I'm an Xer. I want the date to have some sort of effort, and it doesn't have to show through money, never did, imagination will do fine. One of my best dates was a book store, free gallery (with dancing) next to that, followed by ice cream, all at night. Another was renting a canoe and going around a lake for 2 hours, we brought our own food. We had talked about my mom being sick in a previous conversation, he gave me cookies to take to her.

Adventures, ideas, things that were not inherently manufactured. Real human stuff. Roller skating was cool, too. The point is to have a good time worth remembering. It doesn't mean you'd want to date this person, but you could have fun and a friend who might recommend you to others if you behave well, or you could luck out and have a good story to tell about a first date that went somewhere wonderful. Why do you want to aim low, now?