This post stems from a hilarious Twitter conversation between myself, @FrugalBeautiful, @Budgetable, @geekymath, @blondeonabudget, and @krystalatwork. If you aren’t following all these awesome people, you are missing out on some entertainment! (And some personal finance info every now and then too.) Oh, and if you want to follow me, I’m @sooverdebt of course!
With the Financial Blogger Conference (FINCON11) a little over a week away, some of us are slightly more demonstrative in our excitement than others. If you follow me on Twitter - and if not, I’m offended - you’ve probably seen references to things like stalkers, frou frou dresses, @FrugalBeautiful’s boobs, severed animal heads, and So Over Debt dolls made of my hair. Alcohol may or may not be a factor in these conversations.
On Monday night, the conversation on Twitter turned from FINCON11 to flirting to dating, and we joked a lot about what would happen if two personal finance bloggers started dating each other. Some people (I’m looking at you, @krystalatwork!) think it would be SO SWEET if two PF bloggers found romance at FINCON11.
Even though I’m so single it’s pathetic, I think it would be a terrible idea (though somewhat amusing) for a couple of finance nerds to attempt a relationship. And I’ll give you five reasons why.
1. Worst. Dates. Ever.
Could you IMAGINE two financially-minded people trying to go on a date?
“Tonight we’re going to walk to the park to listen to a free concert. We’ll take our own tap water in reusable bottles and sit on this blanket I made out of my old pit-stained t-shirts. When we’re done, I have a BOGO coupon for ramen noodles! Then we’ll head back to my place and watch Til Debt Do Us Part, which I’m streaming because I no longer pay for cable.”
“But what about dessert?”
“Um, I’m on a budget. And I THOUGHT you were too. I’m starting to think we’re just too different.”
2. On a related note, when would you have TIME for dating?
[at dinner]
“Hey, someone retweeted my rant about minimalism!”
[at the movies]
“I feel guilty spending this much money. Plus I need to be working on a post.”
“Me too. You want to just leave? My laptop’s in the car.”
[on the phone]
“Do you mind switching to chat? I’m trying to get through my backlog of emails.”
3. You couldn’t fight like a normal couple.
“Why didn’t you Google +1 my last post?”
“Sorry, I didn’t have time to read it yet. I was responding to the comments on my site.”
“You don’t care about me at all! I’m unfollowing you on Twitter!”
“Well I’m unsubscribing from your RSS feed!”
“At least I understand investing!”
“Yeah, you have plenty of time to learn about it since NO ONE LIKES YOUR BLOG!”
“Tomorrow I’m SO posting about why the single life is more frugal.”
4. Your posts would start overlapping.
Most bloggers talk about issues that are relevant to them at the time. If you’re dating, you might post about ways to save money on dates. If you’re engaged, you’ll talk about saving on weddings. Pregnant bloggers tend to post about things like college funds, buying baby supplies, and frugal ways to clothe Junior. All of us inject a little of our lives into our blogs.
So what happens when your blog becomes a mirror image of your significant other’s blog? People will get bored. And who takes credit for the post idea that comes up during a trip to the grocery store? Do you flip a coin? What if s/he posts a review of nasal strips while casually mentioning that you sound like a foghorn? Things like that are only funny if there’s ONE blogger in the relationship.
5. Money-related euphemisms and pickup lines are SO lame.
Okay, I’ll admit that most euphemisms and pickup lines are lame. But could you imagine the stuff PF bloggers would come up with? It would be cringeworthy.
“Hey baby, my interest is rising. Better hurry while rates are low!”
“I’d feature your guest posts for free any day!”
“I’d love to get a closer look at your portfolio.”
“Nice earrings. I bet you bought those on sale.”
“Want to compare plugins?”
“Have a drink with me, and I’ll give you an extra entry into my giveaway!”
