An alarming number of singles are driving themselves to the poor house in order to impress potential partners. We look at what’s behind this poor choice in dating strategy.
Everyone lies on first dates—that’s just the way it is. People might shave a few years off their age, add a few inches to their height, claim they can shred on guitar, or perhaps boast about their bank account. The financial blowhard won’t necessarily whip out their tax returns for the past five years to prove to their porking prospect that they buy and sell people like them every day because, well, they can’t. The thing is, they probably don’t really have any money—at least no more than anyone else—but they keep up the façade of someone who does. Exaggerating how much money one makes is the biggest lie people tell on the dating scene, according to a new study, and it’s dragging more of the lovesick into the poor house.
According to a recent Credit One Bank survey, more than half of Gen Z and nearly half of millennials admit to inflating their financial success to look more appealing to potential partners. More alarming is that roughly a third of them are willing to incur actual debt to maintain the illusion. This isn’t a case of splurging on one fancy dinner at Le Bernardin and then eating ramen while you pick up extra shifts to make rent. We’re talking about habitual overdrafting, maxed-out credit cards and living in a constant state of financial free fall, all so a date can believe you’re a hotshot.
“I haven’t done it, but a friend of mine did,” Cliff from Nashville, Tennessee, tells HUSTLERMagazine.com. “He convinced this girl that his band was getting signed, and that he got a bunch of money from the label. He ran up something like $10K in credit card debt on that scam.”
