1 Maybe it's because I did all of my dating as a student; I just don't think money has anything to do with it. I think it would've been funny, and I would've asked what he was up to also, but I would've thought it was cute if I already liked the guy. And I think my husband was the exact opposite: he didn't do anything to try to impress me. He just acted like himself. He was not trying to make me like him; it was an accident. He did none of the normal things that guys do to hide their guy behavior and pretend to be couth. He considered me "one of the guys" and put on no airs whatsoever. In fact, we often joke that he's a far better husband than he was a boyfriend or fiance. He's more thoughtful now than he was then. (And that's saying a lot: this is the man who hasn't gotten me a birthday or Christmas present in years.)

2 Hmm...I like the idea, but I think he took the wrong approach. You can do "free" or "cheap" dates without going to the dollar store and buying a bunch of junk. My husband and I had fun dates where we went to local markets or free events and didn't spend a cent. We've done tons of dates where we went to the hot dog stand for lunch or went for cheap teryaki or whatever instead of going to fancy restaurants. Our second "date" was me making spaghetti for him at my apartment; virtually free since I would have been making and eating spaghetti at some point anyway. The point is that I like who he is and I enjoy spending time with him no matter what we're doing. And I, too, would take the bracelet of Reardon metal any day.