Contributed by: ElyseRomano on Wednesday, December 28 2011 @ 09:25 am
Last modified on
Are cash-strapped single girls dating for free dinners?
According to a recent article in Business Insider, at least a few girls have.
Introducing 23-year-old Manhattan-dweller Jessica Sporty, a girl who says that her $45,000 a year salary couldn't cover her rent, credit card bills, and food expenses.
What did she do to cure her financial troubles? Did she ask for a raise, find a second job, or look for a cheaper living arrangement? Nope, those options were far too mainstream. This enterprising young lady logged onto a popular dating site and starting scoring free dinners by going on dates with clueless men.
Yep, you read that right. Sporty started eating out five nights a week using a rotation of different men that she met online. To avoid confusion and emotional attachment, she limited herself to no more than five dates with the same guy, and never allowed them to see where she lives. She chose her suitors based on their financial profiles, targeting the investment banker types who could treat her to dinners at the city's most expensive eateries.
And her strategy worked - she went from spending at least $500 a month on dinners to having someone else pick up the tab for her meals. At an average of $60+ per night, the savings started adding up quickly. She also stopped eating lunch and choose light breakfasts to save even more. Although her dating site has a $50 monthly subscription fee, she says that her dates more than made up for the expense. "I mean, a guy buys me three drinks at $15 a pop and that right there made up for my fee," she explained to Business Insider. One man, she claims, even dropped $200 for a bottle of champagne during a date.
Seeing her success, Sporty's roommates got in on the action too. The creative trio made spreadsheets about each man that detailed important data like their names, photos, and info from their dating site accounts. They let each other know where they were going each night and who they were going with, and always met their dates in public locations.
But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Sporty began running into people she recognized from the site as online dating became increasingly popular in NYC. Eventually she tired of the scene, citing exhaustion and a weariness of "playing the game." She now has a steady boyfriend, and it seems as though she may have retired for good.
Was her strategy smart? Was it ethical? Was it gold digging, or simply a smart financial arrangement?