Is Being Single More Expensive?
While nowadays, everyone buzzes about how expensive weddings can be, it turns out the price tag on one's nuptials is a mere pittance compared to the cost of remaining single.
In The Atlantic Monthly's "The High Price of Being Single in America," authors Lisa Arnold and Christina Campbell argue that, compared to a married woman of the same income, a single woman, over the course of her lifetime, could pay an extra $1,022,096 -- just for being single.
Amazed by this figure, I dug deeper, plus found out how these differences play out in the lives of real single and married people -- men and women. What I learned is that the calculations are not quite so clear cut.
The Atlantic authors claim that due to laws favoring married couples, a single peson earning $40,000 a year pays $6,181 in taxes on that income, while a married individual with the same income pays only $5,162 -- a savings of more than $1,000 annually.
Those calculations do not mention the "marriage penalty," in which married couples pay more taxes if their newly combined income pushes them into a higher tax bracket.
After marrying in 2008, Laurie Itkin from San Diego began paying more than $20,000 extra in federal and state taxes annually. "My husband jokes that we should get divorced not because he doesn't love me anymore, but because we experience the so-called 'marriage penalty' in filing a joint tax return," she explained.
Even though the Itkins are victims of the "marriage penalty," some couples actually do receive the "marriage bonus" mentioned in The Atlantic's article, which typically occurs when the income levels of the two spouses are widely disparate. For instance, couples with only one earner almost always enjoy a bonus, because the higher earner's income moves into a lower bracket.
Take Greg Davis from Los Angeles, California who got married in 2009; his wife's work as a tutor did not bring in much money, so he enjoyed the marriage bonus. "I save money on taxes now because when my wife and I combined incomes we didn't get pushed into a higher tax bracket and got much better deductions than when we were single," said Davis.
Of course, whether or not you pay more in taxes depends on a lot of factors: You can use Tax Policy Center's Marriage Bonus and Penalty Tax Calculator to see how marriage would affect your tax payments.
While tax breaks may vary person-to-person, data shows living costs such as housing and insurance -- or what we at LearnVest would call Essential Expenses -- are almost always higher for singles.
Using averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a single person in his 20s spends about $9,964 on housing where a married couple the same age averages $8,844. Over 60 years, this can add up to over $67,200 in savings for a married couple.
Not only do singles pay more in living costs, but they also don't have a spouse to help them cover the expenses. Kimberly Michel of Columbia, Missouri said, "All of the home expenses fall to me and my one income. If I were married and my husband also worked, my rent and bills on my two-bedroom apartment would be split in half."
The same pattern emerges for expenditures on healthcare. Singles spend about $570 per year on healthcare, while couples average about $963, which is only $482 per person -- far less than their single peers, because of the reduced costs of coverage.
But LearnVest Planning services certified financial planner Sophia Bera cautions that while in general, a couple might save by being covered by the same plan, you should never assume so. Instead, look at your personal situation and the policies available to you. "Sometimes it's better for a husband and wife to stay on separate insurance; other times they might benefit from going on a family plan under one spouse's company," she says. Still others, she adds, might do better to decline insurance through their employer and instead purchase their own policy.
Melinda Hurley-Patterson is one such exception to the averages showing singles pay more. She faced a higher joint health insurance bill when she married her husband because his job does not cover health insurance. "I now pay an extra $300 per month out of pocket for his medical insurance because neither of our jobs cover his. It's killing my paycheck," she says.
While having higher living expenses is fairly predictable for singles, what many find maddening is that they also typically have higher social costs -- or what we at LearnVest would call Lifestyle Choices -- for items such as hotel rooms, health club memberships and cell phone plans.
Author of "Singled Out" Dr. Bella DePaulo explains, "Whenever companies charge less per person for couples or families than they do for single people, singles are paying more and subsidizing the couples and families who are paying less. Examples include big-ticket items like health club memberships and travel costs -- and the dreaded 'single supplement,'" which is a premium charged to solo travelers for taking a room alone. She also points out that singles pay the full cost of bridal shower and wedding gifts without ever receiving gifts at a wedding of their own.
Singles also bear the costly burden of dating. Now engaged, Farnaz Shahri said she had more expenses while she was looking for love. "When I was single I spent a lot more money on self-care to become more 'marketable,' so to speak. Now the money we spend is carefully calculated and put to better use," said Shahri.
Scott Gralnick lives and dates in New York City and believes that he spends more money than his married friends because he takes women out on dates. "As a single man, the spending is more one-sided because I pay for dates. When you are married your income and spending are split 50/50 because you are a team and things are shared. I often pay for two dinners on one income," said Gralnick.
However, while the newly married might initially save on social costs, those savings will probably find a new use if the couple chooses to have children. Wendy McKibben Spies, married with children, not only feels her expenses are higher, but also that she needs more savings to secure her children's future. "I have less control over costs and I feel like I need a bigger buffer to protect my family," she says.
Those who married "savers" were more likely to lessen their expenditures and those who married spenders began to splurge more than before.
Denise Taylor, for example, credits her ex-husband with teaching her financial smarts, which saved her a lot more than any tax bonus could. While the marriage didn't ultimately work out, "I credit him with teaching me the value of saving and the pride of owning every dollar I earned," she says.
But, of course, we're not advocating that anyone get married to learn to save money. After all, divorce is expensive.
And, whether you're single or married, the best thing you can do with your finances is determine your (individual or joint) financial goals and decide on a plan that will help you achieve them. That, more than your marital status, will have the biggest long-term influence on your finances.


