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When thinking in terms of finances, being married seems to have its advantages over being single. Whether or not you are in favor of marriage, you have to admit there is a certain amount of practical and legal benefits to it. Financial Benefits of Marriage Are there any financial benefits to being married? Many sources say yes. NBC News states there are many reasons why marriage is beneficial. For instance, it's easier for a married couple to work together to take advantage of the economy, allowing them to make more money quicker. They can share both the financial responsibilities of the household as well as the duties to maintain the home. This enables one spouse to have a career while the other takes care of the home. According to research conducted by Ohio State University research scientist, Jay Zagorsky, married couples whose marriage lasts, end up wealthier than people who are single. His research concluded that couples who end up in divorce experience a decline in wealth which results in making them worse off than before they were married. The authors Christian Campbell and Lisa Arnold of “The High Price of Being Single in America" (Atlantic Monthly), argued that a woman who was single could wind up paying almost $1,022,096 extra over her lifetime, as opposed to a married woman who made the same amount of money. A single woman loses out on Social Security benefits and tax breaks as well as housing and health cost savings just to name a few. Although tax breaks depend on each person's individual situation and status, essential costs such as insurance, housing and living are usually higher for people who are single. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that around $9,964 is spent on housing by a person in their 20s who is single, and $8,844 is the average spent by married couples around the same age. This adds up to $67,200 or more in savings over a 60 year span for the married couple. Money Saving Ways to Spend Less While Single 1. Create a Budget The first and most essential way to save money would be to set up a budget and stick to it. This will force you to keep an eye on your spending. Take note of what you are spending your money on and see if it is really essential. A new pair of shoes or a piece of jewelry every week might not be that important in the bigger picture. 2. Avoid ATM fees Avoiding ATM fees is possible even if you are not near your bank or you are out of town simply making a few small purchases with a debit card at a grocery store. Pick up a few essentials and request cash back which will eliminate any fees. You simply swipe your debit card as you normally would for your purchase and at the end of the transaction, ask for cash back. You can select the amount of cash you want and the cashier will give it to you with your receipt. There are no extra fees to get cash back this way except for your normal purchase bill. You can get up to $250 back using your debit card at stores like Kroger using this method. Keep in mind, any ATM machine that is not affiliated with your bank will result in you paying a fee to your bank plus a fee to the ATM owner, which can average over $3.00 per transaction. 3. Carpool In most cases, commuting to work one way is approximately 16 miles, and at an average rate of 23 mpg this comes to an average of around 7 gallons of gas weekly to get back and forth to work. Looking at the today’s prices, with a current average cost per gallon of gas at around $3.68 or more, this adds up to over $25 a week. By carpooling and splitting the cost of gas with one friend, you can save yourself up to $650 a year or $1,000 if you fill up the tank. Another thing to factor in is ownership of an average car; it will cost you approximately $9,000 in insurance, registration, gas, depreciation and maintenance. Driving fewer miles will obviously lower the depreciation rate and save you a little money. Monitor Your Credit Report Also on the list of money saving ideas is to review your credit rating periodically to make sure it is in good condition. Even the slightest error can have a huge impact on your credit score which will result in you receiving higher interest rates on credit cards, higher premiums on car insurance, and higher home mortgage payments. Paying all your bills on time and monitoring your credit reports is a good way to save money overall. So, do married couples really fare better financially than single individuals? The answer does seem a little obvious; however, this does not mean that single people cannot reduce their expenses to save a little money here and there. Being smart about finances, cutting costs when possible and performing a credit check periodically is a good start. Amy Johnson is an active finance blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance management tips to encourage people to manage their personal finances. More specifically, she advocates that people should check credit reports and scores regularly.
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