In Fiddler on the Roof, the overwhelming concern of most everyone with single children was finding them a good husband. I still can hear the sweet melody of "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch" in my head and I haven't seen the movie in decades. The community banded together to ensure that every willing and able single person was guaranteed a husband or a wife. . 

Nowadays, we are incredibly self-sufficient creatures. We find ways to do nearly everything on our own. We don't need help -- if we need anything there's a search engine that will give us professional instructions and advice. We have become conditioned to not ask for help. And that's how a few entrepreneurs monetized the dating industry. 

You can pay as little as $19.99 for a month or upwards of $10,000 to have someone or something help meet the love of your life (or your next ex). Some of the avenues put most of your own fate in your hands while others, you hand your personality and preferences off like a shopping list to a professional. Neither one of these methods contain any guarantees, no matter what their commercials say. 

If you're seriously considering making a financial investment in your dating future, here are a few things to consider:

1. Signing up for a dating site requires an investment of time. And you must know what you want. 

I don't ascribe to the philosophy that just clicking on a bunch of profiles will yield great results. If you're going to pay for a dating site, make sure you have at least an hour to two a week to devote to reading profiles and writing emails. 

2. If you don't have the time to look, will you have time for a relationship?

Whether you choose a professional matchmaker or online dating site, there will be additional tasks required of you. If you have every day packed from dawn to sunset I'd strongly recommend you consider how paying someone to find companions to keep up with your schedule will help you in the long run. Don't look for a relationship because you need someone to feed the fish when you travel.

3. There will still be trial and error in the process.

You're still going to have to find your needle in the haystack. Odds are if you've been single for a long time, you've still had chances to meet people, but they may not have tripped your trigger. The same goes with dating sites and services - it will take time.

4. You could do all that and meet someone in the course of your everyday walking around.

Be open to all avenues. They say you find what you're looking for when you aren't looking for it. Keep your eyes open!

5. Your private life and professional lives could cross when you have an online dating profile. 

If you aren't dating because you work too much, odds are you will find others in the same boat - and sometimes they will be in the meeting you just walked into. Just be aware that putting yourself out there could result in meeting someone you may end up seeing at work.

Paid dating services DO open the doors to a broader pool of people and expand your horizons. Just remember - if you're going to pray for rain, be ready for the mud.