Unmustachian things we're doing due to coronavirus

[Miss Piggy]

We got an Instacart delivery today because we're a very high-risk household and that felt safer than going to the grocery store ourselves. Can't believe I just paid someone to do my grocery shopping. Desperate times.

(BTW, did you know that the default tip for the shopper/driver is only 5%? That needs to change. They deserve more. You can change it manually, but a default of 5%? Really?)

[RetiredAt63]

We got an Instacart delivery today because we're a very high-risk household and that felt safer than going to the grocery store ourselves. Can't believe I just paid someone to do my grocery shopping. Desperate times.

(BTW, did you know that the default tip for the shopper/driver is only 5%? That needs to change. They deserve more. You can change it manually, but a default of 5%? Really?)

I tip 15-20% for haircuts and restaurants.  5% is terrible, they are working hard.

[Bloop Bloop]

I'm driving for enjoyment more because the roads are much freer and petrol is cheaper. Although considering that it's a fun thing, I'm not sure it counts as unmustachian.

[elaine amj]

DH is grocery shopping tomorrow. And he will buy ground beef at $2.88/lb. The horror! We generally don't buy any meat over $1.99/lb.

Back at the very beginning of the TP craziness, there was only one last bag of the cheap TP. So he also picked up a bag of branded TP!

Desperate times and all :)

Also last Saturday we booked a cabin in a local ski resort. While we were mostly planning on staying indoors there, I couldn't sleep that night until I decided we should cancel it. Cancelled it Sunday morning eating $50 in CC fees.

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[Radagast]

I can't think of a thing! Gotta be honest, every Mustachian tendency I can think of either is stronger or will be stronger as a result of this. I will be working at home, so I won't even need to replace my shoes as often. So far getting my hair cut by other people has been one of those odd Mustachian habits I have not acquired. Well, now all hair cutters a closed for the next month. New skill!

OK I thought of a thing. Our apartment has been smelling weird, I think one of the adjacent units needs to clean the cat box. I have the windows open to clear out the smell and am blasting the heat. Pretty anti Mustachian. A True Stoic would simply imagine all the things that would be worse than smelling the neighboring cat turds. I, a pansy, cannot think of worse things. OK I thought of a thing. The people a year ago smoked tobacco.

[Fish Sweet]

I've been getting take out left and right, and buying a lot of artist merchandise online.  Previously, I would eat out maybe 5% of the time, get takeout never, and talk myself out of buying luxury artist goods until I got a chance to examine them in person.  It still is a luxury (as is takeout), but I'm worried about my favorite local spots, many of which are small family owned establishments, and I know a lot of fellow artists are facing the double whammy of layoffs and art and craft fair cancellations where they earn a lot of their money through the year.  I'm not exactly flush with cash, but I'm not in as dire a position as they are, so I try to support my community as best as I can.

[Sibley]

I bought cat food for my parents and shipped it to them. No, we can't duplicate the shopping trip online. Tried. Only can get cases of wet food, and they get a smaller amount of many, many flavors.

[Warlord1986]

I bought a variety of soaps and a bottle of lotion from a friend who owns her own soap making business. I had it shipped to my parents and she kindly included a note telling them to stay inside.

An elderly neighbor is facing an essential, life-saving surgery on the 26th and she is terrified. I ordered a flower bouquet from a local store and they're going to drop it off. It includes a note saying, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

I'm debating getting coffee or lunch through take out from a local restaurant, but given my experience as a waitress that one might not come to pass...

[PDXTabs]

We're ordering take-away infinitely more than we ever did before because we don't want our local restaurants to go out of business.

[the_fixer]

Normally I try to buy things that make a meal based on what is on sale or the best value per volume.

Not today, my mission was to get in and out ASAP and I did not even look at the price.


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[Monerexia]

Nothing so far. Seems like the rest of the world is starting to live more like me--never eating in restaurants and staying away from people haha

[charis]

Bought some fancy coffee and chocolate usually reserved for birthday or holidays from local places that were likely hurting. I think they are closed now. Bought some technology related items and workbooks for kids to facilitate home work/school.  It's hard to splurge when everything is closed or off limits. We booked a vacation that I was luckily able to reschedule for next spring.  We are very lucky in most respects, the worst is the grandparent guilt trip because we've stopped in-person contact as of this week.  It's hard to be in this position.

[Hirondelle]

The only things I can think of is that I use my heat more due to being home all day, but it's priced in the rent so doesn't cost me any extra money. I also do my laundry a bit more enthusiastically and use more soap and cleaning products to keep the house and myself clean.

