Can't Buy Me Love

Since when did gold digging become a four letter word? It seems that the traditional romantic fantasy has replaced Prince Charming and his white horse with a CEO and his fat wallet. These days, more and more women are dating under the condition that love can conquer all, provided that it also comes with financial security. Little girls' ideas of destined romances are being kicked to the curb and traded for cash. Have we become content with swapping the letters l.o.v.e and r.i.c.h to guide our relationships?

We've been brought up to believe that we can have it all. But is having it all in love and in life contingent upon our financial success? I'd like to think that love is powerful enough to hold two people together-that a feeling trumps materiality and plays no part in romance. If only the world was so simple. In a time of growing economic uncertainty, it's easy to say that the the smart girls are marrying money. It's easy to envision their future as one that never includes worrying about the bills, but that future does not necessarily include love either.

First and foremost, a relationship should be based on love. "Smart" women may ensure that their suitors also fit their fortune seeking needs, but smarter women will realize that they can make their own fortunes and find love as well. Women with no sense at all (financial or otherwise) will disregard this feeling completely. While they may find an empty and short lived happiness in spending, a relationship without love is as shallow as the gold digger who pursues it.

Women who assess their relationships in terms of both love and money may be smart, but those who search for only cash to fill their hearts will never truly be happy. As for me, I'll take love above all else. After all, there's nothing wrong with tradition.