But if there was a membership fee, how many frugal people would still be willing to join?

Personally, I’d see value in it and be willing to pay, and also think their should be some type of fee if for nothing else to keep the spammers out.

I’d put in a bunch of choices for current and desired level of frugality like:

do you/are you interested in?
a) making your own TP
b) making your own laundry detergent
c) using a dryer
d) washing your hair with apple cider vinegar

This would help “match up” potential mates better than just a 1-5 score I bet.

@Mneiae – Maybe adding a ratio like net worth / annual expenses or savings rate would be more relevant to the frugally minded.

When I was looking, I would have loved to have known:

1. “How much money per month would you expect a me to contribute to you?”
2. “How much money per month would you expect ME to contribute joint activities?”
3. “How much money per month would you expect YOU to contribute joint activities?”

I’m not trying to imply a “right” answer to these questions, but I do think being on the same page financially is one of the more important parts of a relationship.

@Alex – I was actually trying to find a wiki link figuring the book was famous enough, but did not manage to do so. However, one of the search results was to paperbackswap. I see it’s on the wish list of 800+ other people, so it’ll probably take some time to get one. I’d estimate a couple of centuries 🙂

The Simple Living Network forum has a Personals section in the discussion forums. It’s pretty dead. No one posts there. Could that indicate that there is a lack of interest?

Conventional dating services may be the only way to go because they have a high enough volume to give you some chance of finding a match.

On the other hand; Scientific American Mind did an article about e-harmony. If you went out with one match a month for 18 years, you would have a 50% chance of getting married. Maybe that’s not such a good idea either.

I like it! I’m married, so this does not apply to me directly.

But I remember some of the things about DH that made me rethink my idea of never getting married:

He’d switched from a high-paying, high-stress career to do something that would leave him more time for family. I also noticed he lived very simply (no TV or other crap) but obviously was able to save his money to engage in lots of interesting hobbies that he enjoyed.

I think it’s important to find out if the person works and how much AND what he or she does with free time! But you’d need examples–they have to show that they actually do these things not just think about them.

I think you should have a short text or bio for each person.

Anyway, very cool idea. I didn’t exactly plan it this way, but life is much easier with both DH and I on the same page in terms of our relationship to work, money and consumption.

I think it’s a great idea! How many times do you hear about one half of a couple saying they would like to be more frugal but the spouse is not on board?

Frugality is a very strong indicator of personal values, and I think that a lot of these dating sites try to link up people by common activities (hiking, travel, poetry, etc.) when actually it’s values that can make or break a relationship. My husband loves tennis and soccer, I don’t – big deal. But we do agree on how to spend our money and raise our kids, and that’s a lot.

@Blogging Banks – This is why a frugal dating site would be useful. People are self-selected. Incidentally, I’m somewhat perplexed about the desire to avoid financial decisions that are strategically wise and instead spend too much and “too presently”. Is this an American thing? Is it an age thing? Is it a gender thing, like an expectation to be supported/kept?

@Jacob and @Alex –
You’re so right about the wait for The Tightwad Gazette, Jacob. That’s because we tightwads constantly refer to it for inspiration! Of course, I would never swap it or give it away. They will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands first! I volunteer at my library book sales and in three years have seen the Big Blue Book exactly one time. Of course, I bought it for $1.
Here are a couple of ideas that might help you see this fine tome before the next Ice Age:
1. Check it out from your library.
2. Put it at the top of your frugal Christmas wish list.
3. Borrow it from a frugal friend (probably will require a large collateral deposit).
4. Go ahead and buy a brand-new copy. You will save enough to pay for it many times over. Happy saving!

I like the idea of having ‘personal savings rate’ as a statistic rather than net worth or income level. I think that’s really what is relevant for determining if someone is going to be on the same page with you for working towards early retirement or other life goals. In fact, the next time I sign up for one of the mainstream dating sites I think I will check ‘no response’ in the income section and say something in the profile text along the lines of ‘For the last two years my personal savings rate has been around 30% and I’m constantly striving to get it closer to 50%. If you can relate, we’d be a good match financially.’I think this would both discourage some of the gold-diggers and help get me in touch with some interesting ladies who were either on the same page or at least curious about what I was talking about.

@tracysimplylivinginspain – I disagree. A nonfrugal person living on $6000 a year would clearly live a very poor life.

I find it interesting in your details that a picture was absent! If this could work, it would require detailed questions, perhaps a hundred questions. There should be a weighting of certain questions for matching purposes. Level of frugality is worthless! It is the individual’s opinion. I think you must avoid opinions for this to work.

I think the obvious enough problem is the answer to your question: I’d like to see a large number of people. Frugality is rare enough, but the humility for that to be exactly the first thing someone knows about you? That cuts deep, to the point where many people imagine they do a much better job cultivating appearances and managing first impressions. I have no idea if they’re right, but if they think they are, they wouldn’t use the site.

That being said, I can’t imagine the largest problem with online dating sites is the cost (for me, at least), so this wouldn’t solve a problem I actually have, despite me being pretty firmly in the target demographic.