How did you pay for college? The Sheconomist and I were both lucky enough to have parents that could afford to pay it and neither of us graduated with any debt. That isn’t the case for many people. My dad, for instance, wasn’t so lucky. He made up for it with by earning full scholarships to cover his undergrad and other methods for grad school. Again, no debt. But for most people, going to college means student loans, and lots of them. Those subsidized little gems have educated many and taught even more the true value of a dollar.

But what if loans weren’t an option, or you just want to avoid debt at all costs? What do you do then? Of course you can apply for hundreds of scholarships and maybe get one or two. Or, you can sell your virginity. Actually I should rephrase that. Girls can sell their virginity. Every guy about to enter college would probably gladly sell their virginity (some are even willing to pay someone to take it from them, I have to stop watching college movies).

This is exactly what a 19 year-old in New Zealander has done. She used a website called Ineed, which is like a classifieds website to sell her viginity. She included in the ad that she was fully aware of what she was doing and described herself as fit and healthy with no medical conditions. She’s a “keen athlete” and describes herself as attractive. There is no picture and she has not been identified. The website doesn’t seem to be very large so word must have traveled fast once an ad went up for a girl selling her virginity to pay for college. Over 1200 offers came in. So what is the final price? $45,000 in New Zealand dollars which at current exchange rates works out to a little bit over $30,000 US.

Is this legal in the United States? No. Prostitution is only legal in Nevada, and I think the rules are pretty strict about how it works. But prostitution is legal in New Zealand so there was nothing wrong with what she’s done from the government’s standpoint. Of course just like in the US I’m sure there are moral objections. In ancient times virginity was a really big thing. On top of only the husband having access to the wife, they were used for sacrifices too. Still trying to figure that one out.

But in today’s society virginity is looked at in a completely different light. Some find it important, others couldn’t care less. It’s considered important enough to someone to be willing to purchase the rights to someone’s virginity for the price of a fully loaded Honda Accord.

Thanks to the media, we can learn about stories like this almost instantaneously. But I’d be willing to bet that someone has spent more than $30,000 to have access to a “pure” woman in the form of gifts to the parents in some ancient or tribal society. This time it’s just not in the form of a wife, just a one night stand.

I’d be willing to bet a good portion of the people in the world would probably rather have $30,000 for college than whatever their “first time” was. I’m interested in knowing what people think about this, so leave a comment and let me know.

Photo: telethon

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice.

categories: media, personal finance