Purepony Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 has the economy affected your dating? I make decent money but I'll admit even when it comes to dating it bugs me that much because everything is now so expensive how do you cope with it? A simple movie date is something like 2 tickets = 30 dollars Gas = 10 Dinner = 30-60 depending on drinks plus tip? That's 70-over a hundred so if you do that four times a month it could cost as much as 300-400 How many times can you really afford to do this on a monthly basis?
Mr Scorpio Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 I could do that for quite a while if I were willing to take money out of savings to do so. Other than that? No. No way. My "fun budget" is about $10 a week, $20 if its an occasion.
d0nnivain Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 It is expensive but if you weren't dating you would still have some expenses. You can get creative. Go on walks. Visit museums. Have a picnic. As you get closer you can cook at home & rent movies. 3
sdrawkcaB ssA Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 Gosh, do you live in the city??? There are many free activities to do in cities. I live in a college town, so there are areas to walk and have a pic-nick when weather permits. Though not much for free activities. All the activities below can allow for bringing your own bagged food item to save on costs. Though some may require you to keep at your car if containers are not permitted. Since I am in the mid-west, St. Louis has a wonderful 4th of July festival off off the Mississippi. Though Chicago and Indianapolis have their free shows as well that are a wee more spectacular in display. But there is something about over the water that kind of makes the date more romantic. Zoo's are not so costly and can be as long as your day allows. Most museums are donation based. Minor league games are within budget bike rides... as long as you both can be side by side or tandom, can allow for talk and enjoying a wee bit of exercise. Winter stuff can be open air ice skating, snow man building with light play snow ball fights. 1
gaius Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 The last time I treated a woman to dinner it was at one of the nicest places in Newport and the tab ran 42 bucks even with an appetizer. There are definitely cheaper ways of dating. Do a movie and take out one weekend and go somewhere nicer to eat and get redbox the next. It's expensive until she gets comfortable with you but you can help with that by fine tuning your screening process before you even ask them out. 1
Redhead14 Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 I posted this in another thread, but it fits here too: The reason men ever paid for dates was the fact that women didn't usually work at a young age and if a woman was working, they made significantly less than men. It was also about demonstrating that a man could support a woman. This was a long time ago. Nowadays, the dynamics have changed. Men should pay for the first date as an expression of interest or few dates and a woman should reciprocate at least sometimes. It's expensive to date and why not start out sharing the responsibility for a possibly growing relationship. After all, if it does become a relationship, they are Both in it. 1
Mr Scorpio Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 It is true that one can be creative to reduce the cost of the actual date. At the same time, simply being that poor in the first place can drastically reduce the pool of people willing to date a person in the first place. 1
Redhead14 Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 It is true that one can be creative to reduce the cost of the actual date. At the same time, simply being that poor in the first place can drastically reduce the pool of people willing to date a person in the first place. If a romance is built on finances, it will certainly fail. What happens if you have money when you start dating, marry or commit to someone and you lose your job. Does the other person dump you? Hopefully, you can work together and get past that. So if you're dating and the other person isn't willing to help keep the situation going, they aren't for you anyway. As long as you have good work ethic and trying and not some bum, you are still a candidate for dating. You just need to be creative.
Mr Scorpio Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 As long as you have good work ethic and trying and not some bum, you are still a candidate for dating. You just need to be creative. Perhaps. I could try to sell myself as "having a professional license and running my own small business", but it would feel disingenuous to me. From what I gather, most women in their mid-30s expect a potential partner to have an established career and their own home. I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation. I make under $10k a year. Frankly, it is sufficiently humiliating that I don't bother trying. I don't feel I have any business considering dating given my economic situation. So, I guess to go back to the original question, I can afford to date in a literal sense, but I've taken myself out of the pool.
preraph Posted October 1, 2014 Posted October 1, 2014 Well, it would help if a coffee date didn't mean $5 coffee. That's crazy and a huge waste of money. If you do go for coffee, don't go to Starbuck's. Pick someplace that doesn't rob you for a cup.
