{ "tags": [ "8o2Y49rU7fVcYSvx7gl9" ], "updatedBy": "AfFOmTZWGrVKbCC0IuLGHYhmlhp2", "createdBy": "AfFOmTZWGrVKbCC0IuLGHYhmlhp2", "updated": 1608012789831, "question": "What's happened to your spending since Covid hit?", "created": 1606740009236, "text": "My spending currently has increased. These increases are largely to do with education and technology. Although there was a decrease in some spending during the first lockdown due to no travel taking place for school and work for example, as soon as schools went back we were asked to provide more basic equipment and books so that students didn't need to share. During the first lockdown I also needed to use a large chunk of money to purchase a laptop as the family lap top we had was not up to the job and wouldn't even download homework from school. For my own university work I suddenly needed to be able to access microsoft teams and zoom and without the right equipment the study and education for the whole familiy would have been at a standstill and we would have been very isolated as we live in a village with no shops and few people. My food budget went up in lockdown one as I needed to access food that was online as my car broke down and I couldn't get a mechanic or garage during lockdown and had no transport. We relied on various businesses who brought their goods to the village to sell and so I was not able to shop around and had less choice. In my work, as I am self employed, I also had to invest more in new equipment to be able to continue some work with small groups when the rule of six came into play. I made no money at all as this new work only covered the cost of the new kit I had to buy. It was important to do this work however as it helped to keep links with our groups and customers, I didn't have much choice if I wanted to rescue any of the work that I have spent years building up. Overall, now, I am scared to spend any monet at all as I am so anxious about what is around the corner. I have also accepted more work than I can really fit in as I have had an instinct to try and catch up on lost income. When I do earn money though, I am afraid to use it, even for things we need like school uniform because everything is so uncertain. I have also tried to stock up on some extra dried food goods incase we can't get what we need in January for Brexit and have not bought any Christmas presents yet. I also owe money for some things and have been afraid to pay them unless its for immediate survival. My vehicle needs work done but I have not prioritised it as I'm not sure if we will be in lockdown again and it will be money spent on the wrong thing, a bit like school shoes and uniform and the usual Christmas treats.", "extract": true, "user": "s1xPDhIcRve2GT18GuP2LAT5CxY2", "alias": "Howie P", "random": 18, "type": "video_response", "transcribed": false, "objectID": "mvy7SnFaQbIVgx9e1bFP" }