Nearly 40% of Americans have gone on a date specifically for the free food, and somehow, that doesn’t feel shocking in this day and age.
A new survey from JG Wentworth, a Pennsylvania-based financial services company, found that 39.9% of Americans admitted to going on at least one date solely to score a free meal. Another 27.5% said they haven’t done it, but they’ve thought about it. Only 32.6% claimed they’d never even considered it, which, fine.
The data also lands alongside a recent Wall Street Journal report noting that 20-somethings are driving a revival of the traditional dinner date. Draw your own conclusions there.
The bigger picture makes it easier to understand. The same survey found that 29.5% of respondents have turned down a date because they couldn’t afford it, and 85.7% have passed on a second date because they felt financially misaligned with the other person. Dating has always been expensive. It’s gotten more expensive, and now, people are improvising.
Why Not Say Yes to a Date for the Free Food?
Professional development expert Jan Goss told Fox News Digital that the free-meal date is a symptom of a broader cultural appetite for getting something for nothing. “Whether it’s a first date, a business meeting, or a friendship, relationships are built on trust,” she said. “The moment we show up with this hidden agenda, we damage the foundation before it ever starts.”
She acknowledged the economic reality underneath it. “There is an economics conversation around it, because times are tough for many and inflation is real,” Goss said. “But financial struggle doesn’t give us permission to compromise our integrity.”
Her practical advice is simple: whoever extends the invitation pays, always have the means to cover your own meal just in case, and if it really isn’t in your budget, say so upfront. “It’s not in my budget this week” is a full sentence, and apparently, more people should be using it.
Goss’s bottom line cuts to the point. “The issue in this whole thing isn’t who pays for dinner,” she said. “It’s whether we’re treating people as human beings or opportunities.”
Given that four in ten Americans have apparently answered that question with a shrug and a bread basket, it lands as more of an indictment than a hot take.
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