This article was one of Herald Lifestyle’s best-read stories of 2023.

One woman may have just come up with the ultimate budgeting hack – or is it?

Vivian Tu, known on TikTok by the handle @YourRichBFF, went viral on the video-sharing platform with a clip of herself claiming she went on six dates a week so she wouldn’t have to pay for groceries, reports the New York Post.

“Between 2016-2018 I didn’t buy groceries once. Probably saved about $150 a week,” she captioned the clip.

Now in an interview with Elite Daily, Tu has admitted to her 2.3 million followers that the video was made “jokingly” and she “didn’t start going on dates just for food” – but she did notice her financial needs eased a bit when she was looking for love.

Tu told the outlet she was using dating apps to find a connection when she moved to New York City, but realised quickly that, “Oh, I can go to a fun tapas restaurant for (probably) free, or I can spend my own money on food at the grocery store that I still need to cook. And it’s probably not going to taste as good.

“There’s obviously subconscious thinking that goes into it,” she admitted.

But she added that “In my opinion, deliberately going on dates for a free meal isn’t a great idea. I am very much in the camp that you’re dating to find love.”

Tu added that although she was making $95,000 a year, her living expenses were “very high” as she lived in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen area.

“The market closest to my apartment was incredibly expensive, so I never felt comfortable shopping there. Instead, I would haul my butt on the subway 15 blocks to [grocery store] Trader Joe’s and grab all that I could carry,” Tu said.

“It wasn’t easy, and I really had to think strategically about what I was buying – usually their turkey corn dogs and supreme frozen pizza.”

But by going on dinner dates, she was saving about “$50 to $100 per week” which she spent on “things like savings, investing and a black Prada bag to replace my tattered Longchamp tote”.

But while some on TikTok have crowned her a “girl boss”, others called the move “borderline unethical”.

“Smarter not harder,” one commented, while another congratulated her on “finessing the bag”.

But another user declared it “toxic femininity”, with another asking, “But if you were good with money you wouldn’t need those dates?”

“I was busy investing my money since I wasn’t spending it on food,” she replied.

And while she now knows there are better strategies for saving her money, Tu has no regrets.

“Even if you do put your card down, it’s still a win: You get to say you went somewhere new, ate great food and made a new connection – or, at least, practised your small talk.”

This article was originally published on January 24, 2023.