Money can't buy love

Here's a great question that was proposed by a friend:

"Would you rather be with someone who is wealthy and who treats you alright, or be with someone who makes okay money but treats you like a QUEEN" (or KING for that matter)

When my friend brought this question to me, my answer was simple, I would rather be with someone who makes "okay" money and treats me like a queen than be with someone who is wealthy but deep down, I know can treat me better.

My reasoning is simple, money can be gone in a second. I wouldn't want someone to be with me based on my financial situation and I couldn't base my desire to be with someone based on their finances either. I am hard working and I have great money management skills and those are the "financial qualities" that i look for in a partner. I want someone who will work with me side by side to build something together, not someone who will take care of me, or expect me to take care of them.

Those are my thoughts on income. Now CREDIT and MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS are an entirely different story. These two go hand in hand and are equally important. A man/woman with good money management skills and great credit will always be well budgeted and capable of making the most of their money. This is important in selecting a mate because down the line it will pay off when they are making the most of your money as well. Who wants to be with someone who is good looking, educated, great in bed, but is a frivolous spender with poor credit? Not me..

Here's the fun part, who are you, are you the person with the poor credit and bad money management skills or the other person?

If you think you might be the person with the poor money management skills, here are some tips help you get it together:

• Open a bank account - chances are, if you don't have a bank account, then you are paying a check cashing store to cash your paycheck. These fees can add up quickly. On the low average a check cashing store might charge around 5% to cash a payroll check, a single person earning 25k a year would end up spending $1250.00 a year in check cashing fees. Having your payroll directly deposited will not only save you these fees but will also save you a trip to the check cashing store.
• Use credit wisely - Credit cards can be a great tool. I have several and I use them all the time, usually I pay off the balances every month, and at my age, my credit is excellent. Credit cards can help you make large purchases and if you have a low enough interest rate, it can give you the option to pay off your purchase in small payments. Using a credit Card wisely will show that you are responsible and capable of paying your bills on time, therefore allowing other lenders to want to loan you money at lower interest rates.
• Trick yourself into Saving - I cannot stress this enough! Saving is important. Life will always come at you with unexpected obstacles and your savings should be there to help cushion your fall. Most employers will give you the option to SPLIT your payroll into two accounts. Using this service to redirect a small amount of money (as little as $10 a pay check) will trick you into building a savings account before you know it.

Hopefully you find some of this helpful, but the moral of the story is this, at the end of the day, you should be with someone who can make you happy, without their looks, their money or their material possessions, because after all nothing lasts forever...