Low budget dating

It’s a recession, people.

It’s the reason why budget stores are the new big idea across the developed world. Britain’s got Poundlands and Poundworlds, Germany has EuroShops, Japan 100-yen shops, and America is the Land of Dollar General and Dollar Tree.

A lipstick law?

Have you ever heard of The Lipstick Theory? It states that the consumption of cosmetics is inversely proportional to the health or wellbeing of an economy. Maureen Dowd, writing in the New York Times, explains it this way (in plain English): “When the economy goes down, lipstick sales go up. Women indulge in smaller luxuries and skip bigger ones.”

Like most publicised research of that nature, the data used was derived from a Western pool of subjects. So we do not know how much that theory would apply to Nigerian women.

Dating, however, is generally not considered an inexpensive vocation. The desire of lovers to have fun together – and the idea that dating is all about making impressions – means that dating and low-budgets are not typically seen as compatible. Dating budgets are, therefore, usually some of the last to face the knife.

Survival dating

Thus the question: Could “Low Budget Dating” be a big idea in Nigeria anytime soon?

Number nine on Time Magazine’s 2009 List of 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now is “Survival Stores”. Sean Gregory writes: “These days, a survival-store brand could be cool. It’s suddenly hip to save money. Dollar stores are thriving — there’s no shame in trading down. Retailers should be straight with their customers, who are in no mood to decipher some muddled marketing pitch. This is a survival store, plain and simple. Come in and look around: all these other people are in the same boat. Have it. That simple message might just inspire a very sad shopper.”

If we apply that principle to the dating game, what comes up is what we have chosen to call “Survival Dating”.

A caveat

We, of course, realise that not everyone will take kindly to this idea. There will be those who believe that dating done on a budget will no longer qualify to be called dating, and that such a suggestion is merely another depraved idea from the pit of Skinflint Hell.

If you belong to that school, well, we apologise. Otherwise, this is for you. An adventure in low budget dating might actually turn out to be fun! It forces you to be creative, and if there’s anything most relationships need the most, it’s fresh thinking!

Park your romance

Consider turning one of Fashola’s new gardens to a love nest. (We seize this opportunity to appeal to Mr. Fashola to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place (street lights, public toilets, public mirrors, etc.) to support this potentially fashionable means of entertainment.

Suggested gardens:

• There’s the Muri Okunola Garden in Victoria Island, just as you descend into the Island from Falomo.

• There’s the Alausa Park (near the secretariat)

• There’s the new park by the sea in Marina, right next to The Sunborn Yacht Hotel – a paved walkway on the edge of the ocean. (We hear it’s even featured in Kunle Afolayan’s blockbuster, The Figurine).Home theatre

You can buy DVDs (not the pirated versions, please!) in traffic, drive home and watch them. You can move closer to the cinema experience by trying your hands on “home-popped” corns (all you need is a frying pan and hot oil).

Drive-by love

You can drive through Lagos in one of those “4 hours for 4k” Eko Cabs. Four hours in an air-conditioned car (with your own driver!), gisting, holding hands, taking in the sights and sounds of Lagos will do wonders for lovers!

And if you don’t want to spend all of your time in the back of a cab, there are loads of places to visit in Lagos, and for which you don’t have to groan to the ATM to get admitted. Visit the National Museum at Onikan, the Awolowo Museum in Lekki, the Lagos Botanical Gardens, the Lekki Conservation Centre.

Safety in numbers

Whatever happened to the time-tested idea of a group picnic? Gather with other couples in someone’s home (you can rotate venues) for a game of Monopoly, or Scrabble (not the online version, please!). Ask every couple to bring something along to eat. And then share.

Who knows, if you can pull off low budget dating; perhaps the next challenge would be “Expenditure-free Dating” (aka ATM-free dating). And then a Low Budget Wedding? A Low Budget NIGERIAN wedding!

If you think we missed any ideas, please send them to lifestyle@234next.com, and we’ll share them with the world.