Knowing someone is wealthy or business savvy, or have a great talent in sports, or famous, or having any kind of high status, will not in anyway show what they are like as a person! Definitely and absolutely not!

Doctor who turns out to be a killer, a business exec who embezzels money, a celebrity who is a drug addict, a congressman who is a pedophile, a mayor who solicits call girls. The list goes on, just read the news. Guess what these people have? Money, status and power. Guess what they dont have? Character. Who suffers? Their family and society.

My advice: Choose a persons personality/character over money, talent or status. It does take time to get to know someone, but its worth it.

It is much easier for men to get money and gain status, than for them to be a good person. Rags to riches is not uncommon this days, but change in character from bad to good seldom happens. Being rich and famous, does not automatically change their personality (usually it gets worse).

Smart women marry for character. Dumb women gets fooled by Money, Fame and Power.

If you don’t mind… How much do you spend on the accountant each year? I’m just curious because we’ve never had one. It sounds nice to have one, though fortunately we’ve been able to get things under control ourselves.

Actually, I think my husband and I enjoy some of our money talk (so long as we’re making progress, that is, lol). It’s brought us closer together because we’re talking about our common goals and working on problems together.

Fact of the matter is, no marriage can be happy when income is in the bottom decile with 2 kids before your mid 20s, despite long work-weeks at minimum wage.

Marry someone who you are attracted to and love to be around. It’s okay to expect financial integrity, you don’t want to marry some happy-go-lucky financial nightmare, but beyond that people are not things you acquire. No, this advice is not any brave new world, it’s just encouraging gold-digging with a new label.

You’ll notice that the author realizes this on some level too, the trailer-trash seediness of it all, which is why (presumably) she doesn’t state her name. When she says “Let me preface this by stating that I am not suggesting that women marry solely for money” she is saying: “women should marry primarily for money,”

But commenters like you are too often committed to insulting over women because they have different views than you do. I can almost bet that you’re miserable wherever you happen to be in your life. I have enough respect or myself and others not to stoop to your levels. But, it just shows how low you are in your life right now.

Your problem isnt me, and my views because I promise you, my marriage is wonderful and it’s based on the sweetest love, something you can’t relate to. I just happen to have a great package, a man who loves and respects me and is as financially savvy as I am, so yes, God has had mercy on my soul and blessed me with what has been the best thing to happen to me in the last 5 years. I refuse to apologize for that.

Women that marry for money are prostitutes, high-paid prostitutes. How can they be smarter than women who have actually worked their asses off their whole lives to be rich by themselves and give living proof to other women that they do not need to live under the hegemony of a man-controlled world? They are only selling their bodies for money, most likely because they have low self-esteem. You’re a whore and an embarrassment to your gender. This is the worst form of rationality I’ve ever seen. May God have mercy on your soul.

I am a man who looks after his money, but my girlfriend spends money like water.

I own three houses (inherited two and worked for one myself) and I have got money saved away in investments.

I have two jobs, during the day I work as a cleaner and at night I drive Taxis. For cleaning I get paid $15 an hour for cleaning hotel rooms, driving Taxis I get about $120 a night. On Friday and Saturday I can get up to $200 a night. I drive four nights a week.

In an average week I get about $1200. I also get money through renting out one of my houses.

(Please note, I live in Australia. unskilled labour is much higher paid here than the USA.)

I manage to save money because I do not spend very much- I know my city very well so I know where to get free stuff and where to eat for free.

My girlfriend would not marry me simply because I do not have a “good job”, even though I am financially sound.

She said that she does not want to marry a cleaner because it is not a “respectable job”, and her family in Korea would be embarrassed. She does not even want to show me to her parents, she said that I would have to look for a “better job”.

I have a university degree, a Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology with second class honours, I also did a Graduate Diploma in Humanities, which involved the completion of a research thesis; therefore if I look hard enough I may be able to get a job in the public sector or something.

In all honesty, I was too lazy to look for a more professional job after finishing university; and to be honesty I still am too lazy to look for a better job. But there is no real incentive for me to do so, as I am contented with my income, as my two jobs give me more than enough to do everything I want in life.

Money is all that matters in the end of the day right? I clean toilets and hotel rooms for a living, but I have got cash and assets to live a good life.

