The current economy is straining budgets and making life decisions around paying for school, buying a home, and retirement more complex. In these stressful times, it’s all the more important to find ways to enjoy life and still grow in positive directions. Bottom line: Your love life doesn’t have to suffer even if your wallet's hurting.

Here are a few tips on dating during a recession:

1. Be creative: The best dates don’t necessarily involve expensive restaurants and flowers.

“Dating should have less to do with how much it costs to do something and more about how the person treats you and how you spend your time together,” says manners expert Anna Post, a spokesperson for the Emily Post Institute and author of Do I Have To Wear White?: Emily Post Answers America's Top Wedding Questions . Post recommends looking for free community events, renting movies instead of going to them, or cooking dinner instead of going out.

Showing that you put thought into the planning of the date often says more about your intentions than a gold card does.   

2. Set expectations up front: Use subtle language to set expectations about who will be paying for the date when you ask someone out.

For example, if you’d like to treat your friend to lunch say “I’d like to take you out to lunch.” If you don’t want to pay for the person’s meal then a “let’s split lunch” is more honest and effective says Post. 

According to most etiquette guide books, the person who does the asking is responsible for footing the bill. “As for me, I never go out unless I’m prepared to cover my fair share,” Post says.

3. Use digital tools to create and stick to a budget: If you lead an active dating life you should build a line item for dating into your budget. Doing so will give you more insight into how much you're spending on this piece of your life.

But don’t stop there. “Automate your financial life,” says Stephanie Smith, Senior Vice-President of Internet Services at Wells Fargo.  “Managing money is the last thing we want to think about, it’s like going on a diet,” Smith says. Automating your finances with digital tools usually makes your money matters less time-consuming and stressful. Plus, it reduces the risk of a waiter returning to your table with the dreaded: “Sorry, but your card was declined…”

Here are a few digital banking tools that might just help your dating life:

• Does the idea of building a budget freak you out? Quicken Online offers an affordable online tool that helps you build a budget. FiLife users reviewed the program here.
• Many banks also provide customers the ability to build a budget and then link their accounts to it. For example, Wells Fargo’s Spending Report with Budget Watch monitors your spending, categorizes it in your budget for you and then sends alerts when you go over your budget targets. So if you spend too much on dinner – Wells Fargo will send you a text letting you know – and then you can plan the rest of the night accordingly.
• Avoid embarrassment with mobile banking. Lots of banks let you check your account balances and make transfers using your mobile device. “This can come in handy if you’re choosing a restaurant on the fly and want to be sure if you have enough money to pay for it,” says Smith.

4. Be sensitive but open to talking about financial issues: Traditionally it was taboo to discuss money, especially with someone you’re just getting to know. But these days, the economy and the job market are on most people’s minds. It's hard not to talk about it.

“The key is to judge someone’s comfort zone. If they’re not engaging they’re probably uncomfortable,” says Post.

She recommends avoiding discussing actual dollar figures. “People tend to get more uncomfortable when you talk about dollar amounts. A friend can commiserate on the big picture but they usually can’t do much to help you with the specific amounts,” she says.

And if you’ve just lost your job? No, your dating life is not over. “It’s something to be honest about,” says Post. “And you can still take those conversations is a positive direction by talking about what you like to do, what you loved about your work, and your process for finding a new job.”