The threat of foreclosure or bankruptcy, job insecurity, and rapidly dwindling 401(k) accounts, is having a strange effect on our love lives. Recent trends show that as the chronically single become less certain about their financial futures they're beginning to put more energy into their romantic ones. What we don't know is if this is out of loneliness or a need to preserve the discretionary dating funds they used to spend without even thinking.

Men bear the obvious financial brunt of dating: buying drinks at the club, and springing for dinner and movie, but let's not forget the "appearance fee" a woman shells out. Between a mani/pedi, waxing, a hair appointment (all of which require sufficient tipping) and that new outfit with the sexy shoes and cute handbag to match, she could have very easily dropped a few hundred dollars, and that's even before her date arrives at the door.

Cut to a few months later, when casual dating turns a bit more serious. Dinner and a movie now means pizza and Netflix, and the need to be picture perfect fades into the sunset. A boyfriend will forgive the unpolished nail or errant eyebrow hair in a way a first date never could. Translation: dating just one person is cheaper than dating several. Let the coupling begin.

That said, where does a SLBR (single Long Beach resident) looking for love go to find it? Well, if they're llike most everyone else in the country... the internet. Just when other businesses are seeing a decline in traffic, several dating websites have reported sizable increases.

"Surfing the web is cheaper than cruising the singles bar scene," says Matt, an Aqua Towers resident. "Why should I drop six or seven bucks for a beer, when, for the same money, I could have six of them at home and still meet cute and interesting girls?"

Many who swore they would never, ever date online have found themselves doing just that due to the money meltdown. "I used to go out all the time. Happy hours, clubbing, whatever, spending way more than I should," reveals Stephanie T., a thirty- something SLBR.

"When gas almost hit five dollars a gallon I knew I had to cut back on my expenses, which meant cutting back on my socializing. I was bummed at first, thinking I was never going to meet a man staying at home, and then I realized that's not exactly true."

While Stephanie has yet to find The One, her online experience has yielded several dates. "Two of them were just for coffee. I guess the days of wining and dining a girl are over," she says with a hearty laugh.

Singles aren't the only ones coupling up - apparently having a lighter wallet is causing unhappily married couples to well... stay that way. With the stock market crash came a slight decline in divorce filings. It seems falling homes prices and rising expenses has taken divorce off the table for many middle class couples. They simply can't afford it-being barely able to make ends meet in one household certainly rules out the possibility of doing so in two.

It's too early to tell, but some marriage counselors believe that half of those forced to stay together will actually fall back in love by the time the economy turns around and the other half will become more convinced than ever that divorce is the only option.

Though divorce rates within the middle and working class have seen a dip, the opposite is true for the wealthy. Many rich wives, with Birkin bags in hand, are double- timing it straight to their lawyer's office, in the hopes of filing for divorce while there are still assets left to divvy up.

"My husband and I haven't been happy for quite some time. I knew our home was no longer worth what it was a year ago, but it was most likely worth more now than it would be a year from now," a recent divorcee from Signal Hill, who asked not to be identified, revealed. "I decided to get out while I can still walk away with enough cash to start over."

So what does all this mean? Are Cupid and the heads of America's financial institutions really in cahoots? No one can say for sure, but the smart money says that as long as our wallets are empty, our hearts just may be full.

1) Be Honest
Don't lie about your height, weight, age, etc., unless your only goal is to be penpals. The whole notion of “if only they could get to know me first, it won't matter that I'm short, fat, peri-menopausal" is ridiculous. It matters. It may not be fair or right or even kind that it matters, but it does matter.

2) Be Smart
Proofread your online profile before posting it. Nothing says loser like “im sumone looking for a gurl whose hot and interesting and likes too party."

3) Be Discreet
Don't immediately give out all of your personal information, i.e. phone number, home and work address, and even place of work. While most online daters are perfectly lovely people, there are some bad apples out there.

4) Be Safe
Your first encounter should be in a public place - coffee houses are a perfect spot. If you decide to meet for drinks, don't knock back more than you can handle. Ladies, don't leave your drink unattended. Again, most guys are on the up-and-up, but some are just straight up low down.

5) Be You

Local - mingle2.com/longbeach
Most Popular - eharmony.com, match.com, and their companion site chemistry.com
Dating Specific - blackplanet.com, jdate.com, seniorfriendfinder.com
Sites on the rise - perfectmatch.com, yahoopersonals.com
Easiest to use - greatexpectations.com