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Sanctuary – Snippet 16
by Drak Bibliophile | Mar 23, 2015 | Snippets | 3 comments
Let Zilikazi get close enough… as was bound to happen if Kororo warriors had to fight the noble's army at close range…
There would be no way to resist him. Not even with the help of the gantrak. Sebetwe could only control one of the creatures, and then only with the assistance of the two Mrem dancers. He could not be certain, of course, without making the attempt. But he didn't think he could withstand Zilikazi's power at close range.
If they had more dancers, the situation might be different. Although even with the help of two gantraks, Zilikazi couldn't be held off indefinitely.
If they had more gantrak… which would require still more dancers…
He came to his reluctant conclusion.
"We must leave the eyrie and retreat through the mountains," he said. "In the ranges, we can slow down Zilikazi. Even without rock falls prepared ahead of time, we can improvise traps and barriers. On the plateau, we can't. It's as simple as that."
He looked around the circle. "And we need to find more Mrem. Without more dancers, we can't control enough gantrak to make a big enough difference."
One of the Krek's two main war leaders grunted. Logula, that was. "If we can find enough gantrak in the first place. The beasts are not plentiful, and not easy to catch."
There was that, too. But Sebetwe still didn't think they had any choice.
"Perhaps Zilikazi will turn back…" That tentative musing came from Nokom, the oldest of the females on the council. There is really nothing here worth his while."
Meshwe make a sharp gesture of negation. "That's an idle fancy. If Zilikazi were going to turn back he would have done so already. And there is something here worth his while to destroy — the Krek itself. So long as we exist, he will consider us a threat to his rule."
He swiveled his head and gazed at the wall on the southeast side of the yurt beyond which, still a considerable distance away, was the Dzundu Sea. There were rumored to be lands on the other side of that sea, but its far shores had never been observed by any of the Kororo scouts who had ventured that far. Their reports only spoke of a large island a fairly short distance from the mainland.
"Fairly short" was an abstract measurement, however. The span of water between the mainland and the island was quite large enough for the huge monsters who swam in the seas. The scouts had them coming to the surface.
Needless to say, no scouts had ever made the attempt to cross over to the island. Swimming would be simple suicide, even if anyone were strong enough to get all the way across, and using a boat wouldn't be much safer. It might be possible to build a raft big enough to withstand the assault of a sea monster. But no one knew for sure.
With the exception of a few clans, neither Liskash nor Mrem were skilled at sea travel. Whenever they did venture onto the sea — even very large lakes — they generally used simple skiffs and coracles and stayed very close to shore. Marine and aquatic predators were much bigger and more powerful than even the largest land carnivores.
"We will have to hope that one of two things is true," Meshwe continued. "First, that once we retreat far enough Zilikazi will be satisfied that we no longer constitute a danger to him and will turn back."
Logula issued another grunt. "Not likely. There is no more persistent noble in the world."
Meshwe nodded. "Still, he can't pursue us forever. We can travel faster than he can, with that huge force he has. Which brings me to our second hope, which is that we can continue retreating once we reach the sea."
Nokom looked up with alarm. "We don't know?"
"I am afraid not. Our scouts never followed the shore for any distance to the south. We have no idea what might lie in that direction."
"What about following the shore toward the north?" Asked Logula.
"Not possible," said Meshwe. "Not for the whole Krek, at any rate. A few particularly hardy individuals might manage to do it. There is a very deep canyon with a swiftly moving river at the bottom. Almost sheer cliffs, according to the scout who discovered the canyon some years ago."
"Canyons can be crossed, even ones with swift rivers," said Logula.
"Yes, certainly. But not without building bridges and laying guide ropes — and how long would that take? We can't move that much faster than Zilikazi. Long before we finished constructing what we'd need to get through the canyon, his army would have arrived — and we'd be completely trapped."
Again, Logula grunted. The sound, this time, conveyed agreement, if not satisfaction.
Meshwe now turned back to Sebetwe. "And that brings us to the next and perhaps most difficult questions. Can we find more Mrem? And would they agree to help us?"
"Find out."
Achia Pazik
"I don't know the answer to either question," Achia Pazik said to Sebetwe. "But since the answer to the second question depends upon answering the first, we should make plans to that end."
"Yes, that makes sense," said Sebetwe. "Where are more Mrem from your tribe most likely to be found?"
Achia Pazik had to restrain herself from throwing up her hands in a gesture of futility. "I don't know the answer to that question either," she admitted.
Sebetwe got an expression on his face that resembled a yawn. Achia Pazik thought was the Liskash equivalent of a smile. It was hard to tell. The features of the reptiles were stiffer and less mobile than those of her people.
"So it seems we need to address that one first," he said. "How many of your people can you send out to accompany our scouts? I think without you to talk to anyone we encounter, they will not be willing to listen to us."
Achia Pazik chuckled. There wasn't much humor in the sound. "They'd be much more likely to try to kill you."
Bibliotheca Servare	on March 23, 2015 at 4:27 PM
Lol…I think I like her. On a different note, I had wondered if the Liskash were reptilian! Now that I know that for certain, I wonder what the Mrem look like. Hmm. Am I crazy or did one of the snippets mention something about…fur? I know they're mammals, but are they furry, bipedal mammals? I recall the Mrem that the priestesses in training saved calling her young "kits." (Or the Liskash gals referred to them that way) does that mean they are felinoid? If so, I may die from an overdose of cuteness. ;-D
Drak Bibliophile	on March 23, 2015 at 4:35 PM
Basically the Liskash are intelligent dinosaurs and the Mrem are humanoid cats.
As for "cute", Larry Niven's Kzin are similar to humanoid cats and would not be considered "cute".
Of course, the Kzin might kill you for calling them "cute". [Wink]
Bibliotheca Servare	on March 25, 2015 at 6:32 AM
Hey, I think tigers (in all their sharp-toothed magnificence) are cute, so…
:-P lol. I take your point though.

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