We’re officially in a cost-of-sex crisis. There is nothing more bleak than the time of the month when Pret bags give way to couscous-filled Tupperwares. In this desperate, pre-pay day state we reach for life’s great pleasures, and many find consolation in the fact a good-old fashioned romp still costs you nothing. Except, of course, it does. Unless you live with a partner, or are secretly sleeping with your flatmate, getting it off requires more than one splurge. Now, the spending has caught up and the one-night stand is under threat.
Take the critically endangered faux date night. You know, when you’ve met up with someone for solely physical purposes, and yet there you are: trudging valiantly through a rioja, overpriced tapas and cheerless small talk spurred only by the false pretence that having finished in the bedroom, you will feel that little bit more respectable. Well, rising bills (and cost of rents, gym memberships, haircuts, T-shirts, ketchup, etc) have put a stop to that extravagance.
