When Love Meets Extreme Penny-Pinching: 30 Jaw-Dropping Tales of Romantic Frugality
Ever been asked to pay for half a pizza on a date, or told that water is the only acceptable drink because anything else might break the bank? Dating shouldn’t be a game of who’s got the deepest pockets, but when “frugal” morphs into the “I count every penny” nightmare, it’s hard not to raise an eyebrow. Recently, women on Reddit have been spilling the beans about their painfully thrifty dates—some come across as charming misers, others… well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want to split a check with them ever again. Intrigued by these tales of pinching pennies to the extreme, we chatted with Master Certified Relationship Coach Amie Leadingham to unpack why extreme frugality can be a major turn-off, and how to strike the right balance between saving smart and sharing love. Brace yourself for stories that’ll have you laughing, cringing, and feeling grateful your own dates don’t require invoicing after every cup of coffee.
Nothing makes a woman’s heart flutter like being asked to reimburse her date for half of the pizza they shared, or being told that she’s not allowed to order any drinks except water because that would be too expensive.
Dating definitely should not be about having money, but it can sometimes be a red flag when individuals aren’t willing to spend at all. Women on Reddit have recently been detailing their experiences with dating people who are frugal to a fault, so we’ve gathered some of their most shocking stories below. Keep reading to find a conversation with Master Certified Relationship Coach Amie Leadingham, and be sure to upvote the tales that make you grateful that your partner doesn’t send invoices after every date!
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Bf of 3 years got into a small car accident, where air bags went off. He called me from the garage and said he decided to only replace the driver’s seat airbag and not passenger’s seat because each airbag was a few hundred dollars to replace. I was the main person sitting in that passenger seat. After I heard him say that with complete nonchalance (and knowing he had $10k in the bank), I realized he just truly did not care about me, and couldn’t be a partner.
He wanted to pay the dinner bill in front of his colleagues and then ask me to transfer him money afterwards so they didn’t see him making his girlfriend pay for her own meal. He made 4x what I made and was obsessed with saving every penny of that. Never again [laugh out loud]
I went on a first date with a guy who suggested we go to a restaurant because he had a coupon and then decided it was too far of a drive and he didn’t want to spend the gas money (it was like a 15 minute drive) so then he flipped through his wallet of coupons and found one for applebees for free wings with the purchase of a beer. i’m not a huge fan of wings but just thought that’s great he can get some wings for his meal. we got there and he immediately told the waitress he had a coupon, asked for the cheapest beer they had, and ordered his wings. then the waitress looked at me and asked what i wanted, and before i could speak he tells her i’m having the wings with him and i said “actually no thanks” and ordered some food for myself and he got visibly upset and then wouldn’t speak to me and watched basketball on the tv for the remainder of the date. then when the waitress came and asked if the check would be together, he hesitated so i quickly asked for separate checks. frugality is fine, but this man’s financial situation was equal to my own. bonus content: before the date, we met at a park and he started fishing (??) so I wandered around until he was done (and took a picture of him with his fish), then he played his guitar at me for an hour insisting i sing with him (i cannot sing), and on the way home he told me women shouldn’t work and belong in the home and basically told me i had a joke major because I was an art student and that that was great for me but he has to be more serious and isn’t comfortable working a service job after college.
“It can be perceived as a bad thing in dating because the person may be viewed as prioritizing the importance of money over the relationship,” Amie explained. “It may come off as a selfish trait as well, depends on the level of frugality and situation.”
I’d say this is just being a cheap idiot rather than frugal, but I was sick with COVID and asked if he could bring me some grapes and frozen mango. He dropped them off at my door, then sent me a Venmo request for the $10 they cost. Meanwhile, I had gotten him a $300 pair of glasses, let him eat out of my cupboard & fridge whenever he came over, routinely picked him up at the airport, and the only date he ever took me on was our first date to Starbucks.
He didn’t plan ahead and went on a roadtrip with his elderly father. He refused to pay for a hotel/motel because is was over $100 a night and made his father, who was in his late 80s sleep in his Volkswagen golf.
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