You cannot put a price on love, but you can certainly attach a financial number to a suitor.
Jennifer Murtoff, 39, wants to do just that before she accepts her next date. The Chicago freelance editor who helps city people raise fowl in their backyards is asking a question she hopes will help her weed out the losers: "What is your credit score?"
She could find the answer on CreditScoreDating.com, a website where potential dates provide that information.
"You might make $150,000 a year, but are you responsible, and how do you handle your money?" Murtoff says. "I'm looking for someone who can respect my financial values, and a credit score is a great indicator."
Plenty of other people agree. Membership at Wilmington, Delaware-based CreditScoreDating.com has grown to 20,000 from 15,000 in mid-2013.
Founder Niem Green says about 40 percent of his website's users are in their 20s and 30s, with many hailing from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
The age breakdown is somewhat similar to that of Match.com, where 25 percent of members are under 30, but that online dating service, one of the largest in theUnited States, has far more members at 1.9 million, says its spokeswoman, Cayla Gebhardt.
Three Little Digits
Credit scores are derived from a complex formula that weighs factors such as outstanding debt, payment history and new credit lines. The three-digit number is used to predict the likelihood of delinquency on obligations from credit card bills to a mortgage.
In general, scores of 760 to 850 are considered excellent, while the 720-to-760 range is deemed good, says Ken Lin, founder of San Francisco-based credit and financial monitoring website Credit Karma.