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V Day Stats

Valentine’s Day, Feb 14, when you shower your loved one with expensive dinners, jewelry, flowers, chocolates and other romantic presents. Last year, over $14 billion dollars was spent on Valentine’s Day-related purchases, according to BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation.  What does 2010 hold? We met up with Irene Lacota, president of It’s Just Lunch, a specialized dating service for busy professionals, for some helpful tips and advice for what is conceivably the most heralded day of the year for romance.

It’s Just Lunch polled over 2,500 respondents, not surprisingly, spending will be down this year.  Three years ago, largest percentage of men polled 35% said they would spend over $100.  Today, that number drops to 31%. But money does not say it all.  Romance is alive and well with the percentage of those who will spend the evening at a romantic dinner uncreasing from 9% in 2006 to 14% in 2009. And true to form, when gifts are given flowers and a card are the winner from both the men and women’s perspectives. 

1. How will you spend Valentine’s Day this year?    
Like any other night – 62% 
Romantic Dinner date with significant other - 14%    
Night on the town with single friends- 16%
Invite a friend over to watch a movie – 6%

2. How long after you have been dating do you expect to receive a gift?
2 weeks – 6%   
1 month – 19%
3 months – 23%
6 months- 8%
Only when in a committed relationship – 43%   

3. What is the perfect Valentine’s Day Date?
Dinner at a nice restaurant – 48%    
Preparing dinner together at home – 41%    
An evening at a trendy bar/lounge -6%
Not celebrating at all – 5%   

 4.  (Women only) What Valentine’s Day gift would you like to receive from your significant other?
A box of chocolate - 4%
Spa Package - 26%  
Flowers and a card - 42%   
A nice piece of jewelry - 22%   
Sexy lingerie - 6%  

5. (Men only) What Valentine’s Day gift would you like to receive from your significant other?
A massage package - 8%
Tickets to a special event - 21%   
A nice wristwatch - 6%  
A box of chocolate - 3%  
A romantic dinner at home - 61%   

6. (Women only) How much money do you expect to spend on Valentine’s Day?
Under $20 – 5%    
$20-$50 – 23%
$50-$100 – 27%    
Over $100- 12%    

7. (Men only) How much money do you expect to spend on Valentine’s Day?
Under $20 – 3%
$20-$50 – 16%
$50-$100 – 29%    
Over $100 -31%    

“Overall we are seeing a shift in spending habits as well as the way people will spend the day with a significant other, yet the importance of the day has by no means lost its significance” said Irene LaCota, president of It’s Just Lunch, International, LLC. “People have a very real desire to connect with others especially now. We anticipate this Valentine’s Day that men and women will say how much they care for their significant other in creative ways.”

GIFT TIPS |

 1.    There are no hard and fast rules to the amount to spend on your loved one.  More importantly, the stage of your relationship should dictate the type of gift.  The value of the gifts doesn’t buy love.  But your gift sends a strong signal of your investment in the relationship.

2.    Take the gift as what it is a gift, not a crystal ball to your future. Some men smoothly sail thru the gift buying process and buy very appropriate, thoughtful gifts.  Other men struggle-that doesn’t make them bad dates.   The first Valentine’s Day when I was dating my husband, he bought me a vegetable peeler.  At first I was a bit confused and disappointed but then when I asked him why he bought it he told me that he know I loved to cook and he heard my complaining about my older peeler. So, he thought he would make me happy by buying me a new one.   We have been married for over 15 years now and the only Valentine’s gift I remember is that vegetable peeler (yes, I still have it).

3.    If you are dating less than three months - Go for casual, but sincere. You’re still getting to know each other.  Now is NOT the time to splurge on something grand and expensive. The other person would be in an awkward position if they didn’t get you something similar.  You want to come across as thoughtful, not over-compensating.

4.    Thoughtful and creative gifts are the most appreciated. There is nothing more romantic than sharing a passion with someone.

Irene Lacota studied Personnel and Industrial Relations and received her MBA from University of Northern Texas.  Lacota joined ‘It’s Just Lunch’ in 2003 and became a part of the rapidly growing business that has now grown to service over 200 cities worldwide.

~ Charmed Magazine

How to Find a Date in Midlife

Irene LaCota, president of It’s Just Lunch, the premiere dating service for busy professionals, offers up some sage advice to those looking to jump back into the dating pool.


