Researchers blamed the high cost on rising rent prices and costly subscription services. When rent or mortgage payments were added, monthly spending for single adults rose to an average of around £1,100 per person.
Extra costs like broadband, mobile phone bills, insurance and subscriptions, brought this up to £1,200 a month on average, without spending on socialising, holidays or hobbies.
Aviva recommended that Brits aim for a realistic and accessible savings safety net to help cover unexpected costs, before focusing on longer-term savings goals.
Also suggested were regular, automated transfers into savings from monthly salaries, and regularly reviewing subscriptions to help save money.
Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, said the financial gap created by not having another person to share costs with “makes saving more difficult and it’s harder to bear the cost of any financial shocks”.