ISSUE 5: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER - NOW LIVE! Click on the categories on the right!

Welcome to Solo-magazine! With over one million singletons living in Ireland, the philosophy at Solo is very simple. It is all about embracing being single. There are too many people out there who buy into the belief that being unattached is some sort of sad and desperate place to be. This is not the case! Singledom is a fun, happy, independent state of being – enjoy it while you can because it may not last forever! On the other hand it might - so you may as well get used to it! And remember: the only person you are guaranteed to spend the rest of your life with is yourself. And the most important relationship you’ll ever have is the one you have with you!

Solo Editor’s Weekly Blog: November 15, 2008: Credit crunch creating Bachelors/Spinsters of Finance?
With each day comes another recessional repercussion. Just as we were coming to terms with the early, evil Budget (especially if you are over 70), along came the news that, as more and more companies indulge in belt tightening tactics, the office Christmas party is cancelled. Not that we’re too bothered about the latter because, let’s be honest, the annual Yuletide knees up with work colleagues is always a recipe for drunken disasters and subsequent horrors. So calling it off altogether is actually a fine example of risk management.
Still, it’s reached the point where you wake up each morning wondering what is next. Well, I’ll tell you what – a marriage drought. Actually, possibly even a relationship drought. Because the latest news is that, according to a recent survey, quite a few single men in the UK believe the best way of surviving the credit crunch is to stay stay that way. And the findings are deemed to be bad news for millions of available women as it suggests that famous unattached men such as George Clooney and James Bond (even though he’s not real), are the new role models for millions of British bachelors during the economic downturn. A total of 47 per cent of those surveyed said they would spend more money than they currently do if they were to enter into a relationship, meaning that almost half of Britain’s nine million males could soon all become so-called ‘Bachelors of Finance’, according to Skipton Building Society, which carried out the research. A spokesperson even went as far to say that men are taking the view that having a partner comes at a financial cost.
We can only assume that the British Bachelors of Finance’s Irish counterparts feel the same way, which would lead us to predict a sharp decline in the industry of romance in the foreseeable future. And we can’t blame them really. It’s one thing to say that it’s cheaper to have another half to share the mortgage, bills and general cost of life with. But there’s nothing low budget about the rigmarole people have to go through in order to get to that stage. Dating is dear and in these hard times any extra expense is something we can all do without. Who needs wining and dining now that the boom is gone silent and every day is a rainy one?
Meanwhile, what about the gals? Is remaining single a less extravagant option for them too? It could well be – think of all the needless cash spent on preening before a night out with a guy who could be ‘the one’ but turns out to nothing but a big bore. Money down the toilet is that. And besides, if the Bachelors of Finance are going to be the nouveau rich (as opposed to the new poor, who are the happy couples with the redundancy cheques and late mortgage repayments), the Spinsters of Finance will be only too happy to jump on the bandwagon of affluence too.

For more blogging click on the SOLO EDITOR’S WEEKLY BLOG category on the right or log onto www.maybefriends.com/blog/2008/10/looking-for-love.asp!