However, these few $ extra, will be greatly compensated by the savings from having to cancel two foreign trips, no outings with friends, no sports activities, no domestic trips to see friends/family, no occasional to-go lunch or coffees (already a rarity tbh).

I may spend some money on a fitness app/online classes by some of my fav sports instructors, but that will also be <$50.

[Buffaloski Boris]

I'm not looking at prices at the grocery store or shopping based on sales.  Aldi has fresh chicken?  In the cart it goes. I couldn't care less if another store has it at a lower price or not. 

Electric and gas bills are up because we're at home so much, but this has been offset by much lower gasoline expenses.     

[erutio]

My wife and I made a decision that we will order takeout from local small business restaurants twice per week. TWICE!
Unmustachian sure, but we felt like it was a socially conscious thing to do. Number one, it supports a local business, and number two, it lowers the times we have to go to the grocery store and our need to stockpile.

[Michael in ABQ]

My wife has been getting groceries delivered - in the past she had done curbside pickup at Walmart. Now they're either booked out too far or out of stock of things. I'm away and with six young kids, there's no way she's taking them all into a grocery store.

Also, the kids are getting to watch two shows per day from Netflix/Amazon whereas before it was generally nothing on school days and one or two on the weekends.

[jfer_rose]

I haven't done it yet but am planning to order some takeout to help support local businesses that are struggling. I don't eat out very often and almost never get takeout. I'm even considering ordering a whole pie from the neighborhood pie maker (one woman shop) because she isn't sure how she will make it through this and her pies are what I wish every dessert I ever eat would taste like.

[kpd905]

I am a bit leery about restaurant workers continuing to work while they are sick, so we have avoided all restaurant food for the last few weeks.  Anyone else feel the same?

[Warlord1986]

I am a bit leery about restaurant workers continuing to work while they are sick, so we have avoided all restaurant food for the last few weeks.  Anyone else feel the same?

Yes.

I used to work as a waitress in a deli. People came to work sick all the time. Restaurant workers don't have health insurance and they don't have PTO. And that place was never clean. I once saw the owner take some of the pre-packaged salads we had for sale, open them, take out the rotten fruits/veggies with his bare hands, replace them, and put them back on the shelf. He also saved coffee and tea from one day to the next.

[the_fixer]

I am a bit leery about restaurant workers continuing to work while they are sick, so we have avoided all restaurant food for the last few weeks.  Anyone else feel the same?

Yep we haven’t gone out to eat or takeout for 2 or 3 weeks now. Typically we go out once or twice on the weekend but we are avoiding it due to knowing that people are coming and going and that the workers could be sick or transmitting it without even knowing it.


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[mountain mustache]

I have been ordering grocery delivery from Whole Foods. The normal grocery stores in my town are empty, literally there is no fresh produce, no meat, nothing. Normally I have a super strict grocery budget, but right now Whole Foods has produce and meat and will drive it to my door for free and that has been amazing. I am trying to be somewhat price conscious but in the end one month of buying slightly more expensive groceries is not going to make or break the budget.

[markus]

Wife and I are ordering take-away food from our favorite local restaurants much more often than we normally would. I'll increase our normal monthly food spending, but we're currently both still employed, and supporting our neighborhood businesses is important to us. I can calculate what I'd normally spend in my daily commute (which is eliminated for the foreseeable future for obvious reasons) and will funnel that to these businesses instead. Should we be furloughed or laid off then we can cut that off if and when the time comes.

Our rainy day fund can provide us peace of mind for a very long time, and in the interim we can afford to be extra generous to these folks who are now really hustling to survive. Last night we picked up from our favorite local pizza joint which is taking online orders for pickup only, and there was a small crowd (significantly spaced apart, mind you : ) ) hanging outside also waiting on orders. I don't know if it'll make the difference if this goes on long enough, but it was heartening to see and I think everyone else sensed it, too.

[mathlete]

Been eating a lot more fast food. I did really well for the first week but I've been grocery shopping really late at night when nobody is there and that leads to all the fresh food having been picked over.

McDonald's isn't the freshest food in the world, but it beats the pants off of frozen food. I'm dying to get a bunch of bananas so I can make a huge batch of banana oatmeal.

[tipster350]

I'm going in and out of the grocery store as fast as possible, with no more than a cursory assessment of prices, if that. I'm buying everything I need that the store sells, rather than caring much about my preferred brands or prices or vendors. Items such as shampoo, light bulbs, etc all bought quickly and without too much analysis.

