Whining and dining: Affairs of heart hit by credit crunch

London: Hold off on the flowers, go easy on the gifts and put the champagne back on ice. When the cost of just about everything's going up, something’s got to give.

“The old adage that when money flies out of the window, love walks out of the door, is what we are seeing happening on the ground,” says Sandra Davis, whose law firm recently conducted a survey in London’s financial district.

Seventy nine per cent of those polled said they were worried the divorce rate will increase as a result of the credit crunch. One in 10 said they think their spouse has already seen a solicitor. The reason, they say is too much stress, little cash.

Singletons too are feeling the financial impact. Instead of spending money on wining and dining with potential suitors, they're choosing a cheaper option — online dating. A month’s membership at one of the many dating websites on the Internet costs $ 30 dollars, which is lesser than the cost of a dinner date.

“From September of last year right through to April, there has been a fairly flat line in terms of the number of people joining, but all of a sudden we started to see an increase and that increase has escalated. It has been 30 per cent for the last three months. In fact, our database has doubled in size over the last three months,” Stephen Moylan of plentymorefish.com, a dating website, says.

Those who've already found love are finding ways to keep the costs down and romance alive.

While some say they spend a lot more time at home watching DVDs and things as opposed to going out and socializing, others says they have completely stopped going out.

“My boyfriend and I argue quite a bit over who is paying for dinner and things like that. I wish he was richer,” says a disgruntled girlfriend.

However, some still believe going the old school way. Love is all you need, they say, and if you love somebody you don't need the money.