Post COVID Spending Pattern: How Are Young Women Utilising Their Money Now?

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lifestyle in all ways. Students shifted to the online mode of education and office goers started working from home. Amidst all of this, what has also changed is how we spend our salary. With ample time in hand, some decided to get enrolled in online courses for better job opportunities. Book lovers started investing more on books to spend their time in the most useful way. But is that all? SheThePeople spoke with five women in their twenties to find out how post COVID spending pattern changed.

COVID spending pattern: saving is a priority  now

Akanksha Poorna works as an analyst with a Hyderabad based consultancy firm. She said that she was fortunate enough to get her first job during COVID last year. "I had never been an unusual spender but the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic definitely affects my perspective about how I spend my money. Working from home and living with my family means I don't have to worry about my food and boarding. But despite that the focus is definitely on saving rather than mindless spending, specially given the world is slowly going back to normal and the offices might soon open up. The things I do splurge on are usually things I need immediately or some basic source of entertainment like books or OTT subscriptions," she added.

Sriya Sinha is an Economics PhD scholar. She said that COVID has not only changed her spending pattern but also made her mindful of her expenditures. "Now I save around 70 per cent of my earnings for future emergencies. I spend less on junk and unhealthy food and spend more on healthy food and fruits," she further added.

COVID spending pattern is incomplete without online shopping

Aparna is preparing for Government job entrances and giving private tuitions to primary school students. The pandemic compelled her to make a complete shift to the online mode of shopping. Also, like most of us, she has now started saving for the future because no one knows what it has in store for us. "Earlier I used to shop both from shopping malls and online but after COVID, the situation has changed. The pandemic has brought drastic changes in our lives. Now I prefer online shopping because of safety concerns. I have also reduced wasting money on useless products because we don't know what will happen next," Aparna told.

The pandemic made us more understanding

Radha started working as the manager at ICICI Lombard GIC last year. She shared that online shopping , OTT subscriptions and the virtual world in general were away from her until the pandemic hit. She enjoyed moving out and purchasing products online. But the times changed and so did she. "For a fresher awaiting the call letter from the recruiter was a tough time and that gave me a chance to closely understand the daily course of life which was somewhere lost due to the fast paced schedule of classes and projects. I realised the importance of savings, be it in monetary terms or the kind like not wasting food, serving only as much as we can eat etc, she said.

Radha continued saying that it became essential for her to ensure that the ones whose families depend on her, such as her staff, maids etc. are safe and have their proper meals. "Now that I am working, post the pandemic situation, I save for my future, purchase a few things online but still prefer offline purchase to ensure that the needy is fed," she added.

Does your COVID spending pattern also include OTT subscriptions?

Ankita Pandey, an SME of Geography said that she got her first OTT subscription post the pandemic. She believes that COVID has actually changed her spending pattern because before the pandemic she was busy with her university classes and part time job. But due to COVID she couldn't step out of her house. "Due to the pandemic I took my first OTT subscription. Before that I didn't feel that I needed to get a but now I had to take it because I felt there was no other way to utilise my time. I won't say I am spending a large chunk of my salary but definitely my expenditure has increased since the pandemic set in," Pandey said.

Do you find the pandemic changing your spending pattern too? Has it changed you into a spendthrift or a saver? In my case, it has made me more conscious of my expenditures. I never understood the value of money so precisely earlier. COVID-19 has taught me that spending on essentials is far more logical and necessary than wasting money on unnecessary products.

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