You may have heard the saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” After years of running a dating network, I've come to believe this same principle applies if you’re suddenly single and find yourself searching for love.  Sure, the playing field may be different, with new matchmaking technologies and dating services from which to choose, but let me be the first to reassure you that there’s no need to be nervous. The dating game is much the same-- only these days you have plenty more options to help you find the perfect match.

The Internet can be both a life and love saver. If you haven’t noticed, successful connections transpire every instant in cyberspace, particularly for single parents, divorcees and boomers now that niche dating websites are popping up everywhere. Still, countless middle-aged singles have shared their concerns with me that the process can be too time-consuming, impersonal and isolating, which is why I do not consider Internet dating a cure-all for romance. Instead, it should be treated as an ancillary service - one that can fill the gaps and expand your pool of eligible prospects.

In my opinion, one of the keys to dating in modern times is to embrace old fashioned techniques. Don’t panic if you’re suddenly the only single one in your circle of friends, as there are other plenty of ways to meet like-minded individuals which thankfully need not involve revisiting the bar scene. Look around --- companies like MeetUp.com help groups of individuals connect based on interests, while gourmet social and supper clubs offer organized dinners for solos of all ages. My friends, clients and industry colleagues report that special classes such as wine tasting and painting courses, co-ed fitness programs as well as singles-only trips and retreats are more and more popular among divorcees, single parents and young baby boomers who are thrust back into the market of meeting new people. 

 

Still, for many singles who are pressed for time and/or are concerned about keeping their dating life private, a real matchmaker is the best alternative. There are a myriad of benefits of putting your love life in the hands of a trusted professional. At It’s Just Lunch, for example, we take a discrete and more personal approach by promising to do all the legwork for you.  All of our clients are personally interviewed and matched by an It’s Just Lunch dating director.  And for individuals who are newly divorced or rendered single, ongoing feedback after every date comes with the package.  Of course, don’t forget that close friends and family often make the best matchmakers, so you shouldn’t be too proud to enlist them in your search.

 Take it from me, whose business is dating.  No matter which approach you take, the sooner you put your message and yourself into the mix, whether virtually or in person, the sooner and better chance Cupid will have of finding you.

 

~ More

Couples Stay Together as Love and Money Diminish

Is it true that misery loves company?

Just look at the trends.

Divorce lawyers say business is down. Online dating sites are experiencing double-digit growth.

So in this troubling economy, it appears love really does conquer all, right?
Not exactly.

Struggling couples are staying together for love and money while singles are looking for romance and half the rent.

“I’ve had clients joke about how they need a double-income household,” Lisa Purdum, a matchmaker for It’s Just Lunch in San Diego, said.

While the number of divorce filings has been steady during the past couple of years, local divorce attorneys are seeing slower business. According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 37 percent of its members said they typically see a decrease divorce cases during national economic downturns.

Steven Bishop, a San Diego divorce attorney for more than 30 years, said he gets lots of calls for his services but fewer callbacks when they hear his fees.

This downturn, he said, is different from other recent recessions in that a quick rebound is not in sight.

 “Nobody has any hope that it’s going to get better any time soon,” he said.

The uncertainty causes two distinct reactions in his clients, he said. Some are willing to wait out the downturn in hopes of recouping lost housing equity and other investments. Others simply want to be done.

 “It’s like, ‘I might be going down, but I’m not going down with you,’” he said.

 David Peters, a marriage and family therapist in Mission Valley, said some of his clients don’t have that option as the housing meltdown has made it impossible for them to move on.

“I have a number of couples who are upside down on their house, and they just can’t get out,” he said. “People are delaying divorce for purely financial reasons.”

Even as the recession complicates some marriages, it’s spurring more singles to seek partners.

“These economic times are a big, stressful factor,” Gian Gonzaga, senior research scientist at www.eharmony.com, an online dating site, said. “It pushes people toward relationships.”
Online dating sites such as www.eharmony.com and www.perfectmatch.com have seen business increase dramatically during the downturn. At www.eharmony.com, registrations from September of last year to January have increased 20 percent from the same period a year ago.

The worse the economic news, the more people seem to seek out love, Gonzaga said. For instance, when the Dow Jones dropped by 100 points or more, www.eharmony.com saw an increase in the number of pages people viewed on its site compared with days when the Dow Jones increased by 100 points or more.

www.perfectmatch.com has found a similar trend. In the fourth quarter, when the Dow Jones plummeted, revenue increased 42 percent from the previous quarter and the number of registrants jumped by 62 percent.

