my spending is waaaay up as I closed on a ranch on march 2, which is pretty much terrible financial timing, but it has been fantastic timing as far as a place to ride this out. Haven't been to my home in over three weeks, but I've spent a TON on new tools, equipment, guns, ammo and general supplies. I expect it to drop a bunch month over month in april.

YouBet said:

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All A&M said:

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Just an FYI to you that don't track your spending. I had not tracked my spending until recently. I knew my yearly spend rate and that I was living within my means with enough being saved for retirement, etc. The details just didn't seem worth the trouble. But now I'm using Mint. It is EASY. It was an eye opener and it is good to have that data at your finger tips with almost no effort.

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I did not like it at first, but I've come to appreciate the absolute simplicity of Personal Capital's budget tool. Couple it with their vastly superior investment tools over anything else I've seen in the market and I think they are the leader now with financial software - and it's free if you can tolerate ignoring the monthly phone call you will get from a sales person. Granted, I don't do normal budgeting.

Now all I need is for them to add a solid bill tracking module and I can ditch Quicken altogether. Will probably just build bill tracking into xls and save the $100 per year with Quicken.

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Personal Capital for my... well Personal Capital.

Quicken for the business.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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So lots of heavy hitters here really cutting back on spending it seems. Question is when Trump opens it back up are you going to go back to your old ways so the economy doesn't suffer further? Is it F the economy I'm saving mine? Are some of your changes now permanent? I'm all for independence, saving, and self reliance. Just curious about y'all's psychology after this settles down.

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I intend to go back to my old ways for the most part. I'm taking a long vacation when this crap is all finished up. Had to cancel the one planned for last month and I need a break.

So far I've cancelled a long weekend in Charleston and a Memorial Day trip to Tulum. As soon as this is done I'm going back to normal and then some. My wife is in medicine and has actually seen her income increase during this time, and she's itching to book some trips.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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So lots of heavy hitters here really cutting back on spending it seems. Question is when Trump opens it back up are you going to go back to your old ways so the economy doesn't suffer further? Is it F the economy I'm saving mine? Are some of your changes now permanent? I'm all for independence, saving, and self reliance. Just curious about y'all's psychology after this settles down.

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Not sure if you're asking me, but I'll mostly go back. Vacations, eating out, and other discretionary drives my CC bill. I expect most of that to return with a quickness when this is over.

March was ugly because I owed the final payment on a vacation scheduled for early June that is probably going to get cancelled. But, it will probably be the end of April before I know for sure and get a refund.

The good news was my bonus from last year posted in late March, too.

Grocery bill is way up...got a hungry teenager at home. We didn't eat out much before this (maybe 2-3 times a month), so I haven't seen any significant savings there.

I've consciously chosen to spend some money with a couple of local businesses that I believe in and want to see survive this. In some cases, I've paid for good/services I've received, and in others I've pre-paid for something I'll get when this is over.

As others have said, gas is way down, and my son isn't in school, so I'm not getting nickel-and-dimed on various random school expenses.

I've also chosen to pick up a few things that I've had my eye on for a while but was waiting for them to go on sale. There are some good deals to be had out there right now.

However, not being able to go out and wander around Target, Ulta, and other stores and randomly pick up things I don't need has decreased my discretionary spending.

I'm in a fortunate position, though, in that I'm still working and don't have any concerns about being furloughed.

I do feel the pull to declutter my house and really take a long hard look at wants vs. needs. I'm certainly not looking to become a minimalist, but I don't want a house full of junk I don't use.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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So lots of heavy hitters here really cutting back on spending it seems. Question is when Trump opens it back up are you going to go back to your old ways so the economy doesn't suffer further? Is it F the economy I'm saving mine? Are some of your changes now permanent? I'm all for independence, saving, and self reliance. Just curious about y'all's psychology after this settles down.

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I would like to let those who received the $1200 restart everything, but hoping that Q4 will allow us to get back to "normal".

AgOutsideAustin said:

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So lots of heavy hitters here really cutting back on spending it seems. Question is when Trump opens it back up are you going to go back to your old ways so the economy doesn't suffer further? Is it F the economy I'm saving mine? Are some of your changes now permanent? I'm all for independence, saving, and self reliance. Just curious about y'all's psychology after this settles down.

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I don't know that I would call myself a heavy hitter, but my wife and I are stockpiling cash like mad. When things open up I hope to be dumping it into the stock markets so I can retire earlier. My job is shut down but we can live off of my wife's salary and our rentals.

On plane travel, How many of you will purposely buy the seat next to you, just for distance? (empty seat)

Aust Ag said:

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On plane travel, How many of you will purposely buy the seat next to you, just for distance? (empty seat)

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All the people that gain a sh^tload of weight during quarantine may be forced to.

