Half of adults who live alone say they could struggle with unexpected bills

More than half (58%) of adults who are single or live alone say they could not cope with an unexpected bill of £850 according to new research by Aviva

According to the research, people who live alone spend on average a little over £630 a month on essential costs, such as food/ groceries, transport, council tax and utility bills. These fixed costs account for most of the spending before any housing costs are considered.

When rent or mortgage payments are added, monthly spending for single adults rises sharply to an average of £1,100 per person. And once other fixed (but often overlooked) costs, such as broadband and mobile phone bills, insurance and subscriptions are included, the total monthly spend rises to almost £1250 a month on average – that’s before any spend on socialising, holidays or hobbies.

More than half (58%) of single adults say they are not confident they could cope with an unexpected but necessary bill of £850, such as a car repair or boiler breakdown, compared to about a quarter (23%) of the UK adult population as a whole1 .

Their savings behaviour helps explain that vulnerability. More than a third (37%) of adults who live alone say they do not save anything at all on a regular basis.

When asked what they would do with an extra £100 a month, the highest proportion (20%) say they would put it into a regular savings account, while 15% would boost their emergency fund and a further 14% would use it to pay down debt, suggesting caution rather than confidence.

Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings and Retirement at Aviva, said “When you live alone, you shoulder the responsibility for every bill that hits the doormat. Our research shows that more than £1,250 a month is already committed for many single people, and nearly six in ten don’t feel confident they could cope with an £850 emergency bill. That helps explain why saving can feel so hard. However, even small, regular amounts set aside can still make a meaningful difference to people’s confidence and financial resilience over time.

“Our data shows that people living alone don’t necessarily spend much more on essentials than others do – but they also don’t benefit from sharing costs either. That gap is what makes saving more difficult and it’s harder to bear the cost of any financial shocks.”