The sites attribute part of the increased interest to the fact that people are staying home to save money and spending more time on their computers. Finding someone online is simply more cost-effective than paying for overpriced drinks at a bar.

Duane Dahl, CEO of www.perfectmatch.com, called relationships and online dating “one of those air-and-water categories that is never going to go away.”

But Shoshana Grossbard, an economics professor at San Diego State, isn’t so sure that all those online daters are looking for marriage. She said marriage typically loses its allure during tough economic times. During the early years of the Great Depression, for instance, the number of marriages dropped from 1,233,000 in 1929 to 982,000 in 1932, a 20 percent decline. So far in San Diego County, marriage numbers have remained strong, however, perhaps buoyed in part by a flurry of gay marriages last year.

Grossbard said a tough economy typically undermines the traditional appeal of a marital partnership, in which women are more responsible for running the house and men are more responsible for providing income.

“More women are going to say, ‘Why do I need this guy? What is he good for?’” Grossbard said.

For men, the loss of a job means not only less income but a loss of identity as the provider.
“It can threaten the entire balance,” Peters said.

That was certainly the case for Jeff Brady. The recent transplant to Oceanside said his first relationship in town was doomed because he hadn’t landed a job.

“She had a real attitude about it,” he said. “It really affected our relationship.”

Now, Brady, 35, who is a musician and works for a tattoo Web site, said he uses free postings on the Web site www.craigslist.com and goes on dates two or three times a week, sticking to inexpensive encounters like a walk on the beach or a meet-up at a coffee shop.
These days his lack of a traditional job is less of a drawback for would-be partners.

“A lot of people are in the same boat,” he said. “They are like, ‘My friend got laid off. My mother got laid off.’ So everyone can relate in some way,” he said.

Scott Stephens, 39, signed up for It’s Just Lunch, a matchmaking service, about a year ago, realizing he needed to get serious about his search for love as the economy worsened.

A sales manager based in Palm Springs, Stephens said he now realizes how important it is to find someone with a college degree and a career.

 “I want to have kids, and the only way to do that is with a dual income,” he said.

Grossbard said it is important to remember that many marriages are based on more than love, so when the economy craters, many marriages do as well.

“I believe in love, but we have to accept that the economic expectations will continue to be the basis of a lot of relationships,” she said.

Jennine Estes, a marriage and family therapist in San Diego, is not convinced. Her clients are attempting to fix relationship problems exacerbated by tight funds because they need each other. She points to research that shows how a loved one’s touch can help calm a person down.

 ~The Daily Aztec

Gift-giving advice for the newly dating

It was the couple's first Christmas together, and Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon wanted to make it a special one.

The Temple professor takes holidays very seriously, especially Christmas. It reminds her of her own happy childhood, when it seemed that her parents made all of her material wishes come true despite challenging economic times.

So for that first gift-giving holiday together, Williams-Witherspoon carefully chose a suede jacket for her beau. She selected two or three jazz CDs she thought he would like. And as if those gifts weren't enough, she purchased one more big gift: a GPS, she recalls. Or was it a wine refrigerator to help fulfill his inner sommelier? In any case, it was thoughtful and special and memorable.

His gift to her? Socks with beans in them. You know, those foot-warmer things you put in the microwave before wearing? Oh, and a matching neck warmer.

"They were very uncomfortable and incredibly ugly. It was the beginning of the relationship so I tried to smile, but it was horrible," recalled Williams-Witherspoon, 50, of Darby.

Ah, the dangers of December dating - a minefield, particularly for the newly coupled. To buy or not to buy? And if to buy, perchance to dream? How big, how expensive, and how personal? What happens if one half of the couple goes for the gold while the other half doesn't even show up for training?

The Internet is awash in advice right now. Lisa Daily, author of Stop Getting Dumped!, writes that anyone in any relationship, even a new one, should expect to give and get a gift. Self-proclaimed cyber-dating expert Julie Spira says people should keep it simple: a card and a box of chocolate - "fine chocolates," she stresses, so avoid the dollar-store selections - to show you care.

But Rich Santos, the dating diaries blogger for Marie Claire magazine, says if there's any question about gift-giving, it's safe to assume it's not happening. If you're still on the fence, he recommends the forward approach, asking straight out, "Are we doing gifts this year?"

For those on the shy side, the dating service It's Just Lunch, which has a Philadelphia branch, provides a detailed gift-giving formula - for everyone from very-new couples to those who have been together for years.

