buying them for them because they were lying in front of the TV all the time." …Alex Weissman and his kids, and some of the books he bought. The outbreak has wreaked financial havoc on many, particularly the 3 million people excluded from government subsidies. But, for some, the past 11 months have proved unexpectedly lucrative. Research published by the Bank of England in August found that 65% of households had no change in their income compared to pre-pandemic levels. "People have such different experiences with the pandemic," said Laura Whateley, author of Money: A User's Guide. "A large number of people have lost their jobs and are struggling. But there are still a lot of people who have kept their jobs and are not going out and not commuting, so they are feeling a lot more impulsive than normal and spending more money online." Most of this shopping is out of boredom. "I have time," said Jonathan O'Neill, 44, a sacked retail worker from west Cornwall. Looking for something to do, O'Neal became what he called a "investigative shopper": He filled his day, scouring the Internet for bargains. "I've never been like this before," he said. When I asked him what he had bought, O'Neal said: "It's all the same old men's stuff," he said. "During the first quarantine, I bought sms marketing service a road bike, a classic! I didn't need a new bike at all, I already had three. But it was on sale, so I bought it anyway." He also recently bought a new TV, the old one with no problems at all, and a £95 Carhartt sweatshirt, also on sale.