Even if you don’t want to now your credit score for your own financial awareness (which really, you should know it) a new trend on the dating scene implies that you might need to come to dates armed with such knowledge. And we say “armed” because if you’ve been in the dating trenches lately, you know it’s a war out there. Apparently the latest onslaught against your character could come not from being unversed in current affairs, but in having a low credit score or not knowing where your credit ranks at all.

This new torturous dating convention comes by way of the New York Times, which profiles a woman on a first date who comes face-to-face with the question.

After the woman’s date asked, “What’s your credit score?” she was a bit put off, even more so when it seemed her answer wasn’t good enough.

“It was as if the music stopped,” she told the NYT, adding that the date went off the tracks quickly at that point because she was unsure what her score was, but knew it wasn’t that great. “It was really awkward because he kept telling me that I was the perfect girl for him, but that a low credit score was his deal-breaker.”

At that point I’d probably storm off in a huff, but it’s understandable that in these days of economic uncertainty and a sluggish housing market, one might not want to get involved with a less than financially savvy partner. And apparently, it’s something that is factoring more and more into dating decisions, say those in the know.

“Credit scores are like the dating equivalent of a sexually transmitted disease test,” said the founder and chief executive of MoneyZen Wealth Management, a financial advisory firm. “It’s a shorthand way to get a sense of someone’s financial past the same way an S.T.D. test gives some information about a person’s sexual past.”

It’s such a popular topic that there are even a few online dating sites that tackle the question head-on and even shine the spotlight on those with admirable credit, like Creditscoredating.com which crows, “Good Credit Is Sexy.”

Although this all sounds funny and silly and maybe even off-putting, credit scores have real life implications that could affect a relationship, such as getting an apartment or home, sharing bank accounts, car insurance premiums or buying cars together as a couple, just to mention a few things.

Shackling yourself to someone with a huge amount of outstanding debt might fall under the “for worse” part of “for better or for worse,” but it’s something that can be avoided if you don’t mind asking someone on a first date what his or her credit score is. And if you don’t mind awkward silences.

Perfect 10? Never Mind That. Ask Her for Her Credit Score. [New York Times]

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