Among the recommendations: A single date will net a holiday card. One month together equals an experience, something fun but inexpensive like ice skating and hot chocolate. If you've been dating one year, be prepared to pony up. It's Just Lunch recommends: "Fly to Vegas, book a suite at the Wynn, and get great tickets for the Elton John Red Piano concert. Spend the rest of the weekend sunbathing, dancing, and dining until the sun comes up."

Here's hoping that someone special likes Sir Elton and gambling.

Alex Mehr, cofounder of the social dating company Zoosk, recommends gift cards, such as one to a spa. Meanwhile, a poll of his company's users found that the best holiday gift would be "a simple hug and kiss."

Really? A hug and a kiss?

Consider the (unattached) sources, Mehr said.

"If you've been single for a year, and I've been single for more than a year, you're like, 'I miss that special something and someone in my life.' All you're thinking about is that feeling," Mehr said.

Susan Balee and her boyfriend had been dating only a few months when their first December approached. But she was expecting something big, possibly something that came in a small package. Things had gotten serious pretty quickly.

So she was surprised by the size of the box he gave her before she went to her parents' home in Florida. It was the perfect dimensions - for a bottle of alcohol.

Hundreds of miles from her paramour, she began to brood.

"Why is my adoring beau giving me a bottle of booze for Christmas?" she remembered thinking. "What does that say?"

She couldn't wait until Christmas morning to find out, so she opened the box five days early and found a bottle of champagne with an elaborately taped note attached. It wished her and her family a happy holiday and advised them to enjoy what was inside.

"To say I was irked and disappointed is an understatement," she said. That displeasure came through the next day when she talked to her boyfriend on the phone. He told her to take off the tape holding the note.

There, she found in the packaging the emerald and diamond earrings he'd chosen for her. Awk-ward!

"Not only had I been nosy," she said, "but I'd shown my horrible, lowlife, gift-expecting personality."

That was 26 years ago. The couple, who now live in Wyncote, have been married for 22 years and have two children.

"Yes, you can survive stupid holidating behavior," Balee said.

Of course, good gift-selection skills don't indicate a perfect partner. Williams-Witherspoon, for one, said she knows that firsthand: Her second husband was an ace present-picker, she said - and he left her when their son was a few months old.

She stuck with Mr. Foot and Neck Warmer for four years. But his gift selections didn't get any better - "For every holiday thereafter, I could always expect something equally horrible," she said - although her children later shamed him into buying her a computer after that first exchange debacle.

Still, last year he gave her an oversized gold chain that looked like something from an '80s rap video. It was wrapped around a bottle of cognac inside a used Tiffany box.

"Needless to say, we're no longer together," Williams-Witherspoon said.

But the gifts weren't the real problem. He was.

"Getting a last-minute gift can mean you're last on his list," she said. "It's been my experience that the way an individual gifts you reveals a lot about how they think about you. For a birthday, this same individual gave me a pair of Afro-centric earrings. But if you took time to notice me, you'll notice I never take my diamonds out, so I'm never going to wear them. You weren't thinking about me. You were thinking about getting it done."

 ~ The Philadelphia Inquirer

Holiday parties: Should you bring a date?

It's a month of festivities.

 

Work parties. Tree trimmings. Family gatherings.

 

They begin in early December and continue until the stroke of midnight Jan. 1, when the ball drops and everyone grabs their special someone for the first kiss of the year.

 

At least that's the way it looks on TV. But for single folks who have no plans to smooch their way into 2010, the season of joy can be anything but.

 

“Being single in the holidays can be just absolutely dreadful,” said Kelly Howard, owner and founder of singles and outdoor organizations.

 

For many singletons, navigating the party gantlet can be tricky. It can be especially difficult to know when it is acceptable to bring a date and when it's not.

 

There are some general guidelines.

 

First, know your party. As a rule, work parties that encourage spouse attendance are a perfect time to bring a backup, also known as a date, said Howard, who owns Eight Friends Out, a dining club for singles.

 

Also, know your date. If you don't know for sure that your date and your boss will interact safely, the office holiday party is not the time to experiment.

 

With friends, ask if that Hanukkah party, for example, is good time to bring a date, Howard said. However, going “plus one” could have a downside.

 

“It probably adds a little bit of pressure on the relationship to immediately start bringing people to holiday parties,” Howard said.

 

That goes double for family get-togethers, said Hope Nordmeyer, a singles and life coach in private practice.

