Is Match.Com Really a Financial Site?

A month ago, I was a typical single guy living in a terrible economy.   The days of substantial raises at work were long gone.  The job market remained about as promising as Charlie Sheen’s liver health. Making matters worse, the cost of everything from Swiss Cake Rolls to Hungry Man Dinners to a tank of gas seemed to get higher every day.  Quite simply, my expenses were out gaining my income at an alarming rate and it is expensive to live alone.

However, this is not a sad story thanks to a website that changed my financial life.  No, it was not CNBC, The Wall Street Journal nor Bloomberg.com.  Instead, it was a site called Match.com that put me on a path toward financial success.  Yes, it was Match.com who created a “business partnership” that has been very beneficial to my bank account balance.

But wait, doesn’t Match.com cost money?  Isn’t dating expensive with all those movies, dinners, flowers, and perhaps Viagra?   Very true.  But these expenses are just a temporary nuisance compared with the money you can save by living together with your significant other.

In my case, moving in with my fiancée last month quickly slashed my rent expenses by half.  In addition, I now have a very special woman to share my days with, not to mention the electricity, gas, cable, and internet bills.  Mistakenly, I had thought that my grocery store expenses would remain about the same.  After all, since we are not going on any kind of extreme wedding diet, we will be eating the same amount of food and using the same amount of toilet paper than we did when we lived apart.  Still, I have discovered that living together has made it more feasible for me to save money via buying certain groceries in bulk without fear of spoilage.  Also, I did not consider that my cleaning supply expense would go down since I am no longer allowed to live like a slob and wait until I need industrial strength (and more expensive) cleaning products to do the job.    Plus, I am sure that it helps that there is only 1 bathroom and kitchen to clean instead of two.

In a couple more months when I get married, I will enjoy some tax savings via the friendly people at the IRS and will reduce my medical insurance by more than 60%  by getting on my future better half’s policy.  Furthermore, the nice people at Geico will give me a reduced car insurance rate since apparently wearing a wedding ring will magically decrease my chances of getting into an accident.

It’s not just me who is saving money cohabiting with my significant other.  According to a Bundle.com article, an average single person living in New York City will spend $14,112 more than if they were living the married life.  Of course, that figure is extreme because of the high cost of living there, but it still shows the potential savings of moving in with your sweetie.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner,  we are all about to be exposed to countless dating site commercials that will flood the airways.   This year, instead of just dreaming above love and companionship, also think of a happy financial future.  That is, until you start having kids. 

This post was recently featured in the 295th  Carnival of Personal Finance.