How much does being single cost your finances?
Questions like Stuart Fagg’s ‘Can You Afford to Be Single’ have a tendency to drive me a little over the edge. What I love is the assumption that being single is entirely a lifestyle choice. Not that I don’t love being single. I do, thoroughly.
But if a Johnny Depp lookalike were to proposition me, there would be no adherence to a life of singledom to throw away before I said yes and rode off into some form of sunset.
I’m never quite sure what people are suggesting in articles like this. Should we throw ourselves at the resident of the bar stool at our local in order to improve our finances? Should I have not broken up with the drum and bass fanatic merely because I may be somewhat the poorer because of it?
It is, of course, more expensive to be single. Petrol costs are the same, housing costs are the same and food costs aren’t all that much lower and there is no one to share to the costs with. According to Cahoot, a single lifestyle is almost as expensive as a couple’s lifestyle.
If you are looking to remain single for a while and want to save your dimes, here are a couple of tips.
Think about your socializing
Singles are twice as likely to go out as couples. Apparently, 12% of singles spend more than a fifth of their annual income on having a good time. It sounds like one hell of a good time to me, but I’m not sure that I can afford it.
On average, singles spend up to five nights a week in the pub. Why not change a couple of those nights to dinner parties, where everyone brings a plate? Or take a free class with a couple of friends at the community college? If you don’t like hanging out at home alone, maybe think about moving in with a friend or a share house.
Apparently, single women spend twice as much as men on getting ready to go out. Read, makeup, clothes and hair. If you’re spending a fortune on it, why not re-evaluate and think about whether you’d rather two weeks in Greece or another round of shopping. A bit of money spent on looking good can’t hurt, but at some point, we are going to have to realise that if your looks are the make or break for your prospective partner, it’s time to give them a shove.
Get cooperative
Being in a couple diffuses the costs of items. Why not set up a cooperative with your single friends- buy birthday presents together, do your grocery shopping together and car pool to work.
Sharing the costs makes everything cheaper in the long run.
Don’t submit to the single supplement
There are enough websites for single travelers that the single supplement suggested on most tours can now be avoided. Don’t allow hotels to charge you the earth because it’s a single bed, or sleep in the dorm, which is even cheaper. That way you can travel just as cheaply as a couple, especially if you share food costs with fellow backpackers.
Don’t let the single blues get your down. After all, there are benefits like the freedom to eat an entire pack of doughnuts and sole dominance of the remote control. Anyone who tells you those things aren’t awesome is lying to themselves.
Does being single strike you as expensive?
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One Response for How much does being single cost your finances?
You really shouldn’t have broken up with the drum & bass fanatic. d&b is awesome!
Other than that, good article. Are you sure about the singles spending 5 nights a week at the pub? That sounds like binge drinking, and to be honest I can’t name one single person I’ve known in my life who spent 5 nights a week at the pub.
Thurs, Fri, Sat yes. The rest are for working.
