LOVE IS not only blind, it is also economical, according to a survey by the Consumers’ Association of Ireland.
It counted the cost of being single and discovered that those who are not in relationships shell out thousands of euro more each year than people who have coupled up.
The survey, to be published in the association's Consumer Choicemagazine tomorrow, finds that insurance, taxes, food, holidays, accommodation and utility bills all cost more if you go it alone.
The association priced car insurance for a woman living in Dublin and found the average cost was €608.83 but when she added a spouse to the policy, the cost fell to €274.75 per person for the same level of cover. Breakdown assistance, meanwhile, costs single people an average of €116.86, while the cost for couples is €87.86 per person. Single people pay an average of €44 per year for travel insurance, while those in a relationship pay €36.
Single people also have to pay a premium for holidays. The association found that the average price of a hotel room in Ireland was €56 per person for a double. A single person, however, pays an average of €90 for a room.
Married people also benefit from shared tax credits. If one half of a couple does not exceed the limit for the lower rate of tax, the remaining portion can be transferred to the other partner to be taxed at the lower rate. If a couple earns €24,000 and €48,000 and are assessed individually they pay €1,140 and €8,376, a total of €9,516. Assessed as a couple they pay a total of €7,626 and get bonuses including double entitlements on rent relief and mortgage interest relief.
On average, single person households spent €20.76 per week on fuel and light compared with a total of €29.70 for a two person household. They also spend €56.99 per week on general household expenses compared with €43.15 per person for two adults. The average weekly spend on food in a one-person household is €63.01, while two-person households spend €60.47 each.
“I believe this begins to reflect just how ‘shopping around’ is both a frustrating exercise and a growing source of annoyance as advice for a great many consumers who simply cannot remove or escape the costly limitations and added charges that are placed upon them – just because they are single,” the association’s chief executive Dermott Jewell said.
There is, however, at least one area where singles get to claw back some cash. They are saved the costs of Christmas, birthday and Valentine’s Day presents which, if spread over the course of a lifetime could save someone at least €15,000. And they don’t have to contend with people snoring in their beds and hogging the TV remote.