Gloria25 Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 Agreed.... Gotta keep it simple and be creative... While I'm not dating, I have had to cut back on my entertainment expenses too...It's Netflix, movies on demand, over a movie theater for me... Since I've had more time on my hands I've been to the movie theaters like twice, but am going back to waiting until a movie I really, really, want to see comes out...Last movie I saw in the theater "No Good Deed" should have been one of those I would have waited to come on DVD...Better yet, waited for it to come out on free HBO weekends or something...:mad:
StanMusial Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 has the economy affected your dating? I make decent money but I'll admit even when it comes to dating it bugs me that much because everything is now so expensive how do you cope with it? A simple movie date is something like 2 tickets = 30 dollars Gas = 10 Dinner = 30-60 depending on drinks plus tip? That's 70-over a hundred so if you do that four times a month it could cost as much as 300-400 How many times can you really afford to do this on a monthly basis? I have probably never seen four movies in one month ever. You definitely need to be more creative. How old are you by the way? When I was dating in my 20's we were usually doing something with a group of friends, hanging out, going out dancing, going to see bands, parties, outdoors activities, etc. Even now with my fiance we are usually doing something with the family or going to some event, like for instance weekend before last we went to a choral society performance that my friend was part of. It was free and we went out to eat afterwards and it was maybe $40? 1
GravityMan Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 Get more creative, OP. Not only because it could be cheaper for you, but also because it could make your dates more interesting and dynamic. Most people like those who can think outside the box a bit. 1
MissBee Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 (edited) When I was in a relationship I was probably going out a bit more and I'd also pay some of the time, but I didn't find personally that dating made me go broke. I guess it's 'cause I like to have fun and even when I'm single I often go out for drinks, dinners, lunch, brunches, I get my nails done, hair done, take myself to the movies and do other stuff that also costs money so it doesn't seem much different to me. I go out and do all this stuff AFTER all my bills are paid and after I put away money into my savings...so I don't feel like its competing with my necessities. If it were I wouldn't date. I also am good at looking for deals. I live in a city so Groupon is my friend because I can often find lots of 75% off, and 2 for 1 deals on restaurants, massages, beauty stuff, events, activities etc...so in my last relationship a lot of times we used Groupon deals which turned out to be pretty good money savers.He also got military discounts at lots of places so many times when we went to places like the Aquarium, the zoo, the movies, certain restaurants it would end up being half off or at least a fraction off. Edited October 2, 2014 by MissBee
Author Purepony Posted October 3, 2014 Author Posted October 3, 2014 I do get creative but it still adds up.. I was just wondering how everyone's doing it
Darren2013 Posted October 3, 2014 Posted October 3, 2014 Well there are some ideas of cheap dates such as feeding water animals at the lake. I only pay about 2 to 3 bucks for snacks.
Darren2013 Posted October 3, 2014 Posted October 3, 2014 Not every date has to be expensive. I try to mix it up and alternate. One cheap date one week and one expensive date the next week and one moderate date after that. Take turns. Not every date has to be eating out at an expensive place.
me85 Posted October 3, 2014 Posted October 3, 2014 Who can afford to do anything in this economy, much less date...
jrtfrisco Posted October 3, 2014 Posted October 3, 2014 It is expensive but if you weren't dating you would still have some expenses. You can get creative. Go on walks. Visit museums. Have a picnic. As you get closer you can cook at home & rent movies. YES to the above.
Author Purepony Posted October 4, 2014 Author Posted October 4, 2014 Those are all great ideas for the morning but what about the evening?
RonaldS Posted October 4, 2014 Posted October 4, 2014 Is the economy really that bad? It's fine where I am. First of all, if you're in the US, the economy isn't the issue. Income inequality and stagnation of wages for earners below the 80th percentile is the problem. I bet all of the upper management at your company can afford to date all they want. But, that's a whole other topic. As others have stated, there are innumerable ways to go on dates without dropping a bunch of cash on a dinner. First and foremost, any girl who thinks I'm going to take her out for an expensive meal for a first date is out of her mind. I live in a not so cheap city, and I'm not dropping $100+ on every first date. Screw that. There are these things called 'coffee' and 'drinks'. Let's figure out if we like each other before I start blowing money. It's not about being cheap. It's about being smart, and it's your money. In the right metro area, it would be no trick at all to get 3-4 dates a week. $400/wk on dating? Nope. Might as well just find a hooker and save a couple hundred. That's why it's savvy to just suggest meet-ups at first. $12 at a coffee shop is painless. Even $30 on drinks is no biggie. Then you decide if you want to invest further. If a girl is truly into you, she isn't going to care if you don't wow her with extravagance. Any girl who does...screw her. Better to find out with little out of pocket expense than go on a few dates and drop $$$. 2
Radu Posted October 4, 2014 Posted October 4, 2014 Perhaps. I could try to sell myself as "having a professional license and running my own small business", but it would feel disingenuous to me. From what I gather, most women in their mid-30s expect a potential partner to have an established career and their own home. I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation. I make under $10k a year. Frankly, it is sufficiently humiliating that I don't bother trying. I don't feel I have any business considering dating given my economic situation. So, I guess to go back to the original question, I can afford to date in a literal sense, but I've taken myself out of the pool. You're not the only one. I'm in a similar situation. I could date with savings + other sources, but they are not renewable atm, so i don't.
Mr Scorpio Posted October 4, 2014 Posted October 4, 2014 Is the economy really that bad? It's fine where I am. Even $30 on drinks is no biggie. Where I am, $30 is 15-20 meals.
Natsu21 Posted October 4, 2014 Posted October 4, 2014 I'm broke. So I center my dates and hangouts with places that don't have money. When in doubt, be creative.
RonaldS Posted October 4, 2014 Posted October 4, 2014 Where I am, $30 is 15-20 meals. Here it's 4 drinks at a decent, not great, bar.....not including tips.
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