Americans have saved money on childcare during the pandemic, but they are spending more on groceries and cleaning products, according to TD Ameritrade.

“I feel guilty that I’m still spending money when I should be saving it and putting it toward the future,” Coole says.

Consumers have saved money on childcare and not dining out, but they are spending more on groceries and cleaning products, a new study shows. .

Four in 10 Americans (45%) say the pandemic has cost them money, according to a TD Ameritrade survey that was given to USA TODAY exclusively. While they have saved more in quarantine by not going to restaurants (78%), going on vacation (75%) or buying clothes (73%), they have doled out more on groceries (57%), cleaning products (53%), takeout food (33%) and streaming services (32%), the study showed, which surveyed 1,008 Americans, aged 24 and older, from April 24 to May 4. .

Parents may have saved money on childcare, but 57% say work and homeschooling children was too much to manage

While 62% of parents saved ($366 on average) in quarantine not paying for childcare, 47% spent more on entertainment ($104 on average) for their kids and 41% spent more on educational resources ($147 on average)

Extra spending on groceries and cleaning products cost them an average of $282 and $92, respectively

To be sure, Americans say the pandemic has helped them discover new ways to cut back on spending and that their future budgeting habits won’t be the same, according to the survey

products in the future and 67% say they will tip service workers more money and more often

The majority of Americans say the pandemic taught them some valuable money lessons, with about 82% of them saying they realized they don’t have to spend money to have a good time