Hello Grasshoppa,

Second month into the MCO & not sure if 9th June will be the end of the MCO but I am starting to get used to the new normal. Or maybe I am just trying my best to focus on what I can control instead of what I can’t. I remember during the first week into the MCO, I was posting every day on social media on my daily activities from food to my yoga workout. From figuring out what to cook every day to just cooking whatever I have in my fridge. This 2 months have passed by really fast. Aside from my work, I noticed that my daily spending and my monthly spending have completely changed.

What Have I Been Spending On?

Groceries
Since my mum was away during the first few weeks of MCO, I have been cooking all my daily meals. My food supply is either delivered directly from a friend of mine that works in the market or grocery shopping in the grocery store. That was my main spending during the first few weeks of the MCO.

 

Online Shopping
I did plenty of online shopping as well from buying stuff like instant noodle online to buying dehydrated meat. Websites like Shopee and Lazada have been really helpful during this time.

Food Delivery
The funniest thing is, I was afraid initially to order food delivery due to Covid-19 case but eventually I started to order food online to my home & office.

What Have I Been Saving On?

Personal Training Sessions
I used to have personal training sessions with my trainer 2-3 times a week for my strength training. Due to the MCO restriction, I have stopped training for more than 2 months.

Contact Lense
I used to wear contact lense during my work & training. With the MCO situation & since I am staying home most of the time, I have decided not to wear it until the MCO is over.

Petrol & Toll 
The good news is that the price of petrol has reduced but our demand for petrol has reduced as well. I used to fill up once a week but with the more time spent at home, I am only filling it up once or twice a month. With the inconvenience of travelling, my toll usage has also reduced by a lot.

Eating Out & Coffee Expenses
Prior MCO, I spent most of my money eating out from lunch to dinner. With the MCO, majority of my meals are eaten at home which has reduced my eating out expenses. I have also reduced my expenditure on coffee. I used to spend at least RM100 on average a month on coffee. MCO has helped me reduced my spending on coffee since I am making my own coffee at home.

Where Did My Extra Allocation Go To?

Investments 
You guess it right. On my investments. I have been investing a lot in Malaysian stocks during this situation as I found many good bargains in the stock market. You may read my previous post on Did I Sell My Investment During Market Downturn for more detail.

House Renovation 
To help a friend, I have opened up my new house for them to stay. A few months ago, I have installed aircon & fan but I did not install lighting as I was waiting for my friend to provide me with the renovation plan. When the government started to allow some minor renovation work to be carried out, I have proceeded to install lighting & bought some basic electrical appliances.

Conclusion :

We have repeatedly heard of the phrase The New Normal. Will this New Normal really be a new normal to us or it is just temporary? If the New Normal is here to stay, we will be seeing major changes in many things. That include the fall of many businesses such as retail & F&B business. Online shopping & food delivery will definitely excel in the new normal. I personally think that luxury brands may struggle since most of people will be wearing pyjamas instead of branded wears. That’s just my thoughts as I have not worn many of my watch collection since the MCO started.

With the current situation that is happening worldwide, the best we can do is to have hope that we can find a vaccine soon. Or like what the President said, when the weather gets hot, the virus will disappear. LOL. Or……. We can drink warm water every day as per our Health Minister recommendation.

OSS!