Rising inflation has made nearly every aspect of daily life more expensive — and budding romance is no exception.
A new survey from LendingTree found that one in five respondents reported going on fewer dates because of inflation, and 77% said dating would be easier if they had more money.
“Dating has always been expensive,” LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz says in the report. “Throw rampant inflation into the mix and it can make an already challenging situation even tougher.”
Overall, the report found that the average dater spends about $91 on a first date, which can quickly add up if they’re active on the dating scene. And if they’re using credit cards or mobile payments to foot the bill, the damage might not be apparent for months.
Of the respondents, millennials were most likely to go into debt because of dating at 22%. According to Schulz, millennials are particularly vulnerable to dating debt because they’re already at a point in life where costs accrue quickly from multiple angles.
“They may already have kids,” Schulz says. “They may be drowning in student loan debt and probably have a higher rent payment than they did when they were younger. Given what they’re going through, they might not have much savings — or what they have might be earmarked for a down payment on a house.”
Although dating might cause financial strain, the cost of love is still worth it to some. Of the respondents actively dating, 32% said they would still go on a date even if they couldn’t afford it, with men (36%) more likely to do so than women (30%).
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