It’s true that we’re all starting to feel the bite. Unfortunately it’s not the enjoyable sort; it’s the sudden lack of money flowing through the economy.

It seems nobody in Britain is safe from the credit crunch/economic downturn/financial crisis, or whichever title you’d prefer to adopt from the inexhaustible list that we as a country have produced.

It has affected every group of society, from pensioners to families, high-flyers to the unemployed. The recession has made us all reconsider our spending and saving habits, like never before. It has been well documented that it has dented consumer confidence, with lower spending evident everywhere, from food and drink to clothes and luxuries.

What does this decrease in fortunes mean then, for those of us that are young, free, and single? As someone who is young, very often works for free these days, and single, I should know.

Money is definitely tighter this year. All of a sudden, the evenings out are no longer a given. The bars and clubs are usually the first port of call for most men, when trying to meet women. Now that we’re watching the pennies though, these adventures are increasingly being usurped by cheaper evenings ‘down the local’. This is not due to any relaxation of standards or expectation, but to financial constraints.

Friends have told me that, in order to preserve cash, they are coming up with alternative ways of meeting women. These include joining fitness or dance classes, or trying their luck whilst shopping. It seems that the substance is still the same, but with an alternative style.

Fear not; although the cost of ‘meeting’ women has become more of a consideration, the old adages that encompass dating will continue to ring true. As any eligible bachelor would, I will always offer to buy the lady a drink – I may just be doing it in a cheaper bar than before. At this point I will offer a personal example:

Before Christmas, when things still felt reasonably stable, I took a girl for dinner. As it was the first date, I picked somewhere [relatively] expensive. The same situation arose – this time with a different girl – in February of this year, and I found myself foregoing the riverside spot in favour of Westfield shopping centre (a behemoth in west London for those of you who don’t know), it shames me to say.

This was certainly not due to my lack of interest in the woman in question; I still tried to apply the personal touches, by choosing a cuisine that I thought she would like and moving on to a bar that sold her favourite cocktail. The decision was neither caused by media scaremongering. It was simply the grim realisation that money is a limiting factor.

To use a dated term, ‘courtship’ still exists, and will continue to thrive. The desire to treat one’s partner, or to lavish her with gifts and evenings out is still inherent in most men. All that has changed is an increased awareness of how much such moments will cost.

From a male perspective, nothing has changed. I would certainly not expect to break with tradition on a first date, or Valentine’s Day, just because of external economic influences, and women should not be made to feel guilty for allowing men to indulge them on occasion.

My message to any single person is to let the status quo remain. The dating game is enjoyable for those who partake; the quirks and foibles associated with dating make it what it is. We all have to accept that money is tight, but this doesn’t have to ruin the party.