There is a growing trend in South Africa (and it’s probably already a worldwide trend) for people to choose to remain single. Even though some of these single people did not initially choose to be single – their spouse either died or left them — once single they often choose to remain that way.

The operative word here is choice. In our modern, global and information charged world, our choices are expanding daily. We have exponentially improved choices about where to spend our money, who to date, what to invest in, where to go on holiday as well as freedom of personal choice. We no longer have to be married in order to be counted as serious or dependable (unless we are running for president). There are very few shotgun weddings anymore — the mother can choose whether she marries or not.

And, more on topic, how do single people choose to spend their salaries and is it any different to couples and families?

Just asking that question conjures up thoughts of harried fathers working overtime to pay the bills that come along with the responsibility of a family, while the single guy relaxes in a bar, drinking expensive cocktails while deciding where to eat an exquisite steak.

Yes, the beauty of being single from a financial standpoint is that you are cheaper to maintain!

You also don’t have to take other people’s needs into account, such as which area to buy a home in and how large that home should be. Also, when going on holidays a single person can afford to travel more as there is only one airplane ticket to buy, one holiday package to purchase. If you don’t like holidaying on your own there are many travel clubs with groups to join and new friends to make.

The greatest advantage of having better spending power is that, if you are careful how you spend your money, you can invest much more much quicker and develop a lifestyle that grows with your passive income, and not your level of debt.

Think about that for a moment.

Because you are single and can spoil yourself, do you live in an upmarket area and drive a luxury vehicle? Do you spend a lot of money on entertaining yourself? And, if so, how much of the house and car do you own and how much does the bank own? And if you do put some money aside every month, is it growing as fast as you would like it to?

Take financial advantage of singlehood

I know of a young man who studied for a master’s degree and, once qualified and suitably employed, he stayed living at home. He bought his first property but rented it out and stayed at home, allowing the tenants to pay most of his bond. Pretty soon the tenant was paying for all of his costs on the property and so he could afford to buy another. By the time he decided to leave home he had three investment properties that were paying for themselves.

Now, you don’t have to live with your parents but you can rent a small place or live in a commune when you are single and invest the money that you would have spent on a huge home loan. Likewise, you can buy a cheaper car instead of immediately running out and buying a luxury vehicle just because you can afford to and want to be seen as successful.

Driving a car that the bank owns is not what successful people do!

Successful people strive to acquire enough assets to support themselves so that a salary is not essential. Once this is achieved, life choices once again grow exponentially.

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