In This Economy? BMO Survey Reveals Half of Single Canadians Do Not Believe Dating is Financially Worth It

• On average, Canadians spend $174 per date 
• Half of singles are dating less or planning more affordable dates; a third have changed plans for financial reasons
• 55% of singles have not been on a date in the past year  

TORONTO, Feb. 11, 2026 /CNW/ - The latest BMO Real Financial Progress Index reveals many Canadians are rethinking the price of dating amid concerns around the cost of living. Half of single Canadians do not believe dating is financially worth it (49%) and/or have gone on fewer or less expensive dates given concerns about inflation and the rising cost of living (50%).

The BMO survey examines how concerns about affordability and personal finances are influencing whether Canadians see dating as a cost or an investment. It reveals:

• Dating, in This Economy? 
  • Canadians spend on average $174 for each date, including the cost for transportation, preparation (such as grooming and attire), and expenses such as food, beverages and tickets.
  • 29% of singles feel pressured to plan expensive dates and more than a third (35%) say the cost of dating is affecting their ability to reach their financial goals.
  • Two thirds (66%) of Canadians believe it is important to save money during the dating stage of a relationship to afford a better life after marriage.
• Single, But Not Ready to Mingle:
  • While singles on average have gone on 4 dates in the past 12 months, over half (55%) have been on no dates in the past year.
  • A third (33%) of singles admit to changing or adjusting plans for a date for financial reasons and one quarter (24%) cancelled a date to save money.
• Takes Two to Tango:
  • Early expectations around who pays for the date continue to evolve, as 58% of men expect to pay for dates, including the cost of dinner, drinks, tickets, etc., while 72% of women expect costs to be split evenly. Fewer than a quarter (23%) expect the other person to pay for date.
• Cutting Costs, Not Standards: 
  • When evaluating a prospective partner's finances, the most important attributes for singles include financial responsibility (95%), being able to talk about money openly (92%), having a good financial plan (85%), having a successful career trajectory (82%), having a high credit score (76%) and having a high-earning job (68%).
  • Two-in five-single Canadians indicates that net worth affects their own dating prospects (41%) and how they evaluate a potential partner (39%).
• The Financial "Ick" List:
  • Top financial dealbreakers for singles include when their partner is not being truthful about money (54%), refuses to talk about money (41%), is unwilling to spend on things they consider important (23%), has a low credit score (21%), has minimal retirement savings (15%) and is earning significantly less than them (14%).

Canadians' approaches to dating are evolving as many continue navigating concerns about current economic conditions. According to the BMO Real Financial Progress Index, Canadians' concerns about the cost of living (57%), inflation (53%), the prospect of an economic recession (46%), the effects of tariffs (46%) and their overall financial situation (36%) have increased in the past three months.

"There's no mystery as to why young people, in particular, remain cautious about making discretionary purchases," said Sal Guatieri, Senior Economist, BMO. "The cost of living, as measured by the CPI, has increased 20% over the past five years; the youth (age 15-24 years) unemployment rate has risen nearly two percentage points in the past two years to almost 13%; and there has been almost no job growth for this age cohort in the past year."

"With affordability concerns top of mind for many Canadians, dating is increasingly being evaluated through a financial lens, with many weighing whether it is a cost or an investment," said Sumit Sarkar, Head, Everyday Banking Products, Money Movement & Value Proposition, BMO. "Much like investing, dating involves assessing expenses, risk tolerance and long‑term goals. Having a financial plan and working with a professional financial expert can help Canadians make more informed decisions, adjust plans as life and relationships evolve and stay on track towards real financial progress, whether they are on their own or with a partner."

He Said, She Said: The Relationship Gender Gap

The BMO survey also explores notable differences in how men and women experience the financial realities of dating and relationships:

• Financial Pressures: 
  • Over one in three (34%) men admit to feeling pressured to plan expensive dates – nearly double the share of women (18%).
  • Over a third (35%) of men say the cost of dating has impacted their ability to reach key financial goals compared with 28% of women.
  • Men are also more likely to feel their financial standing plays a role in their romantic prospects, with 40% saying their net worth affects their dating life compared to 32% of women, an 8-point difference.
  • Over a quarter (27%) of Canadians say different levels of income have created tensions in their relationship.
  • Nearly a third (32%) say spending is a source of conflict in their relationship.
• Mismatched Expectations:
  • When evaluating a potential partner, women are more likely to prioritize certain financial factors such as earning the same amount (15 points more), good credit scores (12 points more), having a high-earning job (11 points more), having a good financial plan (7 points more) and owning a home (6 points more).
• Financial Dependence Differences: 
  • Over half (54%) of Canadians feel financially dependant on their partner or spouse, with women being 13 percentage points more likely to feel this way compared to men.
  • Men are 12 percentage points more likely to say their partner or spouse is the more frugal party in the relationship.

