The number one news story of the moment. Continuously trending online. A virus which is taking lives and ruining families. There are many stories out there of how people are working and living during the global pandemic that is Covid-19. This is mine.
Preparing
We have always lived an organised life in terms of having stuff in when we need it. I usually go to B&M early Saturday morning once a month and get five 9-packs of toilet roll. We bulk buy pasta in large bags because our kids go through so much of it. When we see offers on things that we’ll use, if we are able to store them, we get them. For example, I have a few bottles of shampoo in the utility cupboard because the one I like was on a half price offer.
The tops of the kitchen cupboards are used to store extra bits and pieces for when we need them and we always have a variety of tinned food in the house. Nappies and wipes are usually bought in large quantities as they are cheaper. Whilst we didn’t do any specific preparations for Covid-19, due to the fact no one knew it was going to happen, I think we were fairly prepared anyhow.
Living
One thing I have noticed is that we’re spending more on our food shop than we usually would. This is because the five of us are isolating at home. We are bound to be eating more, especially as when you’re bored, you tend to snack. There’s no free lunchtime school meals for our eldest child, which everyone gets at the school he goes to, so that adds on another five meals a week.
The main reason is that we’re online shopping with Asda rather than shopping at Aldi. That is the only thing we’re spending money on though, aside from the normal everyday bills. We’re maybe using more electricity which will probably reflect in our energy bills at some point. I haven’t touched my wallet in over a week. It’s been in the same place, sat on the shelf, unused and untouched. We’ve been eating breakfast, lunch and tea together as a family. Playing games together in the garden. Everyone has mucked in with the housework, to a certain extent anyway!
Working
Work has become tough but I’m getting my head down and getting stuck in. A lot of my clients paused my work due to the fact that they were having to stop their businesses because of Covid-19. A few of my clients have carried on though, working remotely through the pandemic and I am working with them, as I do from home. I’ve even picked up another client who wants to come on board and I have a video call with them this week. It’s hard though, especially when you see the government support employed people first. They finally came up with some help for self employed people, but it didn’t cover everyone. Fortunately it will help me out and I can continue working.
When I became self employed, my wife and I organised an emergency fund. It’s got enough money in it should we need to pay for a minimum of 6 months of bills and mortgage payments. We’re very fortunate in that respect but it’s also something we’ve intentionally put into place. We just didn’t expect it to be used because of something like this. I had planned on buying a new camera lens for my photography work but even though I’ve saved money for this, by selling things I no longer want, I’m delaying buying it. It’s a wad of cash that I could use for something else should I need to. The lens will still be there afterwards.
Use this time to work on your blog.
Continuing
I hope you stay well, follow guidelines and manage to smile throughout all of this. There has to be a silver lining to take from this situation. We’re only a few mere days into it and I’m already finding it tough. However, we must continue as there is light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel and we’ll get there. Connect with me on Twitter if you fancy a chat.
