I have a number of posts in draft right now – overthinking/optimizing Roth vs. Traditional 401Ks, my meal planning process, etc. Nothing that matters in this weird world we’ve been living in for over 2 months now.
I just keep thinking about the Sunday in March where I decided to work from home – how I was worried that I was going to be seen as hysterical, overreacting. By Wednesday, leadership was talking about how to implement telework for the whole company. By Friday, reduced staffing and/or telework were in place for everyone the following week.
We are the lucky ones – Chad and I are still working (from home), and our financial situation has improved without the massive payments to daycare. Of course, the added anxiety and stress have reminded me why I never minded that $30K price tag!
We’ve had other spending categories creep up – groceries, takeout (+tips), yard care – but nothing to the tune of that $2000-3000 per month. We’re trying to increase spending where we can to support local businesses, which so far has meant a lot of takeout (with 50-100% tips) and paying for yard work we would otherwise have done ourselves. It’s hard to overcome my frugal principles, especially for outdoor work that we’re clearly capable of doing, but these are easy changes.
We are still millionaires, which seems deeply unimportant (though I still checked!).
I drained our donor advised fund for donations to food banks and family shelters. The DAF ended up being the most comfortable way for me to give money – I can keep hoarding cash to settle my anxieties but do what I know is “right” with those funds and replenish them later. Though it represents years of our charitable savings, it felt like such an insignificant amount of money.
Our new neighbors don’t believe in the coronavirus (or vaccines, but that’s a post for another day), so their kids have been relentlessly pursuing ours for playmates. We are still trying to enforce social distancing, even though our other neighbors have given up. I can’t tell if we’re the crazy ones or not.
We were supposed to go to the Outer Banks with family next month, and I have no idea if that’s a good idea or not. No refunds.
With Virginia beginning to open up, I am wondering when we will have to go back to the office. Our daycare and schools are still closed, and it’s interesting how my company management never includes childcare in their list of considerations for a return to the office.
It’s startling how this has started to feel like a new normal. I’m getting used to working at home, the kids are getting used to us being at home, and our managers at least accept some decreased productivity in the short term. It will be interesting to see how normal changes after we’re back to work… I used to share an office with 2 other people!