Help! I’m overspending now that lockdown is ending
Were you one of those people who never had savings until the pandemic hit? The lockdowns forcing us all to stay at home had many side effects, but one of them was that those of us who were lucky enough to stay employed suddenly found budgeting a little easier. Now that lockdowns are ending, you may find yourself spending more again. Suddenly, all those good money habits you thought you had are gone, and your saving goals are getting harder to reach again. Is there any way to solve this?
Take a long-term view of your savings
You just survived a global pandemic, and you’re getting to come out the other side of it with your health and money intact. That’s something worth celebrating, and there’s nothing wrong with your first few weeks and months out of lockdown being more celebratory than usual.
Instead, start thinking of your savings in a more big picture way: how much do you want to have saved by the end of the year? You might not make a big dent in that goal in the summer, but you’ll probably settle back into a quieter routine come fall and winter. Set up saving goals for each month that make sense considering your plans for those times. You could save less in the summer, and catch up in the winter, or the other way around, if that’s how your life works.
Take some inspiration from the last year
Though many of us yearned to go out like in the old days, especially in 2020, we couldn’t, and as a result we were forced to become creative. Nights out at restaurants or bars turned to picnics in parks, where we brought our own food and drinks with us. It allowed us to have a bit of fun, while staying safe. It was also usually cheaper.
There’s no reason why that can’t continue. If you were the kind of person who realized they actually enjoy walks in the park or by the river, build that into your life post-pandemic. Those outside activities, you were forced to do because everything else was closed, can still be enjoyable, even if they’re not the only choice anymore.
Make your investing experiment a habit
Many people, bored and at home, turned to investing for the first time during lockdown to get the kind of thrills that hours of Netflix and Zoom calls weren’t providing anymore. That’s mostly how memestocks like Gamestop and AMC came to be.
If you were one of those people — and even if you weren’t — consider making investing a bigger part of your financial habits. Though there’s always risk in investing, when done right, you can grow your savings and potentially even turn those profits into extra income that can help make your budgeting easier. There are a ton of ways to do it, and if you don’t know how to start, have a look at our Vivid Classes.