Not a country for singles: how much it costs to live alone in Italy

Are Italians increasingly lonely? Looking at the data, it would seem so. In Italy, one family in three is made up of what ISTAT defines as 'single people', totalling 8,364,000 individuals, 14% of the population, including singles, separates and widowers who have never remarried. It was 7,433,000 in 2012. But how much does it cost to live as a single person in Italy? Moneyfarm, an independent financial consultancy company, did the maths. Using the Istat database, it calculated that people living alone spend €571 more each month than a couple splitting their expenses in half.

Who are the 'lonely Italians'? 

The highest percentages of one-person households are to be found in the north-west and central Italy, where they make up 35.2% and 35% of the total respectively, while in the south they are 'only' 29.9%. Just over one in two (51%) single people are under 65 and going into the details of marital status it can be seen that the majority (40%) are true singles: there are 3.331,000 people who have chosen to be alone (for the time being), about 6% of the Italian population; under 45, single men (11%) are almost twice as numerous as single women (6%), but this ratio rebalances as the years go by until it reverses slightly over the age of 65, with single women at 5% and single men at 3%. Of course, this is the picture taken to date and, considering that marriages between those in their 40s and 50s are on the rise, some of the younger singles may marry in the future. 

Widowers account for 37% of 'single persons', totalling 3,089,000 Italians, with a clear majority of women over 65 (27% against 7% of widowers). A picture attributable not only to the greater longevity of women, but also to the lower average age of brides compared to grooms. Finally, the remaining 23% of lonely Italians are the separated who have never remarried: this category includes 1,945,000 people, mostly men between 45 and 64 years of age, who make up 8% of the total number of 'lonely people', compared to 5% of women of the same age.  

How much does it cost to be single in Italy

The choice not to marry or cohabit, or simply not to share expenses with anyone, can also have decisive consequences on the wallet: several fixed expenses, in fact, if divided in half within a couple, weigh much less on the disposable income of the individual partners. To calculate how much it costs to be single, Moneyfarm first estimated the amount of expenditure incurred by those living alone, and then compared it with that of a two-person household. The average monthly expenditure for those living alone is €1,796, with a minimum of €1,666 for the over-65s and a maximum of €1,957 for those of working age, between 35 and 64.

These figures are much higher than those estimated for a couple, who face monthly costs of €2,451. Assuming that the costs are divided equally between the two partners, cohabitees spend €1,225 per month, €571 less than the 1,796 estimated for a single person. In other words, living alone costs 47% more each month than living together. 

A house for singles, how much does it cost?

Based on ISTAT data, some consumption items are noted for which the difference between singles and couples is more pronounced. First of all, living with two people does not require a flat twice as big, so it is inevitable that expenditure on housing and utilities weighs much more heavily on the budget of singles, with as much as €338 more per month (+71%). In second place are the costs of furniture and other household services, on which the single person spends 66% more than a couple (as much as €36 per month). Just adding these first two items together, cohabitees spend €530 per month, compared to €904 for singles. 

Singles' holidays

Having a partner, however, also pays off when going on holiday or dining out. It is the 'dessert with two spoons' effect that allows a couple to spend 'only' €45 per month on hotels and restaurants. On the contrary, for pizza with friends or a room in a hotel, singles have to shell out €68, i.e. €23 more per month (+51%). As far as foodstuffs are concerned, it should be borne in mind that the cost per kilo increases as the quantity purchased decreases, penalising singles: for food and drink, those living alone spend an average of as much as €304 per month, compared to €236 per person for those living together, an increase of €68 (+29%). This item is also the one that, in absolute value, accounts for the most in monthly expenses, after housing. For 'indivisible', i.e. person-related, expenses, on the other hand, the monthly cost does not vary significantly: for example, singles have to pay only 17% and 14% more for transport and education than couples, respectively.

How much you can save if you live as a couple

According to the above calculations, for cohabitees the share of income saved is obviously more substantial and the savings increase as the period of cohabitation increases. Thus, the sooner one moves in together, the more 'single consumption' is avoided and the more savings are consequently increased. Moneyfarm calculated how much three people would have saved when they turned 50 if they had decided to live together at different ages and split expenses with their partner in half: 

• If you move in at 45, you will have saved €34,260 by the time you are 50.
• If you move in at 35, you will have saved €102,780 by the time you are 50.
• If you move in at 25, you will have saved as much as €171,300 by the time you are 50.