01/09/2023

It's Now 40 Percent More Expensive to Be Single Than It Was a Decade Ago

The lack of two incomes and tax breaks are felt by singles

For Nate King, a digital content associate at a museum in Chicago, the surging inflation over the past year has impacted more than his cost of living—it has also changed his dating life. King was always able to make ends meet on his nonprofit salary and could even afford to live alone. But this summer, as prices began to rise, he started to feel a pinch. When he met a woman he liked at a concert, he was between paychecks and decided to wait to ask her on a date. But the spark fizzled, and they never got together.

“As things got more expensive, there was less and less money for stuff that wasn’t just bills,” he said. “You ask yourself: Do I go out on a date or get groceries next week? It’s definitely been a bummer because, for me at least, it gets a little harder each time to work up the nerve to ask someone out.”

King’s situation is one that many singles across the U.S. can relate. This year, inflation hit a 40-year high, a reality that singles, who don’t get the tax breaks available to married people or the benefits of a two-income home, are feeling. According to the 2022 Match Singles in America report, released this week, the top three stressors for singles right now are all related to finances: the impact of inflation, the state of the economy and their long-term financial futures.

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.