) and it adds up. Working in a restaurant my whole adult life means I over tip, so add 30 to 40 percent tip every time. We still order out on occasion, and it saves a little because we don’t order as much for some reason.

Well, now I over tip delivery workers. It’s a curse of working in the service industry.

4. Annual Girls' Big Shopping Trip

My girls and I once a year went on a trip and stayed one or two nights close to an outlet mall. The fun of eating out, running from store to store grabbing deals, staying at a hotel and just having a girls trip was a big highlight of our year. It usually happens in early-mid spring. Needless to say, this year we didn’t get to go and this saved us a ton of money.

We will try to ignore the online shopping we have done in its place. That is fake money we use, right?

Trying to find the bright side of quarantine life is possible if you look closely. I definitely have spent less money even after taking into account things like deliveries, online shopping, etc., and I think more carefully when I spend now. 

The biggest spending during quarantine? Time with my family. And we all know that is time well spent.

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