I saw the problems a financially irresponsible relative had in all aspects of life – challenges getting a job, forget about a partner…just kind of floating around hoping to find the pot of gold under the rainbow. It is incredibly sad to see in a nice guy heading into his 40s with…zilch. And I am not talking about money here, I am talking about steady employment and a family and all that boring old stuff, this dude still lives with his parents most of the year. He is a nice person, wouldn’t hurt a fly but come on…

I agree that, as a single male, financial habits are extremely important in chosing a mate. I think discussing finances should be a high priority because any lives that are built without a sure foundation with not survive. This is more important to me than what color the walls should be painted, or what kind of vacation destinations are compatible, because at the end of the day, if you don’t have a strong financial position/skills your just renting anyway.

That’s my .02 cents!

Similarly, he was thrilled to find out that I was maxing out my 401k at the time. He wasn’t excited because of the prospective gravy train (ha!), it just was proof that I wasn’t looking for someone to take care of me financially. I already had it covered.

How a person spends their money is a pretty decent gauge of their core life values, which should be in pretty close alignment for long-term happiness.

“Anyhoo, just to address concerns about it seeming as though I am promoting ONLY thinking about men in terms of their wallet… that isnt the case and I made that clear, hopefully in the first few sentences. I really wanted to drive home the importance of selecting a mate with a healthy attitude towards personal finance.”

However, all the work you did in the first few sentences was largely undone with your statements about stifling screams during sex with a shriveled up oil tycoon (not to mention several other head scratchers).

However, as I man I read your article and agreed whole-heartedly with it. However, I read it from the reverse point of view and placed women as the ones who must have their financial houses in order if they want any serious attention from me. Any woman I marry must pull her own weight: there will be no Drama Queen Fashionista Princesses in my life, thankyouverymuch. Looking for a Knight in Shining Armor to come sweep you off your feet, pay off all your debts, and set you up in some fancy McMansion with a Mercedes ML350 in the driveway? Keep looking sweetheart.

Maybe I can just find a shriveled up widow that survived her oil tycoon husband, that way I won’t have to worry about it. Hmmm…

Having been both poor and happy with my wife … and rich and happy with my wife, I can safely say that money actually doesn’t matter in a great relationship, but the communication around it does.

You are right, this is a controversial article as I figured it would strike a nerve with most of the men reading, after all who wants to be viewed as a meal ticket. However, as Ive said to others you’re reading way tooo deeply into the story. What I meant is what I wrote.

After receiving comments on my own site and emails about the article further discussing it Ive come to the conclusion that its easier for some men to evoke sentiments of love and communication rather than think about the very issues that drives so many divorces today. The divorce rate in this country has skyrocketed in part due to issues around money. Many arent willing to face this realization but love does NOT conquer all.

The point of my article is to encourage women to be savvy about the life partners they choose. Too many of us fall for the same ole love and communication game. Those are a given. I should have stated that. But to say that women should not focus on HOW financially savvy their partners are in favor of ONLY focusing on given characteristics like communication, chemistry etc etc is equivalent to skipping across a major highway in oncoming traffic. You’re bound to get knocked on your face with the reality that you should have looked before crossing. The same applies here: women should be looking at a man in ALL areas, not just chemistry, communication and the like.

No where did I say that men are a meal ticket or that the SIZE of their bank accounts should be taken into consideration. The article simply aimed to discuss HOW these men manage their money. I am happily married to a man who shares the same sentiments and felt the same way when we got together. He wanted a woman who was financially savvy and who wouldnt spend us into the poor house. I also have a husband who is budget conscious and thinks long term when it comes to our financial goals. This was my point. My husband makes great money but that wasn’t the only reason that I chose him as my life partner. His characteristics far outweigh his financially savvy but make no mistake, his level of financial interest and savvy played a HUGE role. I want no part of a man that spends recklessly because I do not plan to be broke and miserable in my old age because by choosing an irresponsible partner, we had to declare bankruptcy twice or foreclose on our home.

No, not this woman.

A financially savvy woman may not be for you because it evokes other negative feelings but it doesn’t negate the fact that women are beginning to take a closer look at HOW their partners manage money. NOT how much money they make.