Looking for a cheap date?
Man who paid off his mortgage in three years seeks woman who doesn’t ‘spend like Paris Hilton’
His house may be off the market, but his heart certainly isn’t.
After working what many Torontonians would consider a monetary miracle, Sean Cooper is looking for love.
In 2012, the 30-year-old Toronto man bought a house for $425,000 and just three years later he managed to pay off his entire $255,000 mortgage.
But financial independence didn’t come cheap.
Cooper had to work an astounding 80 to 100 hours each week so he could dump his debt.
Besides his full-time position as an analyst for a financial consulting firm, he also worked as a freelance writer and somehow managed to fit in part-time hours as a clerk in the meat department of a grocery store — which wasn’t easy considering he’s a strict vegetarian.
“That kind of shows how determined I was,” he said. “I tried not to think of anything, but when I saw rabbit meat, it made my stomach turn.” Cooper pinched every penny, living in the basement of his home so he could rent out the top floor, biking to work in all but the coldest weather and eating simple meals, including Kraft Dinner, fruits and vegeta
bles.
His obsession with paying off his debt came from growing up watching his single mother struggle to pay off the mortgage on his childhood home after she lost her job in the early 2000s.
And now he’s looking for someone to share his financial freedom.
With romantic thoughts in mind, he created a blog titled Mortgage-Free Guy Looking for a Single Frugal Girl.
“I don’t want my tombstone to say, ‘Worked really hard . . . and that’s about it,’ ” he said. “I want to have something else besides my work to show for me.”
On his blog, he refers to himself as “an adventurous person looking for someone with the same lust for life” and describes his ideal woman as “intellectual, active and frugal,” among other things.
He notes that the word frugal is a bit of a joke, suggesting the term “financially responsible” might be more accurate. “Basically, as long as they don’t spend like Paris Hilton, it’s fine,” he said.
While focused on his debt, he didn’t have much time for going out. In fact, he didn’t go on a single date, meaning he’s a little rusty. “I probably went out two times in the past five months . . . so I had to change my strategy.”
After he advertised his availability online, love seems to be in the air. Women from as far away as California and Trinidad and Tobago have contacted him, but Cooper said he’s looking for somebody from Toronto.
He’s also encountered an unexpected phenomenon. Many requests have come in from mothers eager to play Cupid and set him up with their daughters. But while mothers may find firm finances an attractive feature, Cooper said their daughters don’t always agree.
“If you talk about being financially secure, you get people trying to take advantage of you. And also it makes you seem insecure,” he said.
Cooper is cautious of those who are only interested in his savvy spending.
“I don’t mind paying for dates and whatever seems reasonable . . . but I’m definitely looking out for the signs of a gold digger,” he said.
Cooper said he’s looking to enjoy his life more. He took an improv class with comedy troupe Second City and joined Toastmasters to improve his public speaking. He also treated himself to a $1,000 shopping spree, picking up a new wardrobe, including a $400 jacket.