Pandemic savers: 'I'll let someone else do the big spending'

For some people the pandemic was a unique opportunity to save money

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Naaman Kisby did not realise he would soon be moving halfway across the world.

Working as a teacher in China, staff at his school were advised to make their way home for the February break - with uncertainty about how long the pandemic would last.

"I had been planning to come home, but it was completely unexpected really," he said.

The 32-year-old from Newtownards, County Down, was back in Northern Ireland for the first time in three years, and after a period of readjustment, found work in a call centre.

While it has been major gear shift from what he was doing before, since March 2020 he has managed to save several thousand pounds.

Naaman Kisby, from Newtownards, had been working in China before the pandemic hit

For many, the pandemic has been financially devastating, with some workers and businesses missing out on government supports.

However, for others, it has provided a unique opportunity to spend less money.

Mr Kisby is among a group of pandemic savers in the UK, possibly numbering in the millions, who have been able to stash away substantial sums of cash - some doing so for the first time.

Banks have seen a surge in customer deposits, wih Danske Bank reporting in April a 28% year-on-year increase from £7.6bn to £9.8bn.

With the government hoping to kick start the economy, pandemic savers do not appear keen to spend their cash.

A Bank of England survey in February found 70% of respondents planned to hold onto their extra money.

For Mr Kisby, while he plans to spend about £2,000 on dental work, he intends to stick to the changes in his financial habits.

"I had always planned to save over the years, but I am terrible for squandering a lot of money," he said.

"When I came back, I wasn't spending any money, I wasn't meeting people. I was able to make a plan for myself, and say this is what I want to do each month - and now it's like a good habit."

He said he intends to hold onto the amount he has put away.

'I felt I could control something'

While money is usually tight for PhD students, the pandemic meant Jessica Moran could stretch her academic stipend and furlough payments from the theatre where she worked further than usual.

"I was accidentally saving money, and then I made it a mission to save a certain amount of money before the end of the lockdown," she said.

"Saving the money made you feel like you could control something, and you could have a good outcome to this terrible situation."

Jessica Moran realised she got a lot of satisfaction from saving during the pandemic

The 34-year-old from Edinburgh has also managed to save several thousand pounds during the pandemic by being "very thrifty", and said her attitude towards money has changed.

"I realised that I got a lot of satisfaction out of saving," she said.

"Some of the things I was spending money on were not necessary, and I realised that because of the pandemic I think.

"What I found empowering about being able to save, is that I have been wanting to do certain things for a long time, like do a psychology masters, or take a longer period to travel - these are now possible."

While the world is reopening, and there is a push for people to spend more money, Ms Moran said she does not see it as her responsibility to get the economy going.

"For me, I am really precious over it and I want to save it for a big thing that is going to improve my life."

'I invested in myself'

Holly Lewis, originally from Liverpool but living in Brighton, said an unexpected consequence of the pandemic was being able to afford therapy for the first time.

"The pandemic gave me money to go to therapy, and I didn't have the money to do that before," she said.

"Or at least I didn't feel like I did. It wasn't like a priority. With the pandemic I thought, well there's no better time, if I have a bit of extra money I might as well invest in myself."

Holly Lewis said the pandemic had made her reassess her savings habits

She said at the end of the first month of the pandemic she realised she had saved money without trying, and set up a savings account.

While she has been putting money away, the pandemic freed up cash to spend on larger purchases she has wanted for a long time, including flights to Nashville.

"Basically I wanted this piece of art. It's a bit unusual, it's a piece of art that I had wanted for a year and a half," she said.

While the recent reopening has brought new opportunities to spend cash, Ms Lewis said she is determined to continue with the habit of saving.

"It has just given me a step back, I was spending a lot of money, but I didn't really need to," she said.