“Marry for money.” This little bit of advice has been given to me countless times from bitter ex-wives as well as happily married women. But like most young, hopeless and naïve romantics, I always brushed their advice off, determined to find my “True Love,” —and I didn’t care how much he had (or didn’t have) in his pockets.
In hindsight, none of my past Prince Charmings had large wallets. I paid for a number of dinners out…and drinks… and even on one never-to-be-repeated occasion, admission into a strip club. So perhaps it was fate that I picked up Smart Girls Marry Money by Elizabeth Ford and Daniela Drake, MD. Perhaps it was the Universe’s way of saying “Hey, doormat, stop dating penniless losers!”
As I started reading the bright pink and green book, the notion of marrying strictly for money really rubbed me the wrong way. But once I got into it, I had to admit that these authors had a point. In our pursuit of love, we tend to not factor in the finances. Yet, the sad fact is that, despite all the strides we’ve made, we women still aren’t on equal financial footing with our male counterparts.
So, what’s a girl to do? Marry for money, of course. The authors reason that financial stability is really what we young women should be aiming for. Not the fairy tale wedding. Not the head-over-heels type of love. But cold, hard financial security.
But is that wrong? Is it wrong to admire a man for his money? After all, men see their wealth as a status symbol—it’s an alpha male thing left over from their cave men days. They build their financial fortress in order to impress… so why not be impressed? It shows that they have drive, ambition, and the ability to provide for their families. (They also probably have a huge ego and think they’re God, but the authors don’t talk about that nasty little part.)
I have to admit that after finishing the book, I haven’t completely given into the idea of marrying solely for a man’s wallet, but I’ve definitely realized that there’s some truth behind the idea that since there is a “50-50 odds of keeping a marriage intact, love alone is not a good enough reason to head down the aisle.” And I now have a newfound affection for men that drive BMWs and Mercedes. Who knows? Maybe one of them will turn out to be my Prince Charming With Deep Pockets.
