It’s true – some great things in life do come for free. We’re one of them, and we’re aware that price tags aren’t synonymous with flowering love. But when you’re actually on that date, prepping yourself for a night of limitless affection, you want to feel like money is no object, and some people simply can’t bear to leave their cheapskate tendencies at the door.
So, in this dating red flag feature, we’ve selected four signs of the cash-skirting charmer, the type of lad or lady who’d rather lose a leg than their wallet….
The ‘sale’ shopper
Bargains can be irresistible, and cause existential woes when you realise people are waiting in line for half an hour, just to get 10% off a t-shirt. All of us have fallen prey to a slashed price at some time or another, but you may have picked up on your date’s starry-eyed mention of the TK Maxx clear-out, or the stupendous qualities of a supermarket meal deal.
A couple of these mentions, and no problem – like we said, cheaper stuff is good, right? Yet, if your partner is banging on and on about bargain hunting, and filling up their free time with it, you may have landed a price-cut addict.
The painful cheque expression
So the bill arrives for your meal, and Mr/Mrs Dashing opposite takes a long, hard look at the total amount. They squint, shake their head, and sigh. What follows is a beseeching glance at you, a kind of ‘Let’s be more careful next time’ appraisal of a night that, until now, you were quite enjoying.
Going halves on food and entertainment is pretty standard nowadays, and it’s commendable. There should still be some room, though, for a treat or two, and splashing out when it’s due. You should be the reason for this.
The leech
Paying for a round of drinks isn’t normally an issue. Forking out for that spontaneous taxi back to your place, either, shouldn’t be a major concern. If you’re willing to do these little gestures for the joy of your time together, it’s fair to expect the same from your date.
Therefore, being magnanimous with your spending starts to become a drag if it isn’t returned in kind. The romantic leech will happily take a glass of wine from you, but they’ll twist and moan when it’s their turn, a subtle slap in the face of mutual affection.
The negative commentator
Just say, for a moment, that you’re taking your first trip along the high street shops, with hands entwined and syncopated steps. Your spot a mouth-watering jacket in a window, which pulls you inside like a wearable magnet. The date follows reluctantly, and frowns at your happiness, declaring you unfit for an impulse buy.
“Look, you really shouldn’t get that, it’ll be a brief eclipse of your personal problems before they come back again to bite you,” they might say, in fewer words. Well, you know what? Screw it – life’s worth living.
These dating red flags are worth caring about, even if you have sympathy with what they hold dear. As the months and years (potentially) wear on, a relationship allows for less and less inequality if it’s going to survive. And the cheapskate mantra might infect other sides of your coupling, such as which of your thoughts and idiosyncrasies are more valuable than the rest.
Take a leaf out of their book: instead of flushing cash down the drain, flush them away instead, and join FreeAndSingle today for likeminded daters who’ll be cavalier enough to keep things exciting.