Dating

How much do you spend per month on dating?

Walking around and looking at things is free, so that helps keeps costs down. via Flickr user mariusz kluzniak
Walking around and looking at things is free, so that helps keeps costs down. via Flickr user mariusz kluzniak

Dating is a thing that people need to do if they’re ever going to find someone to grow old and miserable with. You can find people to have sex with you on Craigslist, but you probably don’t want to set up a joint checking account with that person. So people go on dates, which can be expensive, especially if you’re one of those dumb guys that always insists on paying for everything. A new survey of Match.com users claims that the average single person spends $60/month on dating, which seems kind of low. Is it?

Granted, around here maybe you can get away with spending $60/month on dating, what with all of the wonderful free things to do in Brooklyn. Still, if you’re going on one date per week to some cool free thing, and going somewhere with a beer and shot special for $5 (which is too cheap to come across much) afterwards, you’re still spending $12 per date if you’re just tipping $1 on your two beer and shots. Which of course you’ll get two, because if the date is bad you need to grit through it, and if it’s good you’re happy to drink more.

So that’s $48 right there already, which would only leave $12 more in your dating budget for something like a movie or a show in some godforsaken concrete box of a DIY venue. Of course, it could be that these people getting polled immediately stop being single after one date, but come on, what are the odds of that? So ignoring that outlandish possibility and replacing it with one in which we’re all desperately searching for love at least once a week, tell us Brooklyn, how much do you spend on dating?

4 Comments

  1. Rebecca F.

    I spent $0 on dating because I am a lady, and also possibly a hermit.

    Oh, one time I bought a dude a beer, and another time I split dinner with someone. I am Womyn, Hear Me Roar.

  2. Jesus Christ! $60? I’m perpetually fucking broke from “dates” that typically begin with me over-drinking in an effort to curb my anxiety. Maybe I’ll switch to pills.

  3. Doesn’t it still count if “dating” has become domestic partnership? I spend more “dating” now than I did as a SiNgLe LaDy. I’d say a typical “nice meal” out is $40, beer for the week, combining out and at home, at least doubles that (cause twice as important, duh) to $80 and then there’s night time accessories and a possible diner trip over the weekend…you’re lookin’ at $150 a week, easy. Which I guess would be $75 a person, not that far off from the survey estimate, but I’m cheap and eat spaghetti every night. Compared to friends who’ve wracked up $200 dinner bills on one night alone…I’d say $60 is a gross understatement.

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