The £2,000 a year cost of being single

BEING single carries a price penalty of at least £2,000 a year per individual, it has been claimed.

research found it is considerably more expensive to live as a singleton than as part of a couple – with higher costs on everything from holidays to insurance, gym membership and even milk.

People taking a holiday alone have long been frustrated at not being able to split the expense, but experts say this pattern can be seen in many other aspects of life. For example, the typical Band D council tax bill comes in at £1,670 for a couple – £835 per head – but a person living alone in the same property will pay £1,235.

This is because singles only receive a 25 per cent discount, rather than the 50 per cent that might be expected for meeting the cost on one income.

When it comes to gym memberships, a couple will pay as much as £2,478 a year at a top class establishment with a pool, tennis courts and fitness suites, which works out at £1,239 per head. However, solo membership carries a mark-up of £177.

Even a National Trust membership is cheaper at £114 for a couple, which is £57 per head, compared to the £69 charged to a single person.

Experts from the Good Housekeeping Institute said the problem extends to putting food on the table, with many products sold only in large sizes that one person cannot possibly consume before they go off.

It gave the example of a pint carton of milk costing 50p compared to a two-pinter, which works out a 40p cheaper a pint.

Looking at travel, the institute said singles are hit by booking fees, which remain the same high figure regardless of how many tickets are purchased. Consequently, a flight from London to Malta this month with easyJet costs £338.50 for a couple – £169.25 each – but a single ticket is £176.75 due to set booking fees of £15.

Similarly, the researchers found couples can typically pay £15.40 per head for rail tickets, but a singleton on the same train would pay £24, once the booking fee is taken into account.

and those unable to split the cost of a cabin on a Med cruise face paying double at more than £2,000.

The study suggests even in death singles are punished, with the cost of getting a joint will drawn up working out at £259, or £129.50 per head, compared to £169 for one person.

Good Housekeeping also found an example of a couple paying £167.26 – £86.63 per head – for home insurance compared to £173.78 for a single.

Car insurance on a per head basis for a couple was £905 versus £1,102 for a single person.

Good Housekeeping’s consumer affairs director Caroline Bloor called on companies to ditch the ‘singles tax’, saying they needed to wake up to the needs of this growing market.

‘While there’s less stigma around being single in today’s society, clearly, we are still being penalised financially,’ she said.