This article draws all the wrong conclusions from the design of the survey itself. That's the average date expense, for all single people, to include:

• Rich people who don't mind paying more for dinners out.
• People who have been dating a long time, on their later dates with someone they're already steadily dating and/or fucking.
• Other expenses of a date, to include hair and makeup and other styling.

Digging into one of the surveys discussed in the article shows that the cost of a first date has climbed to $93.

$93 is more in line with what I'd expect. And yes, that price tag can price a lot of people out of bringing someone they don't know well yet on a formal sit down date.

I went to look up the menu at the place where my wife and I had our first date, in an expensive city. If we ordered what we ordered that night, except with today's prices, I think we would've spent about $30 on food, $50 on wine, and 30% on tax and tip for a total of about $105. We also split the tab. And that's with someone who I had already met in person in a few places (friends of friends), had already established rapport over the phone, and already knew that we both loved the restaurant we were meeting at.

Obviously we need more cheap/free third places in the mix. And our society would benefit from better income/wealth equality. But while we live in this current situation, people should be generally be ramping up in closeness before spending real money on dates in places they wouldn't have otherwise gone to. I couldn't imagine spending real money before getting to know someone at least enough to know whether I like them and enjoy being around them.