Chump change & Pandemics

How you can go from saving a little to a lot in 2020

It’s May, 2020. Most of my local coffee hangouts are closed. I’ve quickly become one of 7-Eleven’s most loyal customers. Most of us know about their $1, $2, $3 coffee offerings and it’s hard to dispute the value. In the summer, $1 Slurpees are my go-to refreshment when I’m on the road. These beverages all cost chump change but taste pretty good. I used to pay around $4 for my daily coffees pre-coronavirus, so in these uncertain times, I’ve actually picked up habits that save me (a lot of) money each year.

Saving = $1095

Fuel

Half price means you can go twice as far for the price you were used to paying.

The price of fuel from December/January is down around 40%. There is a massive oversupply to the point where the big guns holding large arounts of oil are now paying buyers to take much of the ‘black gold' off their hands (in the form of futures contracts).

Going further for less should continue well into the year. Trips for work (and to work) will remain cheaper leaving so many of us with extra chump change each day.

Furthermore, consider that the coronavirus may have cut weekly driving to half for so many of us.

Reducing driving from 200km (114mi) to 100km (62mi) per week (est.)

Small Car = $2pd / $730pa

Medium Car = $4pd / $1460pa

Large Car = $6/ $2190pa

It’s now easy to see some of the cost-saving benefits which have emerged from the pandemic. Those savings would not have been seen otherwise.

Food

Food spending habits vary by household, and it’s especially hard to examine during a pandemic such as the one which we are experiencing. With food delivery services such as Uber Eats, combined with current restrictions affecting shoppers, home delivery has become a very popular option for home and non-home cooks.

Until recently, I had not realised the crazy amounts of money I was spending on fast food. Fortunately, I’m now in a position where I can cook a lot more at home. Uber Eats / takeaway is now a last resort. For me, it was a HUGE money pit. Not only do I have more change in my pocket, I feel better — I highly recommend supermarket home delivery if you can’t get to one!

At an average of $5 per day, that’s over $1500 each in my pocket every year by switching to healthier habits (which will continue).

Public Transport

If anything positive has come from this pandemic, it’s keeping more fossil-fuel burning vehicles off the road. For commuters, working from home can lead to big savings beyond travel to and from work (many of which I’ve discussed). But at a rough figure of $8-10 per working day, working from home can save some of us big money in the long run. With a 230-day full-time working year like here in Australia, not having to commute can equal a ‘free’ holiday for some…

Working from home can save you around $2300 per year in public transport costs!

Chump change is a game of multiplication and addition. If you combined every saving I discussed in this article, it quickly goes from a few dollars each day to potentially thousands each year. Based on this factor, I think the pandemic has given people a chance to step back from the rush and reassess their spending.

More time on the hands of consumers now equals more careful spending decisions in the long run.