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Tax Day is right around the corneran annual reminder that without the option to file jointly, singles pay more per dollar earned than married people. Tax advantages are just one of more than 1,000 legal and economic benefits married couples enjoy, a disparity worsened by marketplace and employer practices. Despite its disadvantages, single living is on the rise. While the average age of first marriage was just 21 in 1960, today it has risen to 29. Half the adults in the U.S. are unmarried, and half of them arent seeking a relationship. As many as a third of Zoomers may never tie the knot. But this shift is more than culturalits redefining the rules of personal finance. Freed from the constraints of shared decision-making, single people are earning, spending, and investing on their own terms. And as a behavioral economist who studies single living, I think this could mean big things for the future of money. As more people opt out of marriage, I expect that governments, businesses, and financial systems will adaptjust as they did in response to womens economic independence. The price of singlehood As a lifelong bachelor, I have a cheeky response when filing my taxes: Thats the price of freedom. For many singles, the price is too steep. More than half of singles over 30 feel financially insecure, one survey found, and their economic reality backs it up. For example, singles spend about $5,500 more annually than their married peerswhich adds up to more than $200,000 over a 40-year career. Some of the challenge is mathematical. Married couples split major expenses like housing, transportation, and travel, and rely on dual incomes as a buffer against job loss or disability. Policy amplifies the financial burdens. One-person households are the most common type in the U.S., yet developers still prioritize building large single-family housesdriving up apartment and condo costs. Retirement presents another stark contrast. Singles cant claim spousal or survivor Social Security benefits and solely fund their retirement. Employers design benefits around families, offering spousal coverage, dependent tax breaks and family leave. Single employees tend to shoulder more responsibilities yet receive 3.6 fewer paid days off per year than their married peers. In the marketplacefrom travel to tech and insurancebusinesses often price goods and services with couples and families in mind. Solo travelers often pay single supplements on cruises and tours. Streaming, phone, and retail memberships offer family plans with no option for solo users subscribing as part of a group. Even auto insurance penalizes solo driverstwo-door cars cost 16% more to insure. The costs add up. But the news for singles isnt all bad. The financial upside of going solo I study how singles build financial security through the hallmarks of single living: autonomy and adaptability. An obvious financial factor is the cost of children. While some singles are parents, theyre far less likely than married couples to shoulder the expense of raising a childan outlay of more than $300,000 per child before college. A key advantage: Singles have complete financial control. They choose how to earn, save and spend. Theres less risk of absorbing a partners credit card or student loan debt, covering for reckless spending, or facing the financial fallout of divorce. Career flexibility is another key advantage. Singles can more easily relocate for higher-paying jobs or lower-cost locales , freedom that enables powerful financial arbitrage. Many digital nomads, most of them single, choose countries with lower costs and better quality of life. Singles also have greater control over when and how they retire. Unlike couples, who must coordinate timing and strategies, singles have more freedom to retire early, ride out a down market, or ease into semiretirement. Building a financial system for everyone As a business school professor, Ive seen how slow business and government can be to respond to demographic shifts. The tax system wont change overnightgovernments have long used the tax code to promote marriagebut other policies and practices will evolve. I believe the rise of singles, and the power of their votes and dollars, will make the status quo unsustainable. Scandinavia and parts of Asia are setting precedents. In Sweden, solo adults are recognized as a family of one, with access to housing support, parental leave, and pension benefitsno marriage required. Smart companies will also adapt to recruit and retain singles, who make up a large portion of the labor force. I expect to see an expansion of single-inclusive offerings like caregiving leave, flexible work arrangements, and individual-friendly health plans. Singles also build lifelong support systems outside marriage. Sweden again offers a glimpse of what might be: A landmark court case recently granted life insurance benefits to a platonic partner, proving that legal protections dont have to hinge on romance. Housing remains another legacy system built for couples. While most new developments still prioritize single-family homes, markets like Japan and Hong Kong have embraced lower-cost micro-apartments with shared community spacesan appealing model for solo dwellers. Some U.S. cities are beginning to experiment with similar designs, signaling a shift toward more inclusive urban housing. Chinas celebration of solo living, Singles Day (held every year on 11/11) is now the worlds largest e-commerce holiday, generating more sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. The company that created it, Alibaba, promotes deals on single-serve appliances, one-way flights, and self-care bundles. Western companies are catching on: Travel brands are waiving singles supplements, restaurants are welcoming solo diners with dedicated seating, and telecom companies are rolling out friends and family plans that dont require a romantic partner. Finally, I believe wealth management will respond to the rise of singles. While Ive found that most financial advice still assumes that people will eventually marry, solo earners need different strategies, such as bigger emergency funds, flexible housing options, and proactive estate planning. Expect a wave of financial products designed for solo living, from retirement tools to mortgages built for one. As singles become the majority in many countries, governments, businesses, and financial institutions will adapt by necessity. The bottom line As an advocate for singles, I am an optimist. Yes, singles pay more on Tax Day, among other challenges. But they also have one undeniable advantage: financial freedom. Singles can do more than survive in a system built for twothey can thrive. Americans are not going back to the 1960s. As solo living becomes the norm, financial systems will evolve. Governments will face pressure to modernize policy, businesses will launch products and services for one-person households, and financial professionals will adapt to better serve solo earners. The institutions that recognize this shift first will shape the futurefor everyone. Peter McGraw is a professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Category:
