Important Life Tip: Avoid A Cheap Date
I frequently catch a lot of backlash from readers on this site for my backwards views on how a woman should behave and relationship advice. I can’t help it, I was raised a certain way and my views haven’t swayed: sue me.
Today, I’m sitting here, smiling to myself. It seems as if one of my mother’s "outdated" dating tips has been proven to be true, and I’m allowing myself to sit here and gloat for a bit.
How do you judge a first date? By his manners? His personality? How much he spends? It seems superficial (okay, it probably is), but I’ve always been told that if a guy is not willing to shell out some money (I’m not talking anything elaborate, you can buy me a movie ticket and I’ll be happy) on a first date, he’s not the business.
A dubious new study decided to examine whether this age-old assumption was true or not, and it turns out that guys who take you on a more expensive date are looking for more of a commitment than a cheap guy.
According to WhatsYourPrice.com, an online dating site where members can bid on a chance at a first date (they literally have a dating site for everything), conducted a two year study with their American male members to determine the correlation between fist date spending and relationship outlook.
Nationally, men spend an average of $80 on a first date. In this study, however, guys who spent thrice as much ($240 or more) increased their chances of being in a serious relationship by 34 percent. Guys who spent below $80 were more likely to be sexually promiscuous than the ones who decided to pay a little extra.
"The amount a man spends on a first date indicates his level of sincerity towards building a serious/lasting relationship," says Brandon Wade, Founder and CEO of WhatsYourPrice.com "That is not to say that men should always spend the same amount as they did for the first date. However, to leave a good impression, men need to do, what I call, ‘The Peacock Dance’ to show they are good providers and therefore viable mates."
I was skeptical when I first heard of this study and decided to ask my male co-workers their opinion. Knowing how men can be in today’s society (sorry, guys), I wouldn’t put it past a guy to shell out the dough just to impress a woman in order to sleep with her. Surprisingly enough, every one of my male co-workers agreed that they would only spend a lot of money on a first date if they saw the girl as "girlfriend potential."
Maybe my views aren’t as dated as some of you thought…
Photo Credit: Getty Images
