With the recent skyrocket of Tinder and other dating apps' popularity, it feels like the dating game is more confusing than ever. In a world of 3 a.m. "you up" texts and 30-minute long dates that follow the quick front door-bedroom-front door route, finding a decent guy seems like a mission impossible. In an attempt to save myself from this sh*t show and find a decent dude, I've boiled down my dating strategy to 8 Econ 101 principles.

#1 Resources are scarce.

If three guys were to ask me out one week and I went out with all of them, my schedule is obviously wide open, i.e. I seem desperate AF. Now, if I think of my time as a scarce resource and agree to go out only with only one guy, that would immediately up my value. Just like in economics, the less there is of a certain good, the more people are willing to give in exchange for it. If a date with you is available to only one person, then you're guaranteed to get the best, most creative dude because you will choose the one who is willing to put more of his time and effort in order to obtain it. This brings us to principle number 2.

#2 The real cost of something is what you must give up to obtain it.

Let's say the guy I agree to go out with is a chain smoker and I'm into fitness and healthy living. If a date with me is a precious resource and he knows he must give up smoking for a few hours in order to be with me, he will do it. If he doesn't, then he obviously doesn't give a sh*t about me at all. This is an excellent way to see who really cares about being with you so much that he's willing to inconvenience himself.

#3 People usually exploit opportunities to make themselves better off.

This one may seem pretty straightforward, but we're actually talking about incentives here. As Econ 101 explains, an incentive is anything that offers rewards to people who change their behavior, and the lengths people are going to go to are surprising. Let's say a date with you is the incentive—you look hot, ask the guy questions and make him compliments, you have a great time and you go home with him. If the condition to obtain that date is to change his approach/ behavior, he's very likely to do it.

In my experience, most dudes just want to take me to a bar, buy me a few beers and expect me to jump in bed with them. Think again, bro. If I make my time scarce and only go out with the guy who comes up with an outside the box date idea, he'll work hard to take me home. That way I see who's done his homework on what I like and how far his imagination goes. This is the best way to weed out the good guys from the f*ckboys.

#4 There are gains from trade

The basic idea here is that people can get more of what they want by trading and cooperating as opposed to trying to be self-sufficient. If I'm dating a guy and he's only looking out for his interests, let's say goes out drinking with his buddies all the time, his stock will soon plummet in my book. You need to look for a guy who knows that dating you will bring him more happiness than being on his own. With that in mind, he's far more likely to treat you well and make compromises in the relationship when needed.

#5 Markets move towards equilibrium

An equilibrium situation is when no individual would be better off doing something else. In the dating world, this is the equivalent of you both knowing that you are compatible with each other and neither one of you can find something better out there. I apply this rule when evaluating whether my man knows he won't find anything better swiping right. Always make sure that your guy realizes how good you two fit together and doesn't f*ck around out of stupidity.

#6 Markets usually lead to efficiency

In a relationship, just like in a market economy, both parties act out of their own self-interest in order to obtain an incentive. For example, I listen to what he says and get along perfectly with his mom because my incentive is to keep him around. In that case, I have to make sure that his self-interest matches mine, so he will be the best version of himself in order to be with me.

That may include him hitting the gym, learning how to cook or taking me up on a travel proposition. If his self-interest is directed towards something totally different, like working super long hours at the office to get promoted and barely having time to chill with me, our shared relationship won't be efficient. That's how I know it's time to cut the ties.

#7 When markets don't achieve efficiency, government can improve society's welfare

In girl world, that's known as "the ultimatum." You have to assume the role of the "government" here. Tell your man that if he continues to sit at the office for 16 hours a day and doesn't care to see you more than once every two weeks, the relationship is over. Boom—economy crash.

#8 One person's spending is another person's income

If one group of individuals decides to spend less, it will impact the income of another group. Just to clarify, I'm talking emotional involvement here, not cash money. If he stops coming to your place but wants you to go to his instead, wants you to hang out with his friends instead of yours, doesn't ask about your day but talks about his for hours, that means he's cutting the "spending" on his end. In reaction to that, you should cut your own spending by seizing contact. The point here is that you always have to respond appropriately to his level of involvement and keep an eye on your own.