How Much Does Going On A Date Cost?

It’s almost always relaxing to use the weekend to go on a date, especially after a long and stressful week. However, when you’re trying to impress a date by spending half or more of what you’ve made, you risk going broke pretty fast. This article should be perfect for you to figure out exactly how much you should spend on your future dates – and that while getting the most of it.

Here are some great tips to avoid overspending, while not looking cheap on your dates:

1. Find Out What the Average Date Costs

It’s always important to know exactly how much you are able to pay – a date shouldn’t force you in any debt or hard financial spot. Recent studies have shown men spend close to $90 on the first date. While this is true, people tend to spend anywhere from $50 to $100 on date nights, usually once or twice a month if they’re not in a serious relationship, the same studies say. An important thing to remember, as shown by extensive surveys, is that most women, over 60% to be precise, don’t even want or expect an expensive first date.

2. Be Ready To Spend a Little More on Your First Date

The first date is not only different but also more important than the ones that follow. People that spend just above the average on their first date will usually give the impression of looking for a serious relationship; this is only available for the first date, try to avoid overspending on future dates, and don’t try to portray yourself as someone you’re not. Being too frugal on the first date can make you look cheap in your future date’s eyes. You should spend a little more on your first date only if you don’t have a lot of first dates, to avoid going broke.

3. Prepare for Special Occasions

There are some special days like Christmas or Valentine’s Day, that will usually have higher expected date costs. Be prepared to spend considerably more if you’re planning to go on a date during one of these holidays. In fact, depending most restaurants will have special menu entrees on these days that will cost more but could impress your date. If you’re planning something special during these holidays, plan your budget accordingly.

4. Your Location is Important

A date in a larger city like Washington DC, Boston, New York, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles will cost significantly more. Although you will have more choices in terms of location, you will have to spend more on transportation, food, entertainment, and waiter tipping. If you’re living in your current location for a while, you can probably do the math yourself.

5. Set and Respect Personal Rules

To avoid overspending you should set some rules and make sure you don’t break them unless necessary. For example, if you decide to spend around $50 on a weekend date and only $20 on a weeknight date, make sure you respect your rule. At the end of the day, the average spending on a date is important but more important is how much you can afford to spend. Take into account your income, personal finances, and what is your comfortable spending limit. You should never go over your credit or income limits to impress someone you’ve just met.

6. Having Fun is Not Always Costly

The easiest way to make sure you’re not overspending is to simply avoid going out too often. You can go out a lot more if you simply budget your dates and take advantage of affordable or even free dates. You can go on more dates if those dates are casual lunch meetings, for example. These types of dates are also more relaxed, giving you the opportunity to know someone better.

Looking for ways to impress your date without spending too much? Here are some activities you could try on a date for less than $20:

Are you great at cooking? This could impress your date;
Are you physically active? Ask your date if that’s a thing you have in common; if it is, a day at the beach or hiking could be great date ideas and should be free;
Take advantage of coupons, discounts, or special offers; Use Amazon Deals, Living Social, Groupon, and Yelp Deals to get discounts on shopping, food or even local events;
Yelp can even find you a cheaper restaurant with many positive reviews in your area;
A movie, music or art festival, or even a visit to the museum can be cheap date alternatives;
Roof hangouts are back in style! Find a cute rooftop and arrange a date there;
Renting two bikes for your date can be a great way to exercise and have fun with your date;
Be on the lookout for free tours and book them for your dates;

Want to Impress Your Date? Take Them to Paris!

7. At the end of the day, the Experience is all that Matters

Some people are worth a lot in your eyes, but that doesn’t mean you should spend a lot to try to make them happy. A great relationship shouldn’t be based only on how much you’re willing to spend. Find someone that is worth and needs your time and not your money. Finding that person will make finding the perfect balance between spending and having fun a lot easier.

A setup for a romantic experience and a nice conversation could mean just coffee and dessert, which shouldn’t cost you more than $20. Your date should never be about the price tag, it should be about the experience; and if the person you’re with tries to convince you otherwise, then find someone who appreciates you more. A date should be a memorable experience for both of you, to strengthen any future relationship you might have. If only one of you has fun, the date isn’t going well at all.

Do you look to impress your date by overspending or are you looking for cheap alternatives? Please share your date experiences in the comments below!

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Alec Pow

CEO at ThePricer Media

Alec Pow is a thorough and methodical Financial and Business Analyst with over 15 years of experience in financial statement analysis, Foreign exchange derivative hedging instruments analysis, modeling, and risk management, with a long history of writing for big news publications like Forbes, MSN.com, Washington Post, and many more.

Going on a Date Price