Covid-19 has upended the life we know. The protracted global pandemic has stripped income and jobs from millions, forcing consumers to change their behaviours amid health concerns, and to reconsider how to spend their money amid an uncertain economic outlook. Some countries, mainly western economies including the United States, are emerging from the pandemic thanks to successful mass vaccination programmes, while many are still lagging behind. Rising case numbers and slow vaccination in Asian countries, including Thailand, have sapped consumer confidence, delayed the recovery and left deep scars on society. "Despite having a fixed income, Covid-19 makes me want to spend less," says Pongsatorn Punyanukit, a 27-year-old public school teacher. Assigned to a school in the southern province of Songkhla last year, he says he limited his spending mostly to necessities such as office supplies as well as new official uniforms.