Is It OK To Use A Coupon On A Date?
Regardless of your gender, offering to pay the bill on a date is a pretty surefire way to score points. (And if your date goes well, they'll treat you next time, right?) But what if you pay the bill using a coupon? Will your date be impressed with your thrifty money-saving abilities, which, after all, denotes dateable attributes like fiscal responsibility and maturity? Or will your date just think you're, well, cheap?
Couponcabin.com recently did a survey to gauge how Americans felt about using a coupon on a date.
Apparently, only 6 percent of adults ages 18-34 would be "offended" if someone broke out a coupon on the first date. (So, if you happen to find yourself on a date with someone who is turned off by your frugality, know that 94 percent of the rest of your dating pool feels differently.)
In fact, 32 percent of men and 35 percent of women would feel "indifferent" if their date used a coupon. Remember that the next time you're sweating buckets at the prospect of offering up your "$5 off with purchase of popcorn" coupon on date night.
In general, 70 percent of singles say that using a coupon on a first date is smart. Sort of what we've been saying all along: Dating has to be fun, but it really doesn't have to be expensive or extravagant.
Date Night Coupon Etiquette
1. If you have a coupon for a specific deal or purchase, let your date know ahead of time. If you try to guide them into choosing a particular menu item, drink, or show time and then break out your corresponding coupon, they'll feel bamboozled.
2. Make the coupon optional. Let them know that you have a coupon for a free dessert with the purchase of an enchilada, but if they had their heart set on a burrito, don't force them to forgo it.
3. Even if they're paying, offer up your discount. If your date is generously paying for, say, tickets to an art lecture, but you get a 15 percent discount because you're a museum member, don't stay mum! Offer to give them your card or to get the tickets yourself — they can either accept or demure.
4. You can even build a date around a coupon, if you're upfront about it! Is there a guy or a girl you like? Let them know that you just got a Groupon or deal for a beer tasting course/dance show/boat ride, do they want to come with? This way, your date becomes less about saving money and more about an activity.
5. Beware of extreme couponing! Using one coupon on a date is fine, admirable even. Showing up with a coupon booklet and a complicated plan to squeeze every possible penny out of a deal is a bit... aggressive, for a first date. Remember, you're using your coupon to date, not dating so you can use your coupon. (Important distinction.)
— Chiara Atik, How About We
Related Links:
20 Questions We Could Ask On A First Date (But Actually Actually Would)