The evidence comes from a study carried out by price comparison website uSwitch, and suggests that singletons carrying the burden of paying for a mortgage, holidays and day to day bills all by themselves are costing themselves a quarter of a million pounds (I thought I’d word it like that just to make the figure sound even more morbid).

The study also claims, rather depressingly, that it “shatters” the illusion that single life is just one big party.

Ann Robinson (no relation to the Weakest Link host, unfortunately), uSwitch’s Director of Consumer Policy said:

“Being single costs a lot and you’re bloody miserable.”

Thanks Ann.

After stating the bleedingly obvious she added:

“You’re having to spend on necessities rather than having fun. £5,000 is a lot of money to lose a year – you could definitely have a great holiday for that.”

Ouch. Well, in honour of the fact I’m thoroughly miserable now, I thought I’d try to write something looking on the bright side of financial life, with regards to all the singles out there.

See, it’s not all bad news. Whilst I’d be the first to admit that after coming to the end of a long term relationship last month my bank account took a hit at first, I highly doubt that the £20 I went out and spent on Morrissey’s back catalog sent me into financial ruin. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that staying in and listening to that for a week within the confines of my bedroom was a far better financial decision than having to go out and pay for dinner for two at a fancy restaurant.

And I’m fairly certain that whoever carried out the research with regards to holidays costing more for someone going with friends or on their own rather as part of a couple has never been away with a partner. After all, anyone who’s ever taken a lady on holiday with them will know that they could have went on their own twice with all the money they spent on food, drink, presents and other luxuries for their loved one.

Plus, Stuart Adam, Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies said: “The quarter of a million figure depends first on whether you believe their £5,000 a year finding and I’d need quite a lot of convincing that they’d got their methodology right. Then to get from £5,000 a year to a quarter of a million over your lifetime they’ve based it on 53 years alone from 22 to 75. But nowadays people change their status all the time, going into couples and splitting up.”

So it’s not all bad, supposing you’re not single for 53 years at a time you’ll be just fine financially. And if you’re ever in a position where you have been single for 53 years, I’m pretty certain that being skint will probably be the least of your worries anyway.

Chin up!

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It seems as though everything just keeps getting worse and worse for the 20 and 30 something generations.

As I look around at the economic landscape I just have to dispair these days. On the one hand the government suggests a bright future with great high paying jobs available for all graduates, and on the other hand there is the reality of Britain’s and the indeed most of the rest of the world’s economic situation.

- Difficulties getting onto the first rung of the property ladder
- Younger workers representing the majority of those losing their jobs in the current economic climate
- Increased debt at the start of working life due to the removal of student grants
- Few genuine “graduate” level jobs which actually provide the increased pay rates and prospects widely touted
- and now announcements about pensions deficits meaning companies can no longer provide decent final-salary schemes to either new or existing members of staff and that the retirement age will have to rise too.

Even the safety net of the public state pension, and all those index-linked civil service pensions, which have for a long time been seen as sacrosanct, are in serious difficulties due to shortfalls. The Adam Smith Institute seems to be despairing at the situation as well, “The government’s pension schemes would not even pass its own laws and regulations. Indeed, if the cabinet were private-sector pension trustees, they would all have been carted off to Pentonville Jail long ago. Now there’s a thought to keep you happy in an impoverished retirement.”

This dinosaur knows that there have always been financial difficulties for those just starting out on their working lives, but currently it seems as though almost everyday something new comes along to compound the issue.

There must be some good news out there? Surely.

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According to Al Arabiya, “Two men were arrested in Abu Dhabi for swindling a large number of people with claims they possessed ‘magic powder’ that doubled bank notes“.

It seems that these 2 ‘magicians’ managed to con their victims into handing over large sums of money so that that they could sprinkle their magical powder over it and make it double.

However the magic powder was actually mad up of flour, washing powder and colouring, and while in possession of the cash, the con men would swap the money with fake notes.

Colonel Maktoum al-Sharifi, the director of the Criminal and Investigative Directorate, commented that, “They would put some of the powder on the notes they want to double. They would then put the notes in a bag and ask their victims not to open the bag until the blend takes effect.”

He also went on to say, “A massive number of people, not some, lost to them”. One victim is reported to have lost as much as Dh6 million (US$1.6m).

The cunning ruse continued until the 2 men tried to con an undercover policeman in an Abu Dhabi hotel who was posing as a potential customer.

The prevalence of such scams in the UAE has lead the Supreme Judicial Council to call on Abu Dhabi’s courts to take a tougher stance on black magic cases, and deport non-nationals found guilty. So Grand Wizard Alistair Darling the White (with black eyebrows) be warned.

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