I'm also ordering takeout from my favorite local restaurant this weekend more to help them than me.

All of this seems mustachian to me. I'm prioritizing my safety and values. Whereas in the past we could be reasonably assured that our health was not in danger by lingering in a store or being in a crowd, we could focus in or values and needs further into our list. Supporting our local economy and our neighbors is more important right now than price.

I am so fortunate to not need to worry over spending more than normal for the basics, and being easily able to swing for takeout more than I might ordinarily do. It seems important that if I can, I should prioritize my health, safety, and community. Mustachianism was never about extreme frugality over all else.

[rantk81]

Buying things online without looking for special deals.... just taking what is available since I’ve already encountered a situation where an item went out-of-stock between the time when I added it to my cart, and when I attempted to check out.
I’m paying more for items than I’m accustomed to, but not by a ridiculous amount.

[sui generis]

My husband, with whom I've only gotten take-out maybe twice in our lives together, this week suggested we start doing take-out every 4-5 days.  Even with this clearly being the most popular anti-mustachian thing to do, I was pretty shocked.

As for food-borne virus - the articles I've read say that other illnesses we always risk are still more of a concern, but if I somehow get it from a carton or bag, then maybe so be it.  I'm healthy and have no underlying conditions and I'm sheltering in place for the duration of the government order or x-amount of time past any symptoms I may get (depending on expert recs at the time it happens, if it does), and we need healthy people to get it and get through it to contribute to herd immunity.  I'm sort of trying to get psychologically used to the fact that I probably will get it and then my job is just not to pass it on, particularly to at-risk populations.

[ender]

I ordered food from one of my favorite local restaurants, realistically the only place I would be sad to see go out of business.

[Queen Frugal]

I just placed my first order for groceries online from my regular grocery store and I have no idea what will show up on my door. Between the tip and the delivery fee, it's an extra $15.00 to have my groceries delivered. I needed to buy garlic and it was only available by the pound online so I'll get a pound of garlic. I might be vulnerable to the coronavirus, but vampires won't stand a chance of coming near me!

I have decided to give my regular grocery budget to the local food bank for a while as people in my community are going to be hurting. This is more than I would normally give.

We have at least one start up company that is gathering goods from local farmers (meats, veggies, eggs) and distributing the goods door to door for a fee. I'll probably give that a try and I expect the goods to be much more expensive than what I would normally spend on these items.

[Freedomin5]

Dropped almost $10K on flights over the past few months, first to escape the virus in China, and now to return to work. Also bought a Brita personal water bottle plus replacement filters for $35. We were told that the testing sites in China may not provide bottled water, though they provide tap water.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Quite a bit:
-Supported local yoga studio & bought a gift certificate for when it re-opens, plus a streaming pass ($17 for a week & as many classes as you'd like)
-Registered for workout of the day from a trainer I know who has lost her entire business. Doubled the requested donation, as it was tiny
-Ordered takeout 2x this week, which is 2x more often than we ever get it
-Haven't been worried about grocery prices - if they have it, we're buying it
-Sent two "shelter in place" kits to my friends (puzzles, chocolates, and tea)

[Zikoris]

We've actually been spending substantially less, since everything we would normally do that costs money is now kaput. Public transit, movies, specialty stores with interesting new ingredients, all gone.

That said, our grocery spending recently (like, within the last week) has been ugly. I just spent $81 at the expensive grocery store across the street. $81! For one week of food! And earlier in the week I paid over $12 for eight rolls of toilet paper at the same store. But I just have very limited options due to having to go solo (boyfriend's sick, I'm sort of sick as well but way better than him) and having limited carrying capacity. I'm hoping that by next week we'll be in good enough shape to shop together at our usual place.

[pressure9pa]

I bought $100 worth of gift cards to the local pizza place.  That's usually about a years' worth for us.  I've got plenty of food stocked up, but I'd rather the local establishment get the cash flow now.  I may end of giving some of them away (5 x $20 cards) to friends.  Of course, if they go under I'm stuck with nothing. 

[kanga1622]

My grocery spending is higher than usual but some of that will be balanced out by skipping a week if we are sick or using up some of the stockpile when we come out on the other side of this virus. We are spending a bit more for heat as well since we are home all day. But our natural gas bill is so cheap I likely won’t even notice my bill staying level rather than lowering a bit as it usually does this time of year.

[travelbug]

We just bought two new bikes from our local bike shop. We were planning on buying them later in the year, but decided to do it now to hopefully keep them open and also for us to exercise every day, as the gym has shut down.
We are looking into buying grocery boxes and having them delivered, but otherwise we are shopping at small independent grocers who are more expensive than the chain stores, but have fewer people in them and again, helping keep local families in business.

