The credit crisis has affected us City girls and boys in more ways than are immediately obvious. Yes, some of us have lost our bonuses and others have lost their jobs, but the one thing I miss most is being wined and dined by flush City boys.

Attempts by impoverished City Boys to economise when it comes to the dating game are to be discouraged. But it’s a struggle. Any girl used to a certain capital adequacy requirement­ will find the City dating pool on the shallow side. Be prepared to trade vintage bordeaux for house red, and Pied-a-Terre for Pizza Express. Be prepared to think: “I know your hedge fund just went under, but I still want the lobster.” But until the pay cuts are reversed and bonuses reappear, it seems we must ­develop a taste for pasta.

My girlfriend recently had a rendezvous with a Parisian banker, who paid for their Gallic dinner with the French equivalent of food vouchers given to him by his employer. Horrific though that sounds, it compares favourably with my own date with a bond trader named Phil who, honest to God, made me split the bill!

So does the credit crisis mean that I have to lower my standards? I sought an answer from my male colleagues.
“Absolutely,” was their response. “There’s no doubt laid-off bankers are having trouble getting laid.”
One put it more graphically: “We used to make the ladies moan, now we just make them squirm.”

Some City girlfriends have given up all hope, but I ­decided I would NOT be credit-crunched. So I bought a cookbook before my date last week with a young man who works at Goldman. The recession has hit his finances, so it was time for me to dust off my cooking skills and make supper. And let me tell you, my sea bass with pumpkin ravioli tasted as good as any Michelin-starred version.

The truth is, the need to cut down has made me grow up. City Girl has turned into a cost-conscious Home Girl. The credit crunch has its upsides, after all. One of which is not having to travel home after dinner.