To think it's expensive being single

[rainyinnovember]

Mortgage / rent is more expensive
Council tax
Entertainment
Bills
Shopping

Or am I missing something

you need to take into account costs of being in a relationship. The meals out, the costs of Birthday presents, costs of anniversary and Christmas present for that certain someone. Date nights.

Hungry Hippo you dont need to do all those things so expensively or all the time.

maybe that's why your husband is in bankruptcy.

Since my DD moved out, I'm alone in the house, and yes, it is more expensive having nobody to split the bills with. However, I've turned off the heating (can't afford to run it) and there's nobody to complain it's cold, also i can live off cheap beans for a week without worrying about anyone else.
Paying all bills single handed is awful, can only just about do it, but living alone means you can cut back on stuff without taking anyone else into account.

I think cohabiting is cheaper than living alone.

However, when cohabiting with a partner (or even possibly with flatmates), you spend some of "your" money on things that you don't like. e.g. food shopping, if you split the costs down the middle, then you'll be buying some foods that you'll never eat. But, on the other hand, so is your partner, so unless one of you has much more expensive tastes, it's not a problem.

Yanbu. I feel so sorry for my sister. She is approaching retirement age with little chance of getting employment. Yet a couple in her situation would take home close to double. Yet the would still be heating same sized property and pay less council tax per person. They can also buy two pints of milk not 1. etc etc.

I find being in a relationship way more expensive and if I lived with someone I'd need three times as much space
Plus I wonder if I'd end up going out more in order to get more alone time?

of course it is

a two bed flat isn't double the costs of renting or buying a one bed flat

heating bills are the same

phone line/internet the same

one car can share the insurance which shouldn't be double the cost

food shopping, bills for water/electricity have never been double or anywhere near it when I have been sharing the costs with a partner

now at times its the most appealing part of being in a relationship sharing the rising cost of living

£15 for Netflix

you are being conned I only pay £5.99

If it's a cohabiting relationship then of course it's cheaper, assuming costs are split fairly. Why do you think people stay in boring ltrs? If I split with DP I'd have to go and live in a dangerous area. Together we can afford to live somewhere lovely.

'two can live as cheaply as one' may not be a hundred per cent accurate, but as near as dammit.

I think individual circumstances are one thing but on the whole, two incomes and phone / electricity / council tax, it's cheaper with two of you.

Not sure I like the idea of single people having to cut back to the bone coz it's just them and they don't matter either

It's always been as cheap to live as two as it is for one. I don't know how many couples got together at uni because one of them needed somewhere to live, plenty of babies came along as a result of that scenario too

Much cheaper to be single than being in a family. We have one wage for 6 people, damn straight it was a lot cheaper when it was just me!

Well yeah but that's obvious isn't it?

I was planning to get a one bedroomed flat for my retirement when the kids have left home but the truth is I would be better off buying a three bedroomed house and renting out a room.

You can get a one bedroom end flat for just a few thousand less than a three bed house round here.

rainy i noticed that. the price jumps between flats and houses aren't that high.

Well yeah but that's obvious isn't it?

You'd think, but your OP was "its expensive being single"..you didn't say in comparison to what, did you? Its more expensive than one thing, its a lot less expensive than other things.
Not to mention there are a lot of single people with higher incomes than dual income couples, and vice versa.

Your point is pretty meaningless without context. You say things like "council tax is cheaper split 2 ways" but many couples only have one income, so its not split two ways. You say "shopping is cheaper" but I don't see how food for 2 is any less than double food for one.

It's all a bit vague and not really accurate.

Wow, the price difference between a house and a flat is huge.

Op confused by your comment on single people not mattering?

Sorry, that should say round my way the price difference is huge.

Well obviously one person will probably spend less than a couple with four children.

If one adult in a relationship isn't working then usually that's for children. Not always, but usually. A lone parent would either not be able to work or have to pay for childcare.

Plus I think the entertainment factor is relevant.

Not round here it's not. I've just looked on right move and found a one bed flat for the same price as a three bed house.

My comment re single people not mattering was in relation to someone saying they could cut back to the bone as it was just them.

It's always been more expensive for me when in relationships, no savings and higher bills for t v packages or leasure expenses.

On my own I have full control and have or had reasonable saving before a neccesary expense.l but I'll recover, I can see your point with being single you shoulder all the expenses though.

Same here, a three bedroomed ex council house is the same price as a one bed new build, both god foresaken areas but none the less

Oh I cut back to the bone! It's good, I have no one botheng me about money. I'm saving for early retirement and i hated it when boyfriends wanted to do things that cost a lot. You can't say yes all the time but sometimes you have to compromise.

I'm in outer London, the jump between a good condition flat and house is enormous.

It's funny you started this thread because although I'm committed to being single the combo of grim weather, dull work and being asked out yesterday (!) made me ponder dating for about two minutes but one of the first things that struck me is it's so fecking expensive. And you end up with a bloke to get rid of.

PS get rid of meaning leave, not bury under the patio....didn't realise how that sounded till I hit post!

I have never been so poor as when I lived alone as single adult in a crappy bedsit. I had to pay all the bills and rent by myself and didn't even have a bed to sleep on (I had to sleep on the floor).

I'm on the same wage but now live in a 3 bed semi with DP as pooling our resources means we can afford a lot more.

There is no help for single adults at all.