How many times have you left a date with that special tingly feeling in your gut?
The one that screams out, “Hoo-boy, what a waste of money!”
Well, new findings suggest you’re not alone in feeling the pinch when it comes to the cost of modern dating.
Canadians gearing up to find a lasting partner ahead of Valentine’s Day will have to be prepared to shell out thousands of dollars to woo their beau, according to findings from a new Bank of Montreal survey published Thursday.
Canadians, on average, are spending $173 per date, the survey of some 2,500 adults found. That includes the costs of transportation, food, drinks, tickets, grooming and clothing for the occasion.
And with an average of 10 to 21 dates before Canadians commit to a partner, the BMO survey suggested that those looking for love should be ready to spend up to $3,621 before making the relationship official.
If that sounds a bit, well, exorbitant, the survey found many daters feel similarly.
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Roughly two in five (41 per cent) single respondents to the survey said they’ve left a first date feeling it was a waste of time and money. A similar proportion (38 per cent) have said that dating costs affect their ability to reach other financial goals.
With those sour tastes in their mouths, some Canadians have been turned off of dating at all. BMO’s survey says that while single respondents have been on an average of three dates in the past 12 months, some 55 per cent said they hadn’t been on any dates in the past year.
Roughly three in five Canadians say they’re not willing to pay an app or matchmaker to help them find a partner; among those who are open to spending on service, they’d pay up to $16 per year.
The plagues of modern dating coincide with a turbulent economic backdrop, BMO noted.
While inflation has cooled and interest rates have dropped in recent years, those financial anxieties have staying power, particularly amid threats of a trade war with the United States.
Concerns about the cost of living (56 per cent) and a possible recession (48 per cent) have increased in the past three months, according to BMO’s real financial progress index.
BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri noted in a statement that consumer costs are still higher than they were four years ago, with the cost of dining out roughly 22 per cent higher.
“Although wages are also rising and borrowing costs are coming down, many Canadians continue to struggle with the high cost of living, forcing some to cut back on discretionary expenditures such as dating,” he said.
