I'm poor and I want to date online...

Dear Rosezilla,

I live in New York and I'd like to meet more guys to go out with. It seems like everyone here is into online dating, singles parties, speed dating, etc.

I'm just starting out at my first job and I don't make a lot of money. What are my best options for meeting men? I want to try online dating, but there are so many (expensive) choices!

-Dazed Dater

Dear Dazed,

I have a friend who is incredibly desperate to find her "soulmate", and has a very rigid set of criteria about how she will meet men (it has to be "organic" and she needs to "smell them".)

Comparatively, your financial situation is a minuscule barrier to your successful future in dating, online or otherwise. In fact, I was in a very similar situation when I met my fiance through Match.com.

In my biased experience, Match provided a pretty big selection of Non-Weird Males. In contrast, I found Nerve and Yahoo men were considerably more into, shall we say, "short-term dating". Which is great, if that's what you're looking for.

Eharmony rejected me, but I've heard that people on there try to have their entire relationships online. Some of the best advice I can give you when starting online dating is to keep a tight cap on emailing back and forth, and meet in a safe public space as soon as possible.

The classic rookie mistake that everyone makes is hitting it off with someone online (sometimes for months) and then meeting up to have zero chemistry. In contrast, someone you might find seems a little bit dull in their profile may have that amazing spark, or at least really great breath. You just can't tell online.

I've found speed dating and singles clubs or parties to be too much like that cliche of the "desperate single".

As I said, I'm biased about my recommendation, since Match worked (well) for me. Ask people you trust, or on online forums like Yelp or Facebook. Also, almost all of those online dating sites let you sign-up for free, for some of the features. Explore and have fun!