The Cost of Being Single (not single mums, proper single)

phil_b_2

StevieJ wrote: »

Wait until she finds someone else and that nice house has to be split minus the astronomical legal fees etc, oh and the pension :eek:

Well we arent married so no dangers of that yet at least!

Besides, and I'm sure most say this, but I know her better than her mum/dad/friends or even she knows herself, and a split would be as amicable as can be (unless I screwed her over and she wanted revenge, which would be fair enough ).

PasturesNew

The article is looking at the lifelong cost of being single, not just being single a few years before things changed.

A lifetime of only one income (less for women), a lifetime of paying all the standing orders alone. All the cost of all the furniture, all the cost of all appliances, all the cost of all the repairs to things, the replacements.

In a lot of instances you can get a "cheap hotel room" as a couple "only £15pppn" so that's £30 for a single, including breakfast, but I can only eat one. Then you go into the food part and it's BOGOF, I can still only eat one meal.

I had a friend who came to visit and booked into a hotel. Single room, pokey, was £40. Double room, larger, was £43. Rooms included breakfast. Friend booked the double and I joined them for breakfast. Just £3 extra was the difference between a single and a double. If that were one person -v- two, the single would be paying £40 ... and joining up with their couple friends who had just paid £21.50 each to be sitting at the same table, eating the same breakfast, having stayed in the same hotel.

And, weddings ... I agree with everything said above about those. Horrendously expensive for a single. As a rule of thumb a wedding gift has to not look tight. A couple can jointly give something for £20, but a single would also have to fork out £20 because £10 would look tight. Then, when you get there, if you're caught at the bar you end up buying rounds ... and getting stiffed again... especially if you're female and only drinking halves, whereas half of the couple are drinking pints.

Cost of a round (simplified): £1 for a half, £2 for a pint, £1 for other half = £4
Couple then each (IF you're lucky) buy two rounds £8, £4 each
Total spend of three rounds £12.

Single female's consumed £3 of drinks, couple's had benefit of £9 of drinks. They get £4.50's worth each, because it's rounds.

And don't get me onto splitting meals - and just how much volume a bloke can shovel in..... usually pricey stuff too (king prawns are a favourite if they think somebody else is paying) ... AND ... as they have somebody to drive, they'll also be guzzling loads of expensive booze while the single's on a coke or two. Split the bill? ppft, you can **** right off you greedy b4st4rds.

pop_gun

the government should come up with a number of the amount of new borns the state can accomodate (all and sundry costs) and then publish those figures. the state should be on the side of the single person. afterall aren't they acting more responsibly in these times of unsustainable population growth.

chucky

just an observation and not directed at anyone in particular but... the same people that are negative about the economy and other related stuff are the same people that are negative and not too positive about relationships too...

weird but very true...

StevieJ

phil_b wrote: »

Well we arent married so no dangers of that yet at least!

Besides, and I'm sure most say this, but I know her better than her mum/dad/friends or even she knows herself, and a split would be as amicable as can be (unless I screwed her over and she wanted revenge, which would be fair enough ).

I suppose I was being generic about the fact that there is green grass both sides of that fence, but I am sure that living with a loved one and family would be the preferred option for most, but as Chaos pointed out when the 'loved one' ceases to be the case I think misery can soon follow.

pop_gun

PasturesNew wrote: »

The article is looking at the lifelong cost of being single, not just being single a few years before things changed.

A lifetime of only one income (less for women), a lifetime of paying all the standing orders alone. All the cost of all the furniture, all the cost of all appliances, all the cost of all the repairs to things, the replacements.

In a lot of instances you can get a "cheap hotel room" as a couple "only £15pppn" so that's £30 for a single, including breakfast, but I can only eat one. Then you go into the food part and it's BOGOF, I can still only eat one meal.

