身为单身族，不用花心思取悦另一半，更不用为孩子的吃穿发愁，他们的生活支出应该比已婚（伴侣）族要少。可是，英国最近的一项研究发现，单身族一生的生活支出要比已婚（伴侣）族多出25万英镑，而从生活中得到的欢乐却比已婚（伴侣）族少。该研究显示，单身族每年承担的房屋及食物等方面的支出约为1.2万英镑，几乎占到了他们年收入的一半，而那些有伴侣的人们每年在这方面的支出要比单身族少5000英镑。在生活满意度方面，有三分之二的已婚（伴侣）族表示两人一起生活更开心，而单身族中仅有五分之一表示更喜欢一个人生活。该研究指出，随着物价的不断上涨，一份薪水已经不足以保证原有的生活质量；在英国想要高质量的生活，一个家庭需要有两份薪水支持。

Famous singleton Bridget Jones pays out more to maintain her lifestyle.

With no spouse to entertain or children to clothe and feed, those who live alone may think they got off without the most costly responsibilities.

But bachelors and spinsters - or 'freemales' as single women are now often called - might wish to reconsider the price of going it alone.

Those who live by themselves spend £250,000 more on basic essentials over a lifetime than those who live with a partner - and they are less happy for it, research suggests.

Almost three in ten households in the UK are formed by a single person and the number is set to rocket to 9.5million in the next ten years.

And with no partner with whom to split the burden of bills, single people spend an average of almost £12,000 every year on expenses such as housing costs and food - around half of the £23,961 average annual income.

This is almost £5,000 more than the amount spent by those living as part of a couple.

And the study of 2,000 adults found that the cost of single life is not just financial - those in couples are happier.

Almost two thirds of those who live with a partner say they are better off as a couple, whereas just one in five single people think they have the better deal.

The findings show it is increasingly difficult to sustain good quality living on a single salary, according to the price comparison service that commissioned the research.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch. com, said: 'The huge increase in the number of single-person households is not just a worry in terms of housing stock, it will also have a serious impact on lifestyle and spending.

'Increasingly, we are seeing evidence that to enjoy a good quality of life in Britain, a household needs two incomes.'

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（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）