Single-person households are on the increase, according to government statistics. And the cost of living alone? A shocking £250,000 over a lifetime. Fight back by coupling up. Make love, save money.
By Naphtalia Loderick
I’ve recently become a proper grown-up and made the move from a houseshare to living alone. And my, there isn’t much money left at the end of the month anymore. Instead of expenses being shared between three, it’s now just me. And while I consume less gas and electricity, unfortunately other bills don’t fall just because I’m on my own.
Water remains the same. And there’s no switching supplier so you’re pretty much stuck with the cost which is a hefty £465 a year for me. It grates on me to know I’m paying as much as the family of five next door.
My only option is to get a water meter and be billed for my actual usage. Industry wisdom says water meters are generally beneficial if you have more bedrooms than people. But I’m one person in a one-bedroom property. Despite this, my water supplier says costs will fall with a meter so I’m going to take their advice and get one fitted. I’ll let you know if it pays off.
Council tax is another area that gets my goat. A single person gets a 25 per cent discount on the full cost. Now, I may have only got a C in GCSE maths but surely one person should be half the cost or less.
Faced with the increased costs that come with living alone, the only answer is to save more money or make more money. And, following a conversation with my friend the other week, she told me the easiest way to make more money – move in with your partner!
Now, I had been wondering how she was affording recent extravagances. I mean, this friend is possibly the most frugal person I know. So imagine my surprise when she told me she’d planned three or four holidays this year. And on a recent weekend away she hired a car to get to her destination instead of taking public transport.
But it was when she travelled to her hometown by train instead of the Megabus that I knew something was up. I asked if she’d won the lottery. "No," she said. "I simply moved in with my boyfriend," she laughed. "It’s like having a second income stream."
Sounds calculating, I know, but they moved in for love I assure you. Still, she has a point: living with a partner is cheaper. Hey, it can even cut the cost of heating – snuggle up with your other half at night and you'll keep you warm and in credit during the cold winter months.
Indeed, recent research by uSwitch found that the annual cost of being single was £4,794, which between the ages of 22 to 75 adds up to an astonishing £254,082.
Having to carry the full burden of rent or mortgage payments, holiday costs, insurance premiums and utility bills as a single person all adds up.
Even going on holiday costs more, due to single supplements. Food costs more too – want those two for one deals? Better make sure you eat it before it goes off or that’s a wasted saving.
And more of us are living alone. Statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government estimate that by 2031 18 per cent of the total population of England will live alone.
So all you singletons out there, or you couples living apart, you can follow all the advice that we journalists publish on how to be good with your finances – or simply find a partner and move them in. You’ll cut your costs in an instant.
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