6 in 10 Single Brits Can't Cover £850 Surprise Bill

Insurance giant Aviva blames this on poor savings thanks to high rents and costly subscription services. Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google Most Brits without a loved one to share costs with would not be able to deal with a financial shocks of £850 thanks to poor savings, new research reveals. Loading your audio article Research commissioned by insurance provider Aviva shows that 58% of adults surveyed who are single or live alone would not be able to cope with a surprise bill of this size, compared with 23% of people generally. People living alone typically spend over £1,200 every month on fixed costs before they can consider any other spending. Savings are also being squeezed, with more than a third of adults who live alone saying they do not save anything on a regular basis. Read more: Watchdog warns millions face ‘fresh uncertainty’ over car finance compensation Read more: Airlines can group flights together on fewer planes under jet fuel-saving plans Researchers blamed the high cost on rising rent prices and costly subscription services. When rent or mortgage payments were added, monthly spending for single adults rose to an average of around £1,100 per person. Extra costs like broadband, mobile phone bills, insurance and subscriptions, brought this up to £1,200 a month on average, without spending on socialising, holidays or hobbies. Aviva recommended that Brits aim for a realistic and accessible savings safety net to help cover unexpected costs, before focusing on longer-term savings goals. Also suggested were regular, automated transfers into savings from monthly salaries, and regularly reviewing subscriptions to help save money. Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, said the financial gap created by not having another person to share costs with “makes saving more difficult and it’s harder to bear the cost of any financial shocks”.