 

Family and holidays can be loving and fun. But there is always some sort of hiccup, whether it's a rude aunt, bossy older sister or a living room wall of scary school photos from the 1980s.

 

“Make up your own mind about a person before you let the family in for a vote,” Nordmeyer said.

 

The real issue about dates and parties is not the dates and the parties, said Nordmeyer, who teaches Leisure Learning Unlimited classes for singles. It's you. And how you feel about being single.

 

Plenty of people are single, she said. Not having a date to a party doesn't mean you shouldn't go, she said.

 

“If you walk in by yourself or with a date on your arm, you are still the same person,” Nordmeyer said.

 

That will work for some people. But if the party season makes you too uncomfortable, here's an idea: Skip it.

 

“If you choose to not do the parties, there are other things you can do,” Howard said. “Even just go to the gym.”

 

But PJ Osgood from It's Just Lunch, a dating service, said the holidays can be a good time to meet new people, if you avoid putting too much pressure on yourself or others.

 

“People are more conscious of their own dating status,” she said. “By being aware of it, they want to do something about it, and they are receptive to meeting new people.”

 

~ The Houston Chronicle

Cougars Come Out of Hiding

In pop culture's most cutting terms a cougar is a woman entering her late 30s who is caught in a desperate spiral of sexual pursuit of younger men.

Though the expression "cougar," and all the denim-clad imagery associated with it, is part of our popular vernacular, one woman is leading the charge for change.

Claudia Opdenkelder, president and CEO of CougarLife.com, a matchmaking website for May-December relationships, believes being a cougar is a lifestyle choice rather than a fad and the meaning behind the word should be revamped to reflect that.

"The word is already out there, it's a cute word, it's funny, people know it," Opdenkelder told 24 hours. "Why not turn it around and make it into something positive and something you can be proud of?

"So now, it's 35 and over, successful, independent, strong, confident women who know what they want, know how to get it, don't need men to buy them everything because they are self-sufficient and powerful."

Opdenkelder's thumbnail sketch of her ideal 35-plus woman, which downplays sex drive, conflicts with popular characters like Sex and the City's Samantha (Kim Cattrall) who remained forever on the prowl looking for men who could satisfy her desires no matter what their age.

Attempts by other actors, such as Cougar Town's Courtney Cox, to capture the same lightning that Cattrall so successfully bottled in her character, are falling flat and in turn jeopardizing a relatively more flattering view of older women in relationships with younger men.

"As fickle as pop culture is, especially with a younger demographic having such an impact, there is the risk, unless some really strong representations of this trend catch on, of 'cougar' quickly becoming a term of derision - desperate old bats robbing the cradle," said Gisele Baxter, a professor in UBC's English department. "On the other hand, we are always being reminded that the population demographic is gradually skewing towards older generations, and older generations who are much more active and vital than they used to be, and that in itself might have its impact on the way cougars are perceived."

Jacquie Brownridge, owner of Vancouver dating service It's Just Lunch, said she stays away from labels like "cougar" because they do little more than cast negative stereotypes.

"I don't hear that word much in my service at all and people don't use that word," she said. "So any time I see it, it's usually in the media and usually in the way that they are portraying it, I don't always see it as quite favourable."

Opdenkelder is determined to address concerns raised by people like Brownridge by encouraging women to fully embrace the word cougar and make it their own.

"That's the beauty of growing into your 30s," Opdenkelder said. "You just become completely comfortable in your own skin and you don't care as much about looking bad or getting embarassed that easy or worried about saying what's on your mind. You tend to be confident and open and seize what you get. That's a wonderful freedom."

~24 Hours Vancouver

"It's Just Lunch" dating service leads to on-air proposal

This week, we’ve been telling you how folks around Kentuckiana are meeting their special someone. 

The majority of them say they would not resort to reality television.

Our Survey USA poll found 70% of people said they would not appear on a show to meet their loved one.

So, would you go on a simple lunch date? 

We met up with the dating service called “It’s Just Lunch” Monday morning.

They introduced us to one couple who met two years ago on a simple lunch date.

And their “happily ever after” happened live on “Good Morning Kentuckiana” when Todd Blunk proposed to his girlfriend.

“Margaret Blackwell, you know I love you… will you marry me?” 

And her reply was a resounding, “YES!”

 -Click here to see the proposal -

"I'm very happy,” says Margaret just moments after Todd popped the question.  “I'm still shaking!  I'm just excited."

