mad anthony

Rants, politics, and thoughts on politics, technology, life,
and stuff from a generally politically conservative Baltimoron.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Why is thrift seen as a vice when it comes to dating?

HowAboutWe's Date Report has an article on 8 dating money habits that should be a red flag. Numbers 1 through 7 are pretty basic and obvious - if someone is always broke, can't pay their bills, can't pay for a date, can't pay child support, it's pretty fair to conclude that they aren't particularly financial responsible, and that could be a problem for a long term relationship. Number 8, though, is the opposite - "Pinches his Pennies". The author includes an example of this. So what egregious violation did this guy do to put him in the same league as the guy who got his phone shut off? He suggested she show her student ID to get a discount at the movies. How cheap - I mean, he totally made enough to pay the extra buck, and how embarrassing. Maybe it's just because I'm a fellow cheapskate, but I can't understand what's wrong with this. It's not like it took a whole lot of effort for her to take out her ID. I fail to see the virtue in paying more than you have to for an item, and I can't understand why someone would be embarrassed to take advantage of a discount. It's not like the ticket seller in the box office has never seen someone get a student discount before. Look, I realize that there are situations where someone is clearly cheap - where they give up basic pleasures to save a tiny amount of money. But he didn't suggest dumpster diving for a date or refuse to turn on the heat in the dead of winter. A movie ticket purchased with a student discount buys the same seat in the same movie as one without it, but it costs less. Win-Win. All the other examples she gives of the horrors of dating a penny pincher are in the same vein - clipping coupons, shopping at Costco, driving around to find cheaper gas. They all take a minimal amount of work, give you the same item, and save you some money. Money that you can use for paying your rent and phone bill and for dates and child support and all those other things that guys 1-7 never could do, probably because they spent more money than they had to on other things. FWIW, I do clip coupons, I used to shop at Costco but found it wasn't worth it for me because a single dude doesn't really need the quantities they sell, and don't drive around looking for cheap gas because it usually costs more to drive my gas-guzzling pickup there than I save. The other dating money advice you always seem to see is to never use a coupon on a date, especially a first date. (I've never done it, but I've also never had a date at a place I had a coupon for). I've never really understood why this is so bad, assuming it's a flat dollar-off coupon for a place you both want to go to, and not some complicated coupon that restricts you to certain items or is for a place that sucks. Once again, same food, a few more bucks in your pocket. I think it's unfortunate that being frugal is looked at as some sort of flaw when it comes to dating. Yes, there is a point where it goes too far, but the examples in this article don't. To me, refusing to take advantage of easy ways to save money and instead throwing money away is what should be seen as a flaw. Then again, maybe this is a good way of weeding out potential dates and mates. After all, there has to be some woman somewhere who also understands the value of a dollar, and by showing my frugality maybe I'll find her. We can enjoy long walks around the clearance endcaps of Target holding our sheaf of coupons and spend hours staring into each other's eyes while camping out for Black Friday sales.