Why don't you cook?
We're all staying at a hotel if you want to book a room.
You should fix that weird patch on your wall.
These are some things friends have said to me many times and they're also the things that I really want to do. The issue is, I can't afford to do them... not on my own.
Watch: Horoscopes & self-care. Post continues below.
Buying groceries for one person is weirdly more expensive than getting takeaway or eating out. There's more waste, no one's there to help you cook or take over when you've had a long day at work, you can't afford to diversify your meals and you end up eating the same thing for five weeks straight.
Travelling is also more expensive. You can't share the costs of rooms, meals or rideshares.
And I would love to fix that patch on my wall except that it's way too expensive and never seems to be a priority in my budget.
The financial benefits people in relationships have over single people are rarely acknowledged.
However, with the state of our economy in 2024, wealth disparities are becoming obvious with women realising that their choice to remain single is getting more and more difficult as the cost of living is now not only impacting our lifestyle decisions but our autonomy when it comes to being in a relationship.