E-Commerce
With President Trumps tariffs looming, companies are scrambling to figure out how to adjust their pricesespecially now that the pause doesnt apply to China, which just hit back by raising its tariffs on U.S. goods to a whopping 125%. Instead of waiting to see how they will hit, some businesses are introducing “tariff surcharges,” alerting customers in letters and adding a tariff price to websites and bills, passing those extra costs to American consumers, according to CBS News. For example, for high-end machine tools and parts, Little Machine Shop will label the cost as a tariff charge below the price on each products page, per Quartz. Nobu Yamanashi, head of Yama Seafood, a New York seafood supplier, told ABC, “What I’ve seen . . . what one of my customers say is that they might put a surcharge, a tariff surcharge, instead of changing the menu price, so that it’s very clear.” A new survey of 400 U.S. company leaders by Zilliant research firm found 44% of those businesses plan to pass tariff costs onto consumers. From automakers to chipmakers, Quartz reported that a number of companies will be imposing a tariff surcharge including, but not limited to: truck manufacturer Peterbilt; Creston, a video-conferencing solutions company; chip manufacturer Micron; SWFcontract, maker of commercial window treatments; DynaEnergetics, an equipment manufacturer for the oil and gas industry; and Honeywell Building Automation systems. Honeywell announced the tariff charges back in March, when it said it would pass a 6.4% tariff surcharge across all building-management-system products on relevant orders placed on or after March 1, but which had not shipped by March 4. The price increases also apply to luxury goods. New York magazine’s The Strategist reported knife and cookware maker Zwilling is increasing its prices. Theres just no way around it, Joanna Rosenberg, Zwillings chief sales and marketing officer, said, adding that the increase starts June 1. Last week, Labucq, a popular luxury footwear brand took to Instagram to alert customers that it was raising prices incrementally with a 10% hike on April 15, then another 10% on May 7. As tariff tensions between the U.S. and China escalate, its becoming clear that consumers will bear much of the financial burden. Whether its through quietly added surcharges or visible price hikes on everyday items and luxury goods alike, businesses are adapting quicklyand passing those costs along. With more companies expected to follow suit, the ripple effects of trade policy are already showing up on receipts, menus, and product pages across the country.
Category:
E-Commerce
Millennials were told the 2008 recession was a “once in a generation” economic crisis. Almost two decades later, déj vu has struck. While the U.S. market rose following President Trumps decision to pause global tariffs on most countriesand global banks reset their recession risk assessmentslingering fears of economic collapse are driving millennials to TikTok, where theyre passing down survival tips to Gen Z. “We don’t panic during recessions, we prepare for them,” content creator and marketer Itzett Romero said on TikTok. “Listen to your millennial friends.” @itzettromero #recession #fyp #stockmarket #stockmarketcrash #politics #economy #shoppingtips #millennial #latinacontentcreator #latinos #latinas #mexicanamerican original sound – itzettromero Romero advised her 70,000 followers to “make alliances” by sharing the cost of subscriptions and bulk grocery items with friends and neighbors. “Cannot stress buying bulk and buying EARLY,” a user commented on Romero’s video. “You don’t want to be in the store when everyone is panicking.” In a separate video, TikTok user @yaptrapped, who graduated college in 2011, also emphasized sharing. “Make friends because you can share a lot,” she said. “We survived a long time like that.” @yaptrapped Just my thoughts. #recession #millennial original sound – yaptrapped Financial advice was also widely shared across various videos. In one video, TikTok creator Rach to Riches advised that people “Build up your emergency fund, you should have three to six months of living expenses saved.” Separately, Saprina Danise, a creator focused on personal finance, said she will scale back her retirement contributions. “Anything above my minimal contribution I am diverting into my emergency fund for the foreseeable future,” she said in a video. @moneywithsaprina Replying to @FAM_embroidery heres what Im doing with my money right now Avoid Copyright – Wolf Other popular tips offered budget-friendly recipes and grocery shopping strategies. Advice included checking your fridge before heading to the store, meal-prepping with whats already in the pantry, buying meat in bulk to freeze, stocking up on shelf-stable goods like canned tuna, and cooking from scratch using dry ingredients like beans. Other millennial creators took a separate approach, simply sharing a glimpse of what life during 2008 looked like. “Working crappy retail jobs, making just barely above minimum wage, living at home with my parents,” user @sellingnwa shared on her TikTok. “On the weekends I was putting on business casual outfits and going to house parties.” She explained how jungle juicea cheap liquor concoctionwas served with no food. @sellingnwa 2008 what a time to be alive #recession #2008recession #millennial original sound – Stephanie
Category:
E-Commerce
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