[use2betrix]

Well, right before coronavirus picked up in the U.S, and before the stock market crash, and before oil & gas crashed directly impacting my job, I bought a new corolla, replacing our 21 year old Camry. Had I of known these things, I definitely wouldn’t have bought the car, but oh well. While we needed to replace the Camry, if I get laid off we will be immediately hitting the road in our travel trailer for several months, so the corolla would just sit.

Aside from that, I’m trying to be significantly more mustachian while my job is so much in jeopardy.

[rocketpj]

Sort of the opposite for me.  DW's work isn't going anywhere, they are all WFH and have over 2 years wages in the bank.  I'm getting more work than I want (I'm in an essential service).

That said, being at home with social distancing we've had more time with our kids.  Teaching them to cook (more).  I had some time today so I finally repaired our clothesline in the back yard, which will certainly save us some money.  The kids are both into biking so we are doing a lot of that.

Also, the kids sports have all been cancelled or delayed, which will probably save us thousands over the next few months. 

[moof]

Shopped by bike last week, went heavy on the fresh fruit and veg.

Zero eating out this week.

Moved about 40% of my bond funds into stocks on Wednesday, probably jumping the gun, we’ll see.

Went on extra family walks to offset the lack of recess, swimming, and bike commuting.

Main downside so far is my wife had to cur her hours to better spend time with the kiddo during my workday.  I am really re-motivated to get to FIRE so I am not stuck telling my kid he has to wait to spend time with his dad in situations like this.

[T-Money$]

I've been timing the market/day trading my retirement funds.  Crazy?  I would have said "yes" in almost all situations.  However...

Warren Buffet says invest in what you know.  Well, I know hysteria and hypochondria very well (I use to be both myself until I received functional mental help).  I realize people are going to destroy the economy as they perpetuate their fears, they are acting irrationally.

The market is down -35.1%, I'm only down -11.9%.  If I stop trading now that means I'll have $1.275 million more in my IRA at retirement than if I just left it alone (compounding interest).  I'm not sure if I'll continue to play, I think the peak of fear is 2-3 weeks away in the Americas.  There is certainly trillions more in economic damage to be had.

I've always been a buy and hold forever kind of person.  But when society is willing to destroy itself, it's best to get as far away from them as possible.  You can't reason with the insane, just keep them at a distance until they come back to serenity.

[OtherJen]

I spent 50% more than I normally would on a big box of tampons at CVS. That store was nearly empty, whereas the big-box discount store has been packed for weeks. It was well worth it for the peace of mind, since I won't need to buy them again for months.

[thesis]

My grocery budget has been severely disrespected. When I find the foods I like, I try to buy enough to last awhile. I've also been visiting more grocery stores, trying to find the things I couldn't find elsewhere, and I typically find other things to buy while I'm there. Sigh.

Also, I've stopped investing. I have almost a year's worth of cash saved up, and my job feels relatively stable, but my concern is helping others out. Catching the falling knife would mean less money to support my parents if one of them loses their job. I'd be willing to help friends out, too. Just because the market is "on sale" doesn't mean my life wasn't already full of money before, so it feels like greed vs generosity. Realistically, I can probably spare to invest a little bit and reserve the rest for potentially helping others out, though.

[Linea_Norway]

Because the library has closed, and because they don't have kindle books, I bought a couple of new Kindle books at Amazon. The dollar has become rediculously expensive for me, so I am now looking for alternatives. Our national library has scanned or copied lots of old books that can be read online. I am now reading an old book online on an ipad.

Otherwise I am saving lots of money on petrol and toll roads, baking bread myself and on not using as much toilet paper as before.

[Blue Skies]

Groceries - I'm buying whatever I can find, which is often more expensive than what I typically would buy.  But, what I would typically buy is not in stock.  I'm also splurging on some things I don't buy often at the grocery store.  This is off set by our lack of restaurant purchases though.  I do not want to catch this virus, and I have no confidence that any take out food I get would not be contaminated.  I'm not willing to chance it right now.

[BikeLover]

I'm doing grocery shopping less frequently, which means not being able to take as much advantage of sales. Also getting in and out as quickly as possible, so need to make a quicker decision about whether the price is good or whether I'll do without a particular item for the time being.

I don't consider that as unmustachian, though, all things considered, as the value of health and restraining spread is greater than the value of the money.

