How Much Do Dates Cost?

As soon as you enter your teens you start to be concerned about money. For the first few years of life, your needs are pretty well taken care of by your parents. If you want something you ask them to buy it for you or to give you the moneyfor it. You’re more concerned about whether or not you can have something than where the money will come from for it. To some youngsters, parents seem to have an endless supply of money. Other children are given a part from a very young age in making family decisions about the spending of money. Regardless of what type of upbringing you have, in high school and college you probably have money problems. No matter how much money you get, it never seems to be enough.

Dr. Martin Bloom recently conducted a study of the money problems of 1,973 students from the 7 th through the 12 th grades. He found that “adolescents are very much concerned with the problem of obtaining money.” He reports that many of the adolescents he interviewed “had difficulty in keeping up with school expenses and personal grooming, and feel embarrassed because of lack of funds.” Dr. Bloom found that l0th-graders have the most money worries of all, but that older youth have money problems too. Many teen-agers wish that their school would give them more help with their personal financial problems. Some schools have banks that train students to develop a regular saving program for things that are important to them.

Students need money for many things. They often must provide for their own books and school expenses. They need money for school lunches and for after-school refreshments. Many teen-agers buy their own clothes and pay for practically all their own personal expenses. Most of all, dating takes up a major portion of the allowances of many young adults.

THE BOY PAYS ...

Sometimes boys seem to spend a large proportion of their money on dating expenses. Many young men continually worry about where the money will come from for their next date. What if the girl wants to spend more than he can afford?

Actually, dates do not have to be more expensive than the boy can afford. What are some of the expenses the average young man has when he dates?

For Transportation

When a young man dates, the cost of transportation looms large. If he uses the family car, he is responsible for putting in gas and oil. If it’s his own car, he also may have to cover such expenses as repairs, maintenance, and insurance. He must either wash the car himself or pay to have it washed. Using a car is convenient but it’s not cheap.

If a fellow doesn’t have use of a car, he must use public transportation to and from his date’s home. If he’s within walking distance of her home, he still must pay transportation if they go out together. When she wears a formal, he feels that he must use a taxi to take her to and from the dance. If the couple picks places close enough to walk to, the expense will not be as great, but this is not always possible or even advisable.