The global economic recession.
These are the words on everyone’s mouth. It is also known as “the recession, downturn, credit crunch or the depression”.
It really does not matter what one calls it, all that it spells out is that times are hard out there. Very hard.
The tell-tale signs are all too visible for one to see that we have fallen on tough times. Whether one is talking of events in America where motor company General Motors GM is getting a lifeline from the Federal Reserve Bank, Lehman Brothers folding up or, much closer to home, where giant diamond mining group, De Beers, would sooner than not love to see the year coming to an end.
Who is to blame? Stock prices have taken a free-fall, diamond prices are at an all-time low and sales margins are below par.
This scenario is expected for companies and businesses during these pertinent times, but what of the ordinary individual? Sure, his fat pay check is trimmed up and belt-tightening measures are adopted, but it goes without saying that people’s love lives are undergoing multiple life cycles. There is a recession of love doing the rounds.
Importantly, two scenarios present themselves under this recession.
Firstly, there is the direct impact of the economic downturn on the wallet which has implications on the money one has and can use to shower the love of his life with. Let’s face it, giving gifts to your love is like breathing, cut off the air and you inevitably die. Which woman out there wouldn’t want to be peppered with chocolates, designer perfumes, shoes and taken on shopping sprees?
The problem is that, to take a cue from American musician Jordin Sparks, there is simply, “No Air” anymore.
Men certainly are experiencing a recession of love in this regard as the change in their economic fortunes has altered the ‘love’ that they can give to their companions. Who out there doesn’t know that the way to a woman’s heart is via the wallet?
Commenting on the impact of the recession on his love life, Thapelo Mhlaalore, a lecturer at a local university said, “I have had to revise my budget and cut down on some spending that I used to direct to my girlfriend. Although she understands the economic circumstances that we are going through, one can’t help feeling less than a man when they aren’t providing for their woman totally.”
Another man, who requested anonymity said, “This recession is real; I used to have three women in my life freely spending cash on all of them, but now life is not the same as I can hardly make ends meet for myself, what more taking care of all of them. It is just impossible!”
While men struggle with providing the bare necessities of life and love, women also are having their own set of challenges in these economically pressing times – finding love. A sure sign that the recession is biting hard.
The thing is, the guys with decent jobs are withdrawing from the dating scene because they can’t afford to fork out their hard earned cash on a date that may prove to be yet another failure at hooking up a relationship. Sounds familiar?
An interesting website, Dating a Banker Anonymous (Daba), brings all the female species who are involved with bankers to share with each other the trauma of recessionary cutbacks and how they are finding it hard to make ends meet. The site (dabagirls.wordpress.com) prides itself in helping the sisterhood find love and move on from the pain of having less money to spend on luxuries, advising ladies to buy their own booze, go sightseeing and to enjoy life without Prada sunglasses.
A blogger on the site said, “People just aren’t going out as much, so I’m not meeting as many guys as I did pre-recession, ergo less dates. Pre-recession I went on at least three dates a week. Are guys too stressed out to go on dates? Too busy? Too expensive? All of the above?”
It would seem like for as long as the dark cloud of the recession hangs over us, the relationship between love and money will never be more magnified than it is now. The dead broke people cannot make a claim for wanting to fall in love simply because they are dead broke!