[Hirondelle]

We've actually been spending substantially less, since everything we would normally do that costs money is now kaput. Public transit, movies, specialty stores with interesting new ingredients, all gone.

That said, our grocery spending recently (like, within the last week) has been ugly. I just spent $81 at the expensive grocery store across the street. $81! For one week of food! And earlier in the week I paid over $12 for eight rolls of toilet paper at the same store. But I just have very limited options due to having to go solo (boyfriend's sick, I'm sort of sick as well but way better than him) and having limited carrying capacity. I'm hoping that by next week we'll be in good enough shape to shop together at our usual place.

Not to be mean and I don't know how corona-affected your area is, but shouldn't you absolutely not go out if you have any sickness symptoms???

[Zikoris]

We've actually been spending substantially less, since everything we would normally do that costs money is now kaput. Public transit, movies, specialty stores with interesting new ingredients, all gone.

That said, our grocery spending recently (like, within the last week) has been ugly. I just spent $81 at the expensive grocery store across the street. $81! For one week of food! And earlier in the week I paid over $12 for eight rolls of toilet paper at the same store. But I just have very limited options due to having to go solo (boyfriend's sick, I'm sort of sick as well but way better than him) and having limited carrying capacity. I'm hoping that by next week we'll be in good enough shape to shop together at our usual place.

Not to be mean and I don't know how corona-affected your area is, but shouldn't you absolutely not go out if you have any sickness symptoms???

I have totally different symptoms than coronavirus, so I'm 99% sure I don't have it. He's not leaving the apartment at all and I'm only leaving once a week to briefly visit the grocery store across the street. It's pretty much the best we're going to be doing.

[kpd905]

Because the library has closed, and because they don't have kindle books, I bought a couple of new Kindle books at Amazon. The dollar has become rediculously expensive for me, so I am now looking for alternatives. Our national library has scanned or copied lots of old books that can be read online. I am now reading an old book online on an ipad.

You can also check out Project Gutenberg for free public domain ebooks: https://www.gutenberg.org/

or Librivox for free public domain audiobooks: https://librivox.org/

So far our library still has their Libby/Overdrive app working for audiobooks and ebooks, but I'm not sure what will happen if they completely shut down.

[elaine amj]

I have also found openlibrary.com for old books :) There are some books that I have been looking for that are almost impossible to find and I was thrilled to bits to find a few on openlibrary. I have also spent many happy hours with gutenberg :) Turns out I never did read Tarzan and I was thoroughly impressed just how many books of his adventures there are lol.

Because the library has closed, and because they don't have kindle books, I bought a couple of new Kindle books at Amazon. The dollar has become rediculously expensive for me, so I am now looking for alternatives. Our national library has scanned or copied lots of old books that can be read online. I am now reading an old book online on an ipad.

You can also check out Project Gutenberg for free public domain ebooks: https://www.gutenberg.org/

or Librivox for free public domain audiobooks: https://librivox.org/

So far our library still has their Libby/Overdrive app working for audiobooks and ebooks, but I'm not sure what will happen if they completely shut down.

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[markus]

I'm redirecting some of my normal monthly expenses toward local businesses. To wit, I ride pubic transit to and from work every week, and since I'm now working from home then I'm considering those significant funds available to funnel toward my favorite local businesses that are really hurting right now. I'm significantly increasing my dining out (well, picking up and dining in, of course), and then have joined a Patreon monthly donation for a local art house theater that is currently unable to do any business whatsoever.

So long as I'm still employed, none of this currently makes any difference to my own bottom line, so it feels like a win-win even though that's not saying much given the whole situation.

[Photograph 51]

I've been using wasteful disposable cleaning wipes at work because it makes my patients feel better that I am doing so.

[Arrian]

• buying impromptu gifts to send to family members (ie framed photos)
• buying stuff from local stores that are hard-hit as gifts (live in Amish country, so i.e. jars of Amish pickles and sauerkraut)
• spending the extra few bucks to have someone else do the grocery shopping (we just pick up 1x every 2 weeks)
• switching pharmacy from Costco to local CVS that will mail prescriptions to us
• spent money at Lowes, Home Depot on some home project stuff.  Things that were on our "someday" list are all getting done right now. Painting rooms, finish carpentry here and there,  powerwashing fence, etc

All of those 'extras' though still represent a massive reduction in our overall spending because we are FI, not FIRE. My partner and I both work at least some of the time in NYC and had planned on relocating there. That's now on indefinite hold and our discretionary spending, restaurant/ eating out, travel budgets in March all went to $0.