Being single costs £860 a month

[RubyToogood]

Although actually if you dig around a bit there are some very critical articles of the studies that appear to show single people (especially men) don't live as long. This is a cheering read on both longevity and happiness.

A review of 18 such studies found that people generally become no happier after they get married. At best, they become a bit more satisfied with their lives around the time of the wedding; then they go back to feeling about as satisfied (or dissatisfied) as they were when they were single.

Plus there's the issue that it can be a person's health that impacts the likelihood of them coupling up as well as their longevity, rather than that their relationship status impacts their health necessarily.

 

[BigMoaner]

And it's worth every penny

there's a certain truth to this

 

[Ax^]

.

 

[BigMoaner]

this is my fav time of the evening. vaping my tits off in my pants, herbal tea in hand. just about to get in my lovely bed and read till when i like. perfectly content. it would honestly take a hella of a person for me to disturb this single life.

 

[bellaozzydog]

this is my fav time of the evening. vaping my tits off in my pants, herbal tea in hand. just about to get in my lovely bed and read till when i like. perfectly content. it would honestly take a hella of a person for me to disturb this single life.

Got up 0930 Spent the day swanning about interspersed with a bit of admin

Then wander over to local quiz night, get half tiddly on
Strong stout. Back to mine to vape and select a film to fall asleep to

 

[BigMoaner]

Got up 0930 Spent the day swanning about interspersed with a bit of admin

Then wander over to local quiz night, get half tiddly on
Strong stout. Back to mine to vape and select a film to fall asleep to

fist bump, single brother. we don't even need to stay strong

 

[ginger_syn]

And it's worth every penny

I feel the same

 

[kalidarkone]

this is my fav time of the evening. vaping my tits off in my pants, herbal tea in hand. just about to get in my lovely bed and read till when i like. perfectly content. it would honestly take a hella of a person for me to disturb this single life.

I feel I could have all the above and not be single though.

 

[savoloysam]

How about living alone child free as per as a couple with children?

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Same applies for husband.

 

[weltweit]

I live alone and am not very social at the moment so no chance of a live in lover.

But there is no doubt that two incomes are better than one.

In fact probably the best situation is to be a DINKY = Double Income No Kids

 

[kalmatthew]

I live alone and am not very social at the moment so no chance of a live in lover.

But there is no doubt that two incomes are better than one.

In fact probably the best situation is to be a DINKY = Double Income No Kids

Probably just a DINK the yet bit of DINKY implies a significant financial outlay to come!

 

[LDC]

I feel I could have all the above and not be single though.

Yeah I feel people have a low opinion, or bad experience of relationships, if they think they couldn't do that in one.

 

[weltweit]

Probably just a DINK the yet bit of DINKY implies a significant financial outlay to come!

I am very honoured kalmatthew to have attracted one of your posts as you must have delurked to make it

 

[BigMoaner]

Yeah I feel people have a low opinion, or bad experience of relationships, if they think they couldn't do that in one.

Of course they can. I was just expressing a solitary contentment.

 

[Elpenor]

Yeah I feel people have a low opinion, or bad experience of relationships, if they think they couldn't do that in one.

Trauma is the word that springs most to mind personally

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Dunno really.

I've never really done the 'living together as a couple' thing. Did attempt it with someone I'd been in a distance relationship with for a few years, and it lasted a matter of weeks after that...

I sometimes wonder but have a feeling it would suffocate me (metaphorically speaking)

 

[RubyToogood]

This seemed relevant to this thread. Long term sick and disabled people on benefits can't cohabit without making themselves financially dependent.

 

[Elpenor]

A guardian article reflecting that the election marketing by both parties is likely to be all about the hardworking families

Are you single or in a ‘hard-working family’? Your answer counts for a lot | Nesrine Malik

There are millions of people struggling alone in the cost-of-living crisis – but they’re invisible to our politicians, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

www.theguardian.com

 

[Sue]

A guardian article reflecting that the election marketing by both parties is likely to be all about the hardworking families

Are you single or in a ‘hard-working family’? Your answer counts for a lot | Nesrine Malik

There are millions of people struggling alone in the cost-of-living crisis – but they’re invisible to our politicians, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

www.theguardian.com

It's always about hardworking families. What about slacker families or hardworking singletons or slacker singletons? Nary a mention.

(Actually, I think slacker families probably are mentioned in a negative sense.)

 

[story]

Up to a third of us live alone. So they’re just not bothering to make policy for those people.

