Katherine Chloé Cahoon

Thoughtful, fun, interesting… Those are date must-haves. But guys, a girl who solely bases your relationship potential on her x-ray of your bank account isn’t someone worth taking out. Meeting Men Monday is usually Women’s World. But I’ve been receiving emails from men lately expressing how inadequate they feel in the courtship competition when they don’t have the funds to take a lady on lavish dates. Not true!!

This is not to say that if a guy can shower a girl with gifts, she’ll object. In fact, she could be elated. But many quality women are far more concerned that a man shows her he cares than that he shows her a surplus of dollar signs. Here’s a story to back this up.

I have a very appealing friend who called off her engagement to a millionaire for a relationship with a struggling grad student. He was working his way through school. Almost every penny he earned was accounted for. He couldn’t afford to take her to a nice restaurant for their first date, and wouldn’t settle for sharing an order of Chicken McNuggets, so he made a romantic dinner at home. His tiny apartment was sparse. A card table and folding chairs doubled as a dining set, so he bought a tablecloth and candles at the thrift store, and got a bargain on roses that the local market was about to throw out. He sprinkled rose pedals from the door to the “dining room” and made her the best Mac & Cheese she had ever tasted. Six years later, the couple is happily married and every day he continues to show her how much he cares.