6 months after this is all over we will never know otherwise. Maybe sooner. People don't change that quick or at all.

Curious about the hot tub situation. Wife wants to put in a pool but that's getting pushed out. Debating if it would be worth getting a stand alone hot tub to kick the can down the road.

Down
Gasoline
Restaurants
Entertainment

Up
Online purchases
Grocery Bill's
Alcohol

Same as most here.... entertainment, gas/tolls, eating out is way down. We didn't eat out a ton, but barely any now that this is going on. Groceries are probably a wash to be honest, maybe up a little bit but nothing crazy. Unlike most, with not being 'social' for the most part our alcohol spend/consumption has decreased offsetting some of the increased grocery spend. 3 young kids at home & a wife who doesn't work, wife isn't spending money at zoo's, trampoline parks, movies, etc.. Can't throw the youngest a birthday party next week & canceled a trip to visit in-laws so will be some additional savings from that.

I ref'd our mortgage right before all of this & rolled the cost into the new loan. Due to timing, nearly went 2 full months without a payment which resulted in some additional cash savings. I was paying over double on a car loan, to have it paid off by this fall. Now debating going back to normal payment amount to help save a little more cash flow. Job security is good overall for me but our business is being hit hard (O&G & COVID), they just announced 12 mo wage freeze, layoffs will certainly happen but I feel pretty good about my chances but you never know....

We have a pretty good EF fund saved up in a 1.70% GS Marcus account so we would be okay to weather 5-6 months or more with no income but it would start getting tight beyond that. I have 5K worth of CC points I could convert to pay balance if things ever got real bad.

We have always been pretty frugal so I don't expect a lot to change when/if things get back to normal.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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So lots of heavy hitters here really cutting back on spending it seems. Question is when Trump opens it back up are you going to go back to your old ways so the economy doesn't suffer further? Is it F the economy I'm saving mine? Are some of your changes now permanent? I'm all for independence, saving, and self reliance. Just curious about y'all's psychology after this settles down.

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I will be changing a lot of my habits:

Things I will not be doing include:
- Going to sporting events until October or November most likely. I'm still going to try and avoid mass gatherings until this virus is controlled.
- Eating at restaurants as often. I've thoroughly enjoyed cooking on top of just grilling. Will probably only eat out of the house twice a week instead of five or six times a week.
- Drink coffee exclusively at the house. HEB's Taste of San Antonio is the tits.
- Fly anywhere outside of work travel. I'm avoiding airports where I can. I may even drive within five hours of any client I am visiting.
- Avoid travel to large cities. Will likely spend more time vacationing at my parents' condo and enjoy the beach.

Things I will be doing include:
- Probably purchasing more groceries.
- Taking the money from the extracurriculars and pay larger amounts of my student loan monthly.
- Give more to my church. I know they are hurting and will likely hurt for the foreseeable future.

I mean, first thing we're going to do is go out to eat.

But I also think it's being underestimated how many people are really learning how to cook well during this time.

We're still going to go to our favorite steakhouse and we're still going to go to our favorite mexican and thai places... But that mid-week "what do you feel like for dinner?" when we end up spending $40 at some middle of the road joint that neither of us really feels great about after is going to be be replaced cooking up something quick in the kitchen.

Proposition Joe said:

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I mean, first thing we're going to do is go out to eat.

But I also think it's being underestimated how many people are really learning how to cook well during this time.

We're still going to go to our favorite steakhouse and we're still going to go to our favorite mexican and thai places... But that mid-week "what do you feel like for dinner?" when we end up spending $40 at some middle of the road joint that neither of us really feels great about after is going to be be replaced cooking up something quick in the kitchen.

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It will be interesting with the restaurants. I think when they eventually open up, the Health Depts will cut their capacity in half, due to distancing. You have to do it, people can't eat with mask on. Therefore, many places will go out of business....partly due to this distancing, but also like posters above saying they're just not going to be out to eat like the old days. Lots of people out of work permanently.

really nice to have so much disposable income now, sucks i cant go spend it. Been throwing about 500 a week into savings acct and the rest to brokerage

Aust Ag said:

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Proposition Joe said:

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I mean, first thing we're going to do is go out to eat.

But I also think it's being underestimated how many people are really learning how to cook well during this time.

We're still going to go to our favorite steakhouse and we're still going to go to our favorite mexican and thai places... But that mid-week "what do you feel like for dinner?" when we end up spending $40 at some middle of the road joint that neither of us really feels great about after is going to be be replaced cooking up something quick in the kitchen.

