My family saved over $400 in a month by staying home during the pandemic — here's exactly how we spent our money pre- and post-coronavirus

• I compared my family's spending from February and April and found that, because we're staying home, we spent far less in April.
• We spent dramatically less on dining out — $462 in February compared to $143 in April — but also spent more on groceries.
• In total, we spent $424 less in April than we did in February.
• Read more personal finance coverage.

I've long tracked my family's expenses using the Mint app, but earlier this year, I decided to take budgeting a step further by entering each of our transactions on a spreadsheet to analyze our spending habits from month to month.

I created a target amount for each spending category, such as dining out, and I compare our actual expenditures against that target amount to balance our budget.

This extra analysis is eye-opening under normal circumstances, but it has been especially interesting since COVID-19 changed the way we live our lives.

Like most, we have been spending more time at home with just our immediate family, exploring new activities and hobbies, and working on our home and yard.

We're not driving nearly as much, as my husband isn't commuting to work and I'm not running errands with my kids or taking them to activities. With restaurants closed, we've been eating out less. We're also not going out to concerts, sporting events, or catching happy hour with friends.

All of these lifestyle changes have, in turn, had a positive impact on our finances.

I decided to compare our last full month of non-isolation spending (February) to our first full month of social isolation (April). Here is what I found.

Groceries: + $160

Food is by far our largest discretionary spending category each month, and I budget $800/month for our family of four for groceries.

In February, we spent $702 on groceries, and in April, we spent $862. Although our spending on groceries varies per month based on factors such as if we are having people over and what items we purchase, the reason we spent more in April was because we ate out far less than we normally do and cooked more at home.

Dining out: - $319

Which brings us to our dining-out expenditures. I budget $400/month for our family to use on takeout and dining out at restaurants. For some, that may be a lot, and for others, not so much. Most months it's a struggle not to spend over that amount.

In February, we spent $462 on dining out, and in April, we only spent $143. This amount could have been lower, but we decided it was important to us to continue supporting our favorite local restaurants, so we got takeout once or twice a week.

Fast food: - $52

My husband and I don't really eat fast food or get drive-thru meals, but I allocate $100 per month for "fast food," which is essentially my husband's lunches out. In February, he spent $52. In April, that amount was $0 as he's been working from home.

Gas: - $109

I budget $200/month for gas as my husband commutes 30-plus minutes one way, five days a week. In February, we spent $197 on gas. But since he has been working from home since mid-March, we only spent $88 on gas in April. Part of the reason that amount was even that high was because we filled up on the first day in April from gas usage that occurred in March.

Alcohol/bars: - $71

Perhaps one of the biggest changes for people during this time is that they aren't going out to socialize with friends, and we are no different. This means that we spent less not only on restaurant meals and drinks out to dinner, but also on alcohol at bars.

While some are drinking more during this time, we have been consuming less because we are at home all the time. In February, we spent $71 on alcohol/bars, and in April, we spent $0.

Coffee shops: - $33

Another expenditure that has been hugely affected by staying home is our coffee-shop spending. My husband and I both frequent the Starbucks drive-thru once or twice a week, and our budgeted amount for coffee shops is typically $40/month.

In February, we spent $41 on coffee shops, and in April, we spent $8. That was the one day I couldn't get our youngest to take a nap, so I took a drive to get a coffee with the hope that she would fall asleep in the back. It worked — so it was worth it!

Total saved: $424

In total, we've saved about $424 by staying home, even though our grocery budget has increased. Given our reduced spending and the dips in the stock market, we've decided to max out our Roth IRAs for 2019 while we have some extra cash on hand and stocks are "on sale."

• Read more on managing your money in this tumultuous time:
• 3 options for people struggling to pay their mortgage during the global health crisis
• 4 reasons to get disability insurance, even if you don't think you need it
• If you've been financially impacted by the coronavirus, you may be able to pause payments on these 8 bills
• How to get a stimulus check from the US government, which could pay up to $1,200 if you qualify
• In response to the coronavirus, credit card issuers like Amex and Capital One are letting customers skip payments without interest and more

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