Should You Spend Money on Online Dating?

    Chances are if you are in your mid-twenties and aren't married, you have considered online dating.  Pressure from your peers and advertising has made us all think "hey, maybe it isn't so bad".  While the ease of a free website is very tempting, investing money in an online dating website may be a better option.

     Dating online gives people the ease to look at profiles and decide whether they want to initiate a conversation with a potential suitor based on age, professional, and yes, level of attractiveness.  At first when you think about, that may be convenient. You could potentially weed out the possible mismatches based on things like smoking habits, religious or political views. 

     When considering a free website, keep these things in mind:

• Free signup is easy. But with ease comes some laziness. Because there is no money involved, it may cut down on the quality and quantity of the details that a person may list about themselves.
• 10% of online dating profiles are credited to scams. Free websites make it easy for anyone, including scam artists and scam websites, to create a fake profile online.
• Administrators are not tracking and monitoring the safety on free internet dating sites. The monitoring is left up to the members to track.

     When considering investing in a paid membership to a dating website:

• Signup is not free at most paid membership sites. Having to give up some of your hard earned money every month should increase the quality of the members that sign up.  Singles would be thinking long and hard about whether they were serious about dating to find a long-term relationship.. 
• Quality of the profile increases when money is involved. Singles may not want to advertise a generic profile filled with long walks on the beach cliches if they are putting money and effort into the profile.
• The top 3 dating websites, Zoosk, match.com, and eharmony, require a paid for subscription to email other members.  These are the websites that boast the most success.
• Paid websites have monitoring and safety staff that ensure that scammers are stopped, banned or even reported to authorities in case of harassment, threat or illegal activity. The dating website pays hosting services and security software, this is why they have to charge a minimum for maintaining their site. 

     When it comes down to it, deciding to date online is based on what you are looking for in the outcome.  There is an amount of risk involved in choosing to pay for a site or signup for a free dating site.  There is no guarantee that paying for a membership will find you love.  There is also no guarantee that using a free website will not find you love. From what I hear through friends, family, and my personal experience, paying for an online dating website has the best types of results.

     Use your best judgement, as always, when dating online or offline.

5 Top Money Tips and Frugal Blogs

     Looking to get some great advice on how to get over that hump to financial serenity? Staying motivated about your financial situation is the most important aspect of reaching that financial higher ground. It is important that you stay surrounded with support both through family and friends, as well as through reading books and blogs about the many experiences people from all walks of life have with money.

     Being frugal with money and lifestyle go hand in hand with being able to keep up with healthy savings and financial balance.  Here are some of the blogs I read on a daily basis, each of these sharing financial tips and frugal advice with their own twist on staying motivated.

1) Get Rich Slowly 
     This blog is my personal favorite.  Get Rich Slowly is filled with articles about getting out of debt, where to find the best savings account rates, and advice for month to month bills. There are also many guest posts from financial and frugal bloggers from all parts of the web community. J.D. Roth is the sites creator and he has a very good article on which books he recommends to start the financial journey and stay on track.

2) Frugal Dad
     Jason White is the creator and dad in this website that lives his life frugally and shares his tips. He shares his experiences with debt and fatherhood, giving advice on all things frugal and financial.  He also shares many links to coupons that his readers can use to get discounts on items such as half off a year subscription to Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.

3)  zenhabits
    Keeping peace of mind and body is crucial while taking the journey to simplicity.  Leo Babauta practices the simplest life possible while keeping a healthy lifestyle and diet. He strives to clear the clutter and chaos out of his life and ours. 
    
4) Enemy of Debt
     Brad Chaffee has a strong message on his website: HE HATES DEBT!! Hey I tend to agree with him. He has his own step by step plan on how to go from living paycheck to paycheck to getting to your debt free comfort zone. He also has guest post from other money savvy bloggers that give the reader a variety of different outlooks.

5) The Non-Consumer Advocate
     Need day to day advice on how to live frugally? The Non-Consumer Advocate Katy writes of her experiences living frugally and shopping for almost everything used.  She gives many ideas on where to go and how to find these wonderful items at the thrift shops. She also offers advice on how to use the things you already have and not waste anything.

     There are many resources on the web to find comfort and support from others who are currently on or who have been through and lived to tell their success stories.  Keeping in mind that many of these people have done the so called impossible gives me and hopefully you the motivation to stay on the course to financial balance.

What resources on the web do you use as motivation to your financial freedom?