Investing in Your Financial Relationship

BMO offers tips and resources to help Canadians stay on track towards their financial goals and make real financial progress regardless of their relationship status:

• Protect Yourself and Your Assets: Regardless of the relationship status, Canadians should prepare for unexpected expenses such as job loss, health issues or even the breakdown of a relationship or divorce. It is recommended to have an emergency fund that is fairly liquid and can cover three to six months' worth of living expenses.
• Understand Each Other's Money Mindset: Moving in together, buying a home and/or getting married are big milestones involving major transitions. It is important to understand each other's money mindset including assets that should be combined and kept separate, share goals and outstanding debts and work through any differences.
• Beware of Romance Scams: Online dating and social media make it seem easy to meet people; while these sites attract a lot of single people seeking partners, they also attract criminals armed with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create scams. Romance scams involve fraudsters expressing false romantic intentions towards victims to gain their trust in order to access their money (cash, gift cards, credit card information), personal information and/or bank accounts. To learn more about how Canadians can protect themselves and their loved ones from romance scams, please click here.
• Seek Professional Advice: Working with a professional expert and meeting with them regularly can help Canadians and their loved ones create and maintain a financial plan that reflects their financial goals, sources of income and cash flow, risk appetite and time horizons, and adjust these plans as new goals or relationships emerge. 

Clients can build financial literacy, monitor financial plans, and reach financial goals through BMO's innovative digital tools and resources:

• BMO My Financial Progress: Available through BMO's Mobile Banking app and Online Banking, this innovative, digital goal planning platform helps clients create personalized and adaptive long-term plans, gain comprehensive insights into their finances and access personalized strategies to help them reach their goals.
• BMO Insights: Clients get help saving more, monitoring spending and account values and spotting unusual activity with 25 BMO Insights that provide customers free, quick and personalized views of their daily spending to help them make informed decisions. Popular online insights include:
  • CashTrack: Using artificial intelligence, these insights monitor customers' cash flows and let them know if they will run out of money in the next seven days.
  • Spend Categorization: These insights notify customers when there has been a significant increase in a specific spending category or if a free trial has expired.
• BMO Credit Coach: To help clients better understand, monitor and build their credit history, Credit Coach's intuitive platform helps clients manage their credit health with real-time alerts, personalized guidance and a dynamic credit score simulator. Available through BMO's Mobile Banking app and Online Banking, clients can track credit utilization trends, learn about score factors and explore how financial decisions such as taking out a car loan, opening a new credit card or consistently paying bills on time would affect their score.
• BMO Savings Amplifier Account: To help make saving easy and automatic, BMO's Savings Amplifier Account offers no monthly fees, a competitive interest rate, and unlimited no-fee transfers to other BMO accounts. In addition, its digital Savings Goals feature enables clients to set, track and manage their financial goals.
• BMO PaySmart: This is a flexible tool that helps clients turn credit card purchases into equal monthly payments, enhancing their ability to manage cash flow and gain better understanding of their spending. Since its launch, PaySmart has empowered customers with clear insights into their spending habits and progress to achieve their goals.

To learn more about how BMO can help clients make financial progress, visit www.bmo.com/main/personal.

About the BMO Real Financial Progress Index

Launched in February 2021, the BMO Real Financial Progress Index is an indicator of how consumers feel about their personal finances and whether they are making financial progress. The index aims to spark dialogue that will help consumers reach their financial goals and to humanize a topic that causes anxiety for many – money.

The research detailed in this document was conducted by Ipsos in Canada from December 29, 2025 to January 27, 2026. A sample of n=2,503 adults ages 18+ in Canada were collected. Quotas and weighting were used to ensure the composition of the samples reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The surveys have a credibility interval of +/- 2.4 per cent 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all Canadian adults 18+ been surveyed.

About BMO Financial Group

BMO Financial Group is the seventh largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.5 trillion as of October 31, 2025. Serving clients for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to approximately 13 million clients across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and stronger communities. 

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

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