ALMOST two-thirds of men find a frugal blind date sexy and smart, while women think men who pinch pennies are boring, according to the findings of a new study.

The survey by financial giant ING Direct USA of 1000 Americans revealed women are twice as likely to be upset by a partner who spends too little on them.

A third of women described frugal as "stingy" compared to 20 per cent of men, and less than half of women surveyed believed a frugal blind date was smart and sexy.

The majority of men and women (68 per cent) agreed that women are better at managing household finances, including managing bills and household spending.

Women were also 56 per cent more likely to give up sex than men to pay off debts. However, when it comes to sex versus chocolate - chocolate wins. Women were less willing to give up chocolate and shopping (39 per cent) than they were sex and alcohol (16 per cent) to eliminate debt.

When it came to accumulating more debt and other financial woes, women find personal issues more upsetting than financial ones, while men feel the opposite.

Men would be more upset about losing their job than finding out about an unfaithful spouse or accumulating debt, but women would be shattered by an unfaithful spouse but not so upset at losing their job or accumulating debt.

Gaining weight would upset women more than accumulating debt, but men were found to be more concerned about gaining debt than a few extra pounds.

Originally published as Stingy women are sexy, study says