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It will be interesting with the restaurants. I think when they eventually open up, the Health Depts will cut their capacity in half, due to distancing. You have to do it, people can't eat with mask on. Therefore, many places will go out of business....partly due to this distancing, but also like posters above saying they're just not going to be out to eat like the old days. Lots of people out of work permanently.

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I just posted something similar in a discussion on another board. I think the restaurant industry is in for an extended period of hurt. I'm torn on this because, while I hate to see businesses fail and people out of work, I also feel like as a society/culture, we eat out too much. My son and I eat out maybe 2-3 times a month. It's just a waste of money and unhealthy in so many cases. I'm certainly not one to push my personal preferences on anyone else, though.

But, I also know that our economy isn't bound by the Second Law of Thermodynamics. If this results in a contraction, maybe that's what needed to happen. When you have Starbucks literally across the street from each other and restaurants that sell nothing but chicken salad, that is arguably bordering on excessive. If and when demand comes back, so will the restaurants.

As far as retail goes, with the exception of fresh groceries, there is very little we really need that can't be purchased online. Brick and mortar stores have been in trouble for a while. If this puts them out of business (or more than likely, makes them realize stores aren't worth the overhead when you can do online sales), then so be it. I don't like the idea of large empty buildings and stores, but in time that will resolve itself.

The travel industry is also going to be a mess for a while. This is the one that gets me the most because we love to travel.

In addition to that it will be interesting to see what restaurants do simply from the optics side of things -- if you can only serve half capacity then logic tells you the price will have to go up.

But we're seeing a lot of these restaurants adapting right now with these value "to-go" menus that make you really see the premium you are paying for what is often mediocre service and ambiance. Right now those fajitas and chips/dip are $20 for take-out, but when we go in to eat the same thing it's $40+ post tip?

Proposition Joe said:

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In addition to that it will be interesting to see what restaurants do simply from the optics side of things -- if you can only serve half capacity then logic tells you the price will have to go up.

But we're seeing a lot of these restaurants adapting right now with these value "to-go" menus that make you really see the premium you are paying for what is often mediocre service and ambiance. Right now those fajitas and chips/dip are $20 for take-out, but when we go in to eat the same thing it's $40+ post tip?

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probably see a lot of consolidated menus too.

Ragoo said:

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Proposition Joe said:

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In addition to that it will be interesting to see what restaurants do simply from the optics side of things -- if you can only serve half capacity then logic tells you the price will have to go up.

But we're seeing a lot of these restaurants adapting right now with these value "to-go" menus that make you really see the premium you are paying for what is often mediocre service and ambiance. Right now those fajitas and chips/dip are $20 for take-out, but when we go in to eat the same thing it's $40+ post tip?

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probably see a lot of consolidated menus too.

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What will kill the restaurants in the end, with all this takeout, is minimization of the bar revenue. What's that crazy markup I heard on wine, etc? The hamburger, BBQ joints ...."medium priced" places, might be OK and make it.

Aust Ag said:

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Ragoo said:

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Proposition Joe said:

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In addition to that it will be interesting to see what restaurants do simply from the optics side of things -- if you can only serve half capacity then logic tells you the price will have to go up.

But we're seeing a lot of these restaurants adapting right now with these value "to-go" menus that make you really see the premium you are paying for what is often mediocre service and ambiance. Right now those fajitas and chips/dip are $20 for take-out, but when we go in to eat the same thing it's $40+ post tip?

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probably see a lot of consolidated menus too.

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What will kill the restaurants in the end, with all this takeout, is minimization of the bar revenue. What's that crazy markup I heard on wine, etc? The hamburger, BBQ joints ...."medium priced" places, might be OK and make it.

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I think the places that rely heavily on the lunchtime crowd - think restaurants in downtown Houston and the places that built up around the XOM campus on Spring that houses 10k employees - are going to hurt for a while, too. Even if the stay home order is lifted, I don't see the XOMs and CVXs of the world sending all of their office employees back to work right away. None of them want an outbreak in their office, so I expect people will continue working from home even if the city/county says it's ok to go to work.

Aust Ag said:

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Ragoo said:

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Proposition Joe said:

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In addition to that it will be interesting to see what restaurants do simply from the optics side of things -- if you can only serve half capacity then logic tells you the price will have to go up.

But we're seeing a lot of these restaurants adapting right now with these value "to-go" menus that make you really see the premium you are paying for what is often mediocre service and ambiance. Right now those fajitas and chips/dip are $20 for take-out, but when we go in to eat the same thing it's $40+ post tip?

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probably see a lot of consolidated menus too.

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What will kill the restaurants in the end, with all this takeout, is minimization of the bar revenue. What's that crazy markup I heard on wine, etc? The hamburger, BBQ joints ...."medium priced" places, might be OK and make it.

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It's typically 100% markup for wine.