Recession Romance

Times are tough. If you didn’t have a budget before, chances are high that you do now. You’re staying in more and going out less. Slowly but surely, you are mastering the art of living frugally. And you’re finding that frugal living is quite the buzz kill when it comes to finding romance—or so it seems. Before you commit to another solo Saturday night movie marathon, jump on an online dating site, and give it a try. Or, if you’ve tried it before, give it another chance now.

Many online dating sites are showing record traffic numbers (industry speak for more people) since September of this year, according to MediaLife magazine. Granted, it’s “official” now that we’ve been in a recession since December of 2007, but September is when the poop really started to hit the fan. (Remember that domino effect on bank failures?) It comes as no coincidence to those in the online dating industry that their sites have been seeing steady growth since then.

When you cut back on expenses, such as going out to bars in the pursuit of love, you have more time to spend on the computer, checking out others’ profiles and updating your own. The recession also forces you to rethink about what’s important in your life. Finding a genuine connection with another person sounds a whole lot more fulfilling than a new pair of shoes, right? Plus, online dating allows you to get to know the person as much as you want before you decide to meet for a real date, which saves both parties a lot of time, money, and energy on horrible first dates.

Whaddya say? Are you willing to give online dating a (another) try?

—Laura Lee Bloor