Making The Most of Dating in The Recession

The recession is hitting all of us hard. Individuals and businesses, are all tightening their budgets because money is already proving to be in short supply, and we’re constantly promised that the worst is yet to come.

With George Osbourne’s promised Emergency Budget on the horizon, and all cuts and changes to the economy to be announced next week, you can pretty much guarantee that we’re in for a period of frugality as we all seek to save the pennies to make up the pounds.

Life on a tighter budget needn’t be so terrible, however. Sure, the instantaneous rush of buying our dating partner a gift – on credit – delivers its own pleasures whilst insisting that lunch is our shout always fills us with a sense of pride and self-worth. We may also feel more comfortable wearing a new outfit when dating, purchased just for the occasion, or we may feel we haven’t arrived unless we pull up in our sparkling sports car, dressed to impress. But whichever way you look at it, these aren’t necessarily good habits. Absolutely, we feel it gives us status and we like to look our best. But it’s also a slightly artificial way to boost our own self-esteem.

By all means we should look our best and take care of our appearance, and we should be generous to those in our company, but splashing the cash has its own obvious pitfalls. In addition, there are plenty of positive character traits to keeping your purse or wallet tightly shut.

Being smart with your cash is a sure sign to a potential partner that you’re a responsible person. You’ll give them the impression that, just as you’re wise when it comes to transactions, you’re probably just as thoughtful when it comes to making emotional decisions. It gives off a message of security and wisdom, whilst being a spendthrift can often seem a little reckless.

Also, dating on a tighter budget can be far more fun than your traditional restaurant or cocktail bar setting. Galleries, museums, cinemas and funfairs – all of these things are either free or moderately priced, whilst offering a more dynamic and interesting alternative to traditional dating locations.

If you find yourself looking at your finances next week, scratching your head and wondering where your social life fund – and more importantly your dating cash reserves – are going to come from, just remember that keeping it inexpensive needn’t mean keeping it boring. In fact, it can mean quite the opposite.