The 24/7 ubiquity of digital marketing on our smartphones, computers, streaming services, social media, and search engines has created billions of people around the world who are accustomed to purchasing products and services with a simple online click. Gen-X and Millennials are the largest demographic target for digital marketing, having been the first two generations who grew up having the internet.
Unfortunately, eroding educational standards have rendered practical financial knowledge into an obscure elective topic, if offered at all in schools. As a result, a great many of these Gen-Xers and especially Millennials now find themselves with sizable student loan and credit card debt, unable to get into the black despite earning good salaries. As such, their ability to buy a home and raise a family is severely impaired.
Millennial Dating Woes Over (Lack of) Fiscal Knowledge
Previous years of regulatory obstruction to entrepreneurism and job creation, combined with inflation and 24/7 digital marketing, have left many Millennial men financially struggling.
Popular financial advisor Dave Ramsey has amassed a huge following of 20 million weekly listeners to his podcast and radio show, making it the #2 most widely followed ranked show in the USA. Dating among Millennials looking for permanent relationships to raise a family are finding issues due to debt overhangs and the dearth of financial savvy.
A Texan woman took to Reddit to ask where to find single men in her demographic who were financially stable and ready to start a family, i.e., men who “follow the (Dave) Ramsey plan”. This plan entails aggressive measures to eliminate debt, create an emergency savings fund, and to invest for wealth building as early as possible. In her dating experience, the poster found that most of the men who possessed the “husband material” she sought were either already taken, or younger than she liked. (Ironically, a greater number of Gen-Z are financially savvy and pursuing the FIRE philosophy.)
Looking For Love In The Wrong Places
Brad Paisley’s song, “Online” humorously highlighted the problems of online dating profiles when looking for future marriage partner.
In real life, the only time I’ve ever even been to L.A.
Was when I got the chance with the marching band
To play tuba in the Rose Parade
Online I live in Malibu, I posed for Calvin Kline,
I’ve been in GQ, I’m single and I’m rich,
And I got a set of six pack abs that will blow your mind
- From “Online” by Brad Paisley
While dating apps have become one of the most popular platforms for singles to meet with each other, the use of Photoshop and AI to remove image flaws and to exaggerate or fabricate details about one’s life and personality very often leads to disappointments when prospective singles meet in person. The virtual world may be a way to meet prospects, but the actual discernment process still involves real world interaction.
In terms of actual meeting places, some of the ones with slim chances of success for the long term relationship the OP seeks include:
- Bars
- Clubs
- Gyms
The FIRE Solution?
Adherents to the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) philosophy maximize earnings, invest aggressively, and assiduously practice thrifty financial management.
Ironically, the majority of people who follow Dave Ramsey are people who at some point in their lives were in a financial hole and needed his advice to extricate themselves. The poster’s request is phrased in such a way that it is akin to wanting to meet recovering alcoholics. Her actual goal is more likely to find someone who intrinsically observes and practices principles of thrift, financial responsibility, and wealth building, such as found with subscribers to the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) ethos. As she already observed, some of the single men she has already encountered who fit the criteria are on the younger, Gen-Z age spectrum.
In finding fiscally responsible single Millennial men, some of the suggestions include:
- Attending financial workshops to meet like-minded people.
- Research financial independence focused online forums and groups in her city that may hold social gatherings.
- Volunteering at a charity where other volunteers advise and counsel people trying to restart their lives, financially and otherwise.
Given that much of Dave Ramsey’s philosophy and financial principles are grounded in his Christian faith, a sizable portion of his following is also Christian. Churches may also be a fertile ground for meeting like-minded single men. Those that have workshops on financial management would be especially worth noting.
The Pool Widens
The dating pool of single male business owners and gainfully employed workers will very likely expand in Texas due to the low taxes and pro-business climate.
As it turns out, the FIRE philosophy is spreading online to Millennials and even Gen-X. The poster may find the man she is seeking in FIRE forums and groups, especially since Millennials who follow FIRE are increasing in numbers.
One helpful circumstance is that the new business policies and domestic US investment funds being committed under President Trump’s administration are anticipated to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and new businesses. With Texas now a magnet for businesses such as Tesla and others and the announcement of no further municipal income tax under Governor Abbott, the poster’s dating pool of gainfully employed eligible bachelors will undoubtedly expand in the near future.
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