Money can't buy you love, but it helps. Those early months with a new bloke are full of pricey temptations, from posh knickers to last-minute Eurostar tickets.
But with all the talk of recessions and credit crunches, you may want to tighten the purse strings. The good news is that the best dates don't cost the earth. In fact, a lack of cash can improve a date. There's less worry about who pays, and less pressure for everything to be perfect. You can relax and let things unfold.
So if you're watching the pennies but don't want to scrimp on romance, here are a few pocket-friendly alternatives.
You love: Eating out
Big-money version: Book a table at this month's celeb-fave restaurant. Bill: a week's wages.
Credit crunch version: Show off your culinary skills and turn the lights down low. Go for modest but quality ingredients - pasta or rice with home-made pesto, and ice-cream for afters, costs next to nothing; you can get decent wine for under a fiver. If all goes well, you'll soon be chewing each other's faces off.
Price of love: £10-20 for ingredients.
You love: Art for art's sake
Big-money version: The latest exhibition by a world-famous artist. Tickets for the Rothko exhibition at London's Tate Modern are £12.50 each.
Credit crunch version: A wander round your free local art gallery. The lucky UK is home to thousands of free museums and galleries, from local history centres to Tate Modern. Also sign up for galleries' mailing lists, and you may get free invitations to exhibition openings... with free champagne!
Price of love: Free admission; a couple of quid for coffee in the café.
You love: Dancing all night
Big-money version: Going to see your favourite band, then onto a nightclub.
Credit crunch version: Go salsa dancing. Most salsa classes are a mix of beginners and enthusiasts, so don't feel shy about your lack of footloose finesse. Salsa is much sexier than being squashed in a mosh pit - and you'll both be laugh your lungs dry.
Price of love: £10 for drinks and class. Check www.uksalsa.com for listings.
You love: Comedy
Big-money version: Your favourite TV comedian on tour.
Credit crunch version: A stand-up comedy club. You'll pay more than £30 to see a big-name comic in the West End, but there are plenty of cheap comedy clubs bursting with up-and-coming talent, and many have open-mic nights where entry is free. Alternatively, get tickets for a TV show - the tickets are free.
Price of love: From free. Check www.chortle.co.uk for listings.
You love: Dirty weekends
Big-money version: Eurostar tickets and two nights in a Paris hotel. That's £500 before you've even sampled the vino.
Credit crunch version: A Brighton B&B - or, if you're really brave, a tent. Once you're under the covers together and your pulse is going like the clappers, you won't notice the difference between a posh hotel and a bit of canvas. Honest.
Price of love: From free for camping (if you have a tent) to £30-£90 for a B&B. Search www.ukcampsite.co.uk and www.bedandbreakfasts-uk.co.uk.
You love: Catching a movie
Big-money version: A night at the cinema, which often works out far pricier than expected. £20 for a pair of tickets, £5 for popcorn and pop, £10 for drinks afterwards and heaven knows what for a cab ride home.
Credit crunch version: Veg out at your place for a DVD marathon. You get more choice over the films you watch, you can change movies half-way through if you get bored, and you can have an indoor picnic while you're watching. Oh, and you can do things to each other that you'd get arrested for in Row 15 at the local Odeon.
Price of love: Free trial offer DVD rental from www.blockbuster.co.uk, and a quid for microwave popcorn.
You love: Placing your bets
Big-money version: A day at the horse races, or taking in a footy game. Both eye-wateringly expensive.
Credit crunch version: Greyhound racing. It's different, loads of fun and very inexpensive - many greyhound stadiums even offer half-price beer. Your man will love it. Sadly it's also a dying sport, so catch it while you can. The epicentre of racing, Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium, closed last summer, despite attracting the likes of David Beckham and Brad Pitt.
Price of love: Free entry some days; bets from 50p. Search for race nights at www.dogracing.co.uk.