Well, you did title the article, "Frankly, Modern Men Are Cheap as Hell." Cheap is typically associated with money, not effort. However, I believe you. I was really focused on effort in my response, not money.

You came to this conclusion in your article:

I don’t think my friend has a problem with spending money on a woman, but from our conversations, it’s like he feels neglected trying to make someone else feel special.

I wish I had responded to this. You nailed it here. Men and women both want to feel wanted.