Lockdown Is Giving People Another Crack at Extreme Saving
Pubs are closed, shops are shuttered and some consumers in England are using their second, shorter confinement as a way to build wealth.
When Britain entered its first lockdown in March, Laura Purkess went into extreme savings mode. The 23-year-old retreated from London to her mother’s house in the English countryside and slashed her spending. She didn’t pay rent, buy new clothing or splurge on a summer holiday. She and her partner socked away so much money — 32,000 pounds ($42,600) — that they ended up with enough for a deposit on a home of their own.
Now, England is back in a second lockdown and Purkess is going for a repeat. She is using the four-week closure of pubs, restaurants and shops that began this month as an exercise in the art of high-intensity saving. She’s determined to put aside enough to furnish and decorate her new place by the time she’s ready to move in at the end of the year.