I had a friend who came to visit and booked into a hotel. Single room, pokey, was £40. Double room, larger, was £43. Rooms included breakfast. Friend booked the double and I joined them for breakfast. Just £3 extra was the difference between a single and a double. If that were one person -v- two, the single would be paying £40 ... and joining up with their couple friends who had just paid £21.50 each to be sitting at the same table, eating the same breakfast, having stayed in the same hotel.

And, weddings ... I agree with everything said above about those. Horrendously expensive for a single. As a rule of thumb a wedding gift has to not look tight. A couple can jointly give something for £20, but a single would also have to fork out £20 because £10 would look tight. Then, when you get there, if you're caught at the bar you end up buying rounds ... and getting stiffed again... especially if you're female and only drinking halves, whereas half of the couple are drinking pints.

Cost of a round (simplified): £1 for a half, £2 for a pint, £1 for other half = £4
Couple then each (IF you're lucky) buy two rounds £8, £4 each
Total spend of three rounds £12.

Single female's consumed £3 of drinks, couple's had benefit of £9 of drinks. They get £4.50's worth each, because it's rounds.

And don't get me onto splitting meals - and just how much volume a bloke can shovel in..... usually pricey stuff too (king prawns are a favourite if they think somebody else is paying) ... AND ... as they have somebody to drive, they'll also be guzzling loads of expensive booze while the single's on a coke or two. Split the bill? ppft, you can **** right off you greedy b4st4rds.

i found a way around all this.

stop having friends! they're too expensive.

monetize your relationships and cut back on waste. :rotfl:

PasturesNew

pop_gun wrote: »

i found a way around all this.

stop having friends! they're too expensive.

monetize your relationships and cut back on waste. :rotfl:

Joking aside, I have actually spent most of my life doing that. I couldn't afford to do stuff, go out, make friends.

The minute you make friends, they want to do stuff... stuff I couldn't afford. So then you can't do that stuff and you're back to square one.

It's very expensive to go outside ... and do stuff.

Stuff's only free if you've already got the right sort of friends. Most of my 'friends' have tended to be single dole scum, they were the only ones also as brassic as me

Even stuff that seems free isn't really. Take walking, join the Ramblers' Association... deep joy.
Single: £29.50
Couple: £39.50
Kids: Under 16 free
http://www.ramblers.org.uk/membership/about/categoriesrates

Then there's the fuel to get to the walks, the special boots/jacket. Then afterwards, maybe in the pub (although the time I did go everybody just drove off home afterwards).

Edit: I should add that any couples that joined, would drive off in one car, so only paying half the cost to get there and run a car for that journey.

It's endless when you break it down... and expensive when you add it up.

Graham_Devon

Been in both situations.

Both have pro's and con's.

The extra cost in council tax etc etc etc are easily offset by the extra cost in buying pointless shoes than no one can actually walk in, while on a pointless shopping trip, only for them to go into the pointless cupboard that you had to buy.

lemonjelly

StevieJ wrote: »

I bet you buy them a Wolves kit or does that exceed the spend?

Doesn't exceed the spend, & is actually well worth it to see the look on the face of their Liverpool supporting glory hunter father!:D

My point earlier wasn't that I begrudged them anything. Most times when I visit I take a little something for them. & nothing is as precious as the time I get to spend with them. I think the issue that some people who are single feel that the couples are unaware of some of the issues raised above, like PN's original point about the buying rounds, or Gen's point regarding the taxi fare. Couples see their income as joint, expenditure as joint, but see themselves in the singular.

PasturesNew

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Been in both situations.

Both have pro's and con's.

The extra cost in council tax etc etc etc are easily offset by the extra cost in buying pointless shoes than no one can actually walk in, while on a pointless shopping trip, only for them to go into the pointless cupboard that you had to buy.

With all due respect .... you were only in the single situation for a while. Now you're a family.

And not every single buys pointless shoes to put in a pointless cupboard. My shoes tend to cost me £5, last 5 years ... and get wrapped up in supermarket carrier bags and put in a plastic storage box.