Friday, February 16, 2007

Costs of Relationships

SingleMa blogged this week about the cost of having a boyfriend, in response to the Millionster's post about the cost of having a girlfriend. And guess what? Both are expensive! There are the obvious costs of food, entertainment, gifts and birth control. Then there are less obvious things, like gasoline, and perhaps turning up your thermostat. And then the biggie turns out to be all the issues of personal hygiene!
For guys:

Forget shaving once a week, try every day. You’ll need all kinds of body spray and cologne to hide your manly fragrance. You’ll also need hair gel, toothpaste, white strips, q-tips, colonics, deodorant, haircuts, back waxes, manicures and eyebrow waxing. All of this to convince her that you’re not the Cheerios eating, smelly, hairy beast you know you are.
For girls:
hair/mani/pedi - this is the sister-friend to clothes and shoes. No need to waste money on fabulosity if your hair is a hot mess... total body feel/smell good - this is a combination of things - fancy shower gel, body spray, perfume, expensive moisturizer, etc. The point is, we must look good AND smell good.
Regardless of your gender or that of your partner, the fact of the matter is that you are going to have to spend some money if you want to enjoy affectionate intimacy with another human being. If you're too cheap to do that, you're probably single. But being single isn't all that fun. So what's the answer? See my post on the costs of a long-distance relationship.
Sure, you've got phone bills. Sure, travel is expensive. But in between, you can stay home and eat Spaghetti-Os for dinner every night, let your toenails grow a foot long, and wash your clothes as infrequently as you want. Even with video calling, the image quality isn't good enough yet for anyone to really know if your skin is dry or your hair is greasy. You can be a total pig. And when the phone rings and that sultry voice says "what are you wearing right now?" Imagination is free, baby.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I dunno, you could virtually date someone via the internet and it would be free =)

though that gets old doesnt it?

lol

your friend in finance,
Juan Millón from Millionster.com

Single Ma said...

Gosh, you make it sound like I only take showers when I'm in a relationship. LOL

Just so your readers know, the next sentence immediately following the quote says:

Now don't get me wrong. We don't need men in our lives to smell good or want soft, smooth, blemish free skin. But we know they like it so we buy A LOT of it. Ha!

*sniffing self* Ok, I feel better now. :-)

And thanks for the link luv!

Anonymous said...

I'll never forget my date with Dr. tall, dark and handsome, years ago. And he wasn't just any old Dr - he was a Dr. to Doctors. He asked me out to a French restaurant for our first date. I was fresh out of university, and the cost of the meal would have been half my monthly paycheque.

Instead of enjoying the dinner, all I could worry about was whether he'd pick up the tab. Even splitting it would have meant fasting for the next couple weeks (hyperbole, a bit!). Kinda killed the ability to flirt.

Thankfully, he picked up the bill, and I went home relieved more than happy with the date!

We became a couple for over a year, but I never admitted my anxiety about that first date!

Unknown said...

To quote Shaw (I believe) Women's best is man's imagination which while written prior to the electronic age is as true today as it was then!

Unknown said...

Typo....Women's best asset is man's imagination...Opps

Anonymous said...

Hey do you have an email address some place?

Anonymous said...

Err sorry to post this here but I couldn't find your email address..

Check this out (look for the NY Yankee bannerette)

http://millionster.com/articles/millionstercom/special/open-blog-roll/

Juan

Tiredbuthappy said...

Wow, are all you gals spending that kinda money on your personal grooming? It's a miracle I haven't been left on the shelf all this time if you're what I'm competing with.

Or maybe I just picked a guy with low-expectations. He doesn't like scented creams or shampoos. He doesn't appear to mind if I shave regularly or not. And his favorite shirt that I own is a too-small stained white long-sleeved T-shirt that I've had for at least ten years.

Madame X said...

Like Single Ma, I now feel I should point out that I do indeed bathe and do laundry for my own sake as well as that of others!

Anonymous said...

From the "Make Love, Not Debt" blog...
http://www.makelovenotdebt.com/images/Valentinesportfolio.pdf

Anonymous said...

There also was the survey which USA Today made mention of a while back which stated that married people are wealthier than single people. The simple explanation...economies of scale. One house two incomes etc. etc.

The flip side was that divorced people were poorer...loosing an overwelming portion of their net worth through the divorce process.

so the moral of the story...do what make cents.... : ^ )