The average single Briton spends £281 per month on fuel bills, rent, and other necessities, compared to the £500 that someone in a relationship spends each month, making a saving of £2,600 a year on rent alone. This amounts to them being £255.42 better off each month than those who are in a relationship, and collectively they save 3.7 billion a year on rent, food, bills, drinks with friends, DVD nights in and meals out.

When it comes to going out to eat with friends, footloose and fancy free Brits make another saving of £16.65 a time when the bill comes, with the average person in a relationship coughing up £39.50 each, compared to just £22.85 forked out by singletons.

Nights in with a DVD and a take-away cost the coupled Brit an average of £20.63 per month, whereas their single mates are spending just £12.06 in comparison. Couples also tend to socialise more, each spending £72.00 a year more than those who are going it alone.

Clothes are also a costly business for Brits in a relationship, which spend £37.65 a month on new rags, compared to singles that spend £32.75 a month.

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at Fool.co.uk, says, “Money can’t buy you love, but it can help to ease the burden as pay day gets further away and the bills start rolling in. We’re not suggesting that money will ever replace the warm glow we feel from our loved ones, but if you can’t be with the one you love, then learn to love your wallet!”

“By investing a little time in our personal finances, we can ensure that we’re financially sound for the moment when we do meet ‘the one’, so that the financial fairytale has a happy ending.”

Furthermore, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has found that four out of ten single women in their thirties are doing unpaid overtime – more than any other group, so if they were being paid for the extra work they do, they would be saving even more than their coupled-up counterparts.

© Fair Investment Company Ltd