A freelance writer in her early 30s is sharing her experience as a "sugar baby."

The writer, who has been granted anonymity to protect her identity, said sugar daddies paid upward of $500 for a date with her.

She also received gifts, trips across the US, and access to five-star hotels and fancy restaurants.

Read on for a firsthand look at what it's like to be a sugar baby, from the way she vets sugar daddies to how she spots a scammer online.

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Editor's note: The author is a freelance writer in her early 30s whose identity has been verified by Business Insider. While some people consider sugar relationships a form of sex work, it's a label rejected by sugar dating sites and some members themselves. Regardless, prostitution is a dangerous and illegal activity. This story is part of a series on the financial side of relationships, and you can read other entries in the series here.

Six months ago, I decided to become a sugar baby.

My reasoning was simple. I'd grown frustrated with dating men in my city — maybe I'd just had one too many Tinder dates end in mediocre conversation. My day job offers me control over my schedule, since I don't work a traditional nine-to-five. I wanted to supplement my income and have some fun doing it, so I decided to try finding a sugar daddy.

For the uninitiated, "sugaring" is a form of dating in which one partner financially supports the other, often in the form of cash or gifts. As a woman in a major city with an appreciation for societal deviance, I figured the lifestyle might suit me well.

Whether it was exhaustion of millennial swiping, or maybe the thrill of experiencing life outside my usual means, I found myself creating a profile on the primary website for sugaring connections, SeekingArrangement.

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In the half-year since then, I've met some highly interesting people — not to mention I've received thousands of dollars in cash, trips across the country, access to five-star hotels and restaurants, and expensive gifts like shoes and clothing I never could have ordinarily afforded.

Read on for a firsthand look at what it's really like to be a sugar baby.