The cost of being single

HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) - A new survey says singles are feeling the financial pinch more than their married friends.

A recent CouponCabin.com survey says six in ten married adults report having higher household expenses than their single friends.  But is the money greener on the other side? 

“Yeah you'd like to think the grass is always greener but it really isn't,” said Kim St. John, who’s been married for 18 years.

Singles say combined incomes means more flexibility.   “It obviously depends on the profession, I'm a social worker so yes, it's is true, I don't make that much money. So obviously a two-income household has a little bit of an advantage,” said Cambridge resident Carrie Burke in Northampton Friday.

Four in ten singles say they are worse off financially because they pay more in taxes and social obligations, like going out to dinner.  Married folks say its all relative.

“Everything now-a-days is so expensive even just for a family to go out for an evening to go dinner and the movies it's well over 100 dollars,” said St. John in Hadley. 

But money saving experts at UMass Five College Federal Credit Union say no matter the relationship you need to budget yourself to financial freedoms.

“If you want to move ahead financially you have to have a budget, you have to know what you are spending on a monthly basis. You have to have some level of self discipline to say within that budget,” said VP of Marketing Jon Reske. 

Reske says that means paying yourself first, by saving some cash before paying bills every pay period. Setting up an emergency fund and not borrowing for luxuries, like vacations, can also help.

Reske says while there are some advantages to filing jointly, singles can maximize their tax returns by signing up for a 401K or IRA account.