Families and households in the UK - Office for National Statistics

Trends in living arrangements including families (with and without dependent children), people living alone and people in shared accommodation, broken down by size and type of household.

www.ons.gov.uk

The number of people living alone in the UK has increased by 8.3% over the last 10 years; in 2021, the proportion of one-person households ranged from 25.8% in London to 36.0% in Scotland.

 

[dessiato]

You need to include the value of the relationship, the human warmth and love, the companionship, when putting a value/price of being a couple cohabiting. For me this is easily worth £8k a year.

 

[newme]

Up to a third of us live alone. So they’re just not bothering to make policy for those people.

Families and households in the UK - Office for National Statistics

Trends in living arrangements including families (with and without dependent children), people living alone and people in shared accommodation, broken down by size and type of household.

www.ons.gov.uk

The number of people living alone in the UK has increased by 8.3% over the last 10 years; in 2021, the proportion of one-person households ranged from 25.8% in London to 36.0% in Scotland.

They do seem to aim a lot at married people in general. I know several who have got married for tax reasons which seems a bit weird. Why should that give an advantage over living together? Also single people already pay more as shown so why give those who are paying out less per person already a financial boost?

 

[Silas Loom]

You need to include the value of the relationship, the human warmth and love, the companionship, when putting a value/price of being a couple cohabiting. For me this is easily worth £8k a year.

That probably sounds even more romantic if you present it as £22 in spousal value created per day.

 

[kebabking]

You need to include the value of the relationship, the human warmth and love, the companionship, when putting a value/price of being a couple cohabiting. For me this is easily worth £8k a year.

You've got it the wrong way around - it's costs - on average - £8k more for one single to live alone than it does for one half of a two person relationship.

I also think it's nuanced - in the year I spent in Poland, living as a singleton, I had the value of never having to watch anything on TV that wasn't what I wanted to watch. I could cook what I like, eat what I like, go to bed when I like, read for hours on end without interrupting myself to be sociable and let my wife know I was aware of her existence, decide whether to get up at 3am to go for a walk in the mountains without worrying about waking my wife, or have to do any of the social stuff that my wife enjoys - and values - that I don't.

I am, I truth, finding some of this stuff now we're living together again, ratherore difficult than you might think.

It's complicated.

 

[kalidarkone]

this is my fav time of the evening. vaping my tits off in my pants, herbal tea in hand. just about to get in my lovely bed and read till when i like. perfectly content. it would honestly take a hella of a person for me to disturb this single life.

I feel I could have all the above and not be single though.

I currently have all the above, am not single and we live together. Very new territory for me.

I feel supported and my life enhanced. I'm also extremely surprised .

 

[newme]

You've got it the wrong way around - it's costs - on average - £8k more for one single to live alone than it does for one half of a two person relationship.

I also think it's nuanced - in the year I spent in Poland, living as a singleton, I had the value of never having to watch anything on TV that wasn't what I wanted to watch. I could cook what I like, eat what I like, go to bed when I like, read for hours on end without interrupting myself to be sociable and let my wife know I was aware of her existence, decide whether to get up at 3am to go for a walk in the mountains without worrying about waking my wife, or have to do any of the social stuff that my wife enjoys - and values - that I don't.

I am, I truth, finding some of this stuff now we're living together again, ratherore difficult than you might think.

It's complicated.

A lot of things can be worked around, we had some conflicts on similar grounds and managed to work them out so it was mostly frictionless.

TV we watch things we like together and if someone wants to watch something the other doesn't, another TV solved that.
If someone wants to cook something then they either make enough for both if they want some or we make our own stuff, often bulk whatever to go in the freezer. Especially if we don't want to eat at the same time that day for whatever reason. We have different beds in different rooms so can also get up without waking the other easy enough (one with occasional insonnia and another leaving really early at one point made this an easy decision). If I go for a 5am walk then I just leave a message in our chat thing and off I go, especially if the dogs coming so she knows he's out the house.

She sees her family way more than I want to see them, so she goes and does it herself usually when I'm doing something else. Most things are basically opt in unless its some responsibility we share. Household stuff split up by whose got time/wants to do it/dislikes it least or again time since that's what we can't get back. Lots of communication over messenger through the day anyway, independent but just share what we are up to cos it's the person we want to share things with most.

Massively reduced any feelings of urgh I have to do x thing I don't want to or feel constrained by having to have them there.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I don't think I'm cut out for relationships - presumably you have to talk to another person to make that work.

 

[Winot]

I don't think I'm cut out for relationships - presumably you have to talk to another person to make that work.

Not after 30 years.

 

[kabbes]

I can believe that it would cost £16k more in total for us to live individually than together. The only thing I is, I suspect that would work out at £4k cheaper for me and £20k more expensive for her.