These two lovebirds are both divorced.

They met through "It's Just Lunch."

It’s tagged as a matchmaking service that sets up simple lunch dates for busy professionals looking for love.

Their directors say the point of it is no pressure, no set-up and no commitments.

"I've done anything from match.com to Louisville Mojo,” says Todd.  “But this sets you up with people through a profile.  Margaret was my seventh date."

Todd was Margaret’s first date.

"I was a little nervous, pacing outside the restaurant,” says Margaret about her first date with Todd.  “I’m thinking ‘Oh, my gosh,’ what am I doing?!  But then I'm so glad I took that leap... I found the man of my dreams!  Now I'm getting married!"

"It just goes to show, you never know,” says Sequoia Harris, a director of “It’s Just Lunch.  “Just have a little faith... have a little faith in fate!"

~WHAS Channel 11 News

Valentine’s Day just like any other night for Vancouverites: survey

If the thought of finding the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your uppity other half leaves you fearful of declaring bankruptcy instead of love, you’re not alone.

It’s Just Lunch, a business that plays matchmaker for single professionals and bills itself as Vancouver’s most popular non-Internet dating service, has just announced the results of its Valentine’s survey—and money was voted as a major issue when it came to planning a romantic evening.

While almost half of the 2,500 respondents sided with dinner at a nice restaurant as the perfect Valentine’s Day date, 63 percent plan on spending February 14 just like any other night. Is the flaccid economy to blame for the romantics missing out on a three-course spread at Le Crocodile?

“Overall we are seeing a shift in spending habits as well as the way people will spend the day with a significant other, yet the importance of the day has by no means lost its significance,” said Jacqui Brownridge, managing director of the Vancouver branch of It’s Just Lunch, in a press release.

Compared with past poll results, the number of men willing to blow $100 on a date has dropped four percent, and the largest percentage of men polled this year said they weren’t going to buy anyone a gift. But Brownridge doesn’t think the survey statistics necessarily herald the death of romance.

“People have a very real desire to connect with others, especially in turbulent times,” she said. “We anticipate this Valentine’s Day that men and women will say how much they care for their significant other in creative ways.”

    ~ Straight.com

No stigma to dating services today

The advent of the Internet made meeting people from around the world just a few clicks away on a mouse. The problem is, it’s also easy to meet people who aren’t honest about themselves.

Enter dating services.

Unlike 10 or 20 years ago, such services no longer come with a stigma attached. People have become so busy that it’s nice to have someone else narrow the playing field.

“These days people outsource every area of their lives,” said Jacquie Brownridge, owner of It’s Just Lunch Vancouver. People have personal trainers and chefs and lifestyle coaches. “Dating is no different.”

Her clients tend to be professionals who work 50 to 60 hours a week. Many travel and are active in sports and volunteer work.

“When do they have time to meet somebody?”

It’s Just Lunch makes matches and sets up lunch dates. They’ll also take copies of clients’ driver’s licences and make sure they work where they say they do.

Dinnerworks.ca has a similar policy. In their case, the matchmaking strategy is more casual and less targeted.

They organize events, such as dinners, where an equal number of single men and women in the same age group can meet and socialize.

And for those who want the face-to-face interaction with the volume of matches offered by the Internet, there’s speed dating.

At such events, organized by companies such as the Rendezvous Club, each “date” lasts five minutes. Each person marks a card with those they’d be interested in seeing again. If—and only if—the feeling is mutual the company hooks them up.

    ~Burnaby Newsleader

Jilted in January: Many couples find that breaking up is not so hard to do in first month of year

When poet T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, he probably wasn't thinking about January -- which these days is being dubbed the official breakup month.

Sandwiched uncomfortably between the December holiday season and Valentine's Day, it's the time of year when more couples tend to call it quits.

These holidays and all they symbolize can be tough on relationships. For many people, January is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts -- which can mean getting out of a bad relationship.

"The holidays are probably one of our busiest times of the year," says Jim Irwin, director of the Downtown Pittsburgh office of It's Just Lunch, a national agency that arranges casual first dates only -- introducing potential mates in a low-pressure situation like lunch or coffee, rather than committing to the traditional evening out.

Irwin says January is busy, but sees it as more of a positive, fresh start approach to a new year. "People don't come in and say they've just broken up with someone; often, they're busy professionals who've made a resolution to focus more on their personal life in the new year."

~ Pittsburgh Post - Gazette