Perhaps there is no such thing as a good cheap date. The website MyVeryWorstDate is fairly self-explanatory: Folks (pretty much all women) write in with anecdotes of dates who are crude, who are obnoxious, who suddenly lose their pants, who are under house arrest (with the leg monitoring device and all), who go shoplifting during the date—and who are often incredibly cheap.
Being a cheapskate does not bode well for romance, as you can see in two selections from the site’s category for “Love in a Time of Recession.”
This one is called “Stand Off”
This Chris Isaak look-alike who I met out one night Downtown invited me to lunch on his work break near Central Park for our first date. So I walked about 30 blocks because it was a nice day and I was trying to find ways of saving a buck. I met him at his workplace and he said he had to stop at the ATM where he took out $40. He asked me if I had ever had a hot dog in Central Park; I hadn’t so he said he was going to take me there. I thought it was cute and a fun thing to do so I agreed. We found a stand and he went up and ordered two hot dogs, but only one drink. He then proceeded to put on a bunch of toppings on both hot dogs and started eating one of the dogs. Then he asked for his drink that I was holding and stated, “I’ll meet you over there at that rock.” He bought himself two dogs and a drink, as I stood behind him, and proceeded to eat his in front of me without a clue that he was the one who asked me to lunch. And how much could a hot dog cost? He thought nothing of it, but I didn’t go out with him again. I wish I would have said something on the date or confronted him about right there on the spot!
And here’s another called “Pricing It Spicy”
After a few drinks with a co-worker at a pizza joint and numerous games of pool, I decided to give my number to a guy we were playing against. I’ll call him “Steve.” I’d just broken up with someone and wanted to make my first foray back into the dating world.
The next day he called me up to gush about how much fun he had and how he was excited to take me out. We made plans to go for dinner later in the week. He left it up to me to pick the place. I asked if he liked ethnic food and after being assured that he did, I chose a little Thai place with great reviews.
We decided to meet and take the bus together to the restaurant. Steve didn’t drive. It was -25F. I grabbed a cab and told Steve to jump in at our designated meeting place. He made a feeble attempt to pay for it when we got to the restaurant. Needless to say, I was the one shelled out the cash.
After we took our seats, the waiter asked if we would like drinks. As I scanned the wine list, Steve said “Uh, uh well water’s fine with ME.” I was peeved and felt like I had to get water too. Steve then went over the prices on the menu and told me he really wasn’t “that hungry.” He also didn’t like anything too spicy, which was tough since we were in a Thai restaurant.
When the bill came (no coffee or dessert), it sat there for 20 minutes until I picked it up and asked if he’d like to split it. He jumped on the offer stating: “Yah, yah, if that’s what you wanna do!” I paid my half AND left the tip.
I called two cabs and made an excuse that I had other plans nearby. We walked out and a cab pulled up and Steve jumped in. I was left standing downtown in the freezing weather alone. When I didn’t return his texts or calls after that lovely evening, Steve got mad and texted that I “was no prize anyways.”