Why Marry For Money The Next Time? Do It Right The First Time ~by Helen

As I was riding down the street listening to a country song where a male sang "Next time I am going to marry for money..." I realized just how much more evolved women are than men. Heck, us gals have been marrying for money since the beginning of time. An "enlightened woman" realizes that marriage allows you to earn more in one minute than what you could otherwise earn over a lifetime.

The book Smart Girls Marry Money: How Women Have Been Duped into the Romantic Dream — and How They’re Paying for It states what should be obvious to most women. It was apparently written to educate the uninformed- (however few that might be in this modern era) concerning "the post-feminist dream." Authors Daniela Drake, MBA and television producer, Elizabeth Ford certainly hit the main point in the title. But the book fails to teach that the enlightened feminist lifestyle is not merely a dream.

Marrying for money is simply great advice. But it is not a new idea. Furthermore, the notion that women can’t have it all and need to revert to more traditional feminine roles is only half true. A woman can have a career and through the miracle of divorce and alimony, she can also have half of her lame spouse's wealth. Urging women to return to pre feminist states of reliance and supplication are not necessary to "marrying for money" or obtaining financial security. Face it, men are generally clueless. In fact, most men are so ignorant, they think their bride actually finds their jokes humorous and their crooked nose "cute." Long before modern books and advisers, mothers taught their daughters to marry good providers. But being a smart consumer of a spouse is not contrary to being a feminist. The smart shopper can be both a feminist and the wife (or even better ex wife) of a wealthy man. It simply takes an educated strategy.

Smart Girls Marry Money basically involves the authors telling us what they wish their mother had told them. While I don't know their mothers, I suspect they told them what was needed and assumed that common sense would guide them the rest of the way. Think about it. First, marrying into wealth is intuitively obvious to every grown women. It was ingrained in our head from birth. (Growing up wasn't the Ken doll always a doctor or rich tycoon?) Second, while statistically women may not traditionally earn as much as men in the workforce, with the help of divorce settlements, child support and alimony, there is no reason a gal's income should not substantially exceed the earnings of most male primates (including the ex.)

While authors may argue that women rarely bounce back post divorce, that is not my experience with "enlightened women." The enlightened woman marries for money the first time, extracts every penny from her estranged spouse in the form of property settlement, temporary maintenance, child support and alimony. This provides an educated woman with the sustenance to secure an even better target (an even richer man) the second time around. By the time you repeat this recipe for success three times, it's the enlightened woman who needs the prenuptial agreement. The authors assumption that women can only capture a man by having movie star looks grossly underestimates the female hunter's skill in capturing her prey. Furthermore, with wealth comes the means to improve one's physical appearance. (Think Joan Rivers.) Besides rich men have the same weakness as poor men... they make decisions using the wrong part of their anatomy.

Stephen Jenkins, director of the Institute for Social & Economic Research, concludes that five years post divorce, men were 25% richer, whereas women have less money than they did pre-split. He also concludes that 31% of mothers receive no payment for children. Jenkins conclusion is that women remain at a significant disadvantage. My conclusion is that those women had a crappy lawyer. In order to hit a man up-style, you need to have a good plan and a great lawyer! (Also when looking up statistics, child support is not taxable income and most gifts from the ex or others goes unreported.)

The authors did nail one point: romantic love is a foolish reason to marry. An enlightened woman should never leave a marriage because the passion (love, ergo) is missing from the relationship. Quite frankly, if you married for the right reason the first time (for money) that should have been absent from the beginning. The reason to leave is because you are ready to move up the food chain and increase your net worth. When the opportunity presents itself, she who hesitates is lost. When you have the opportunity to improve your station in life, you need to jump on it (him) immediately. A woman is never too old to be out of the game. A woman is never too old to keep searching for a better, richer opportunity.

Love is transient. With a good lawyer and financial advisor, wealth need not be! Naysayers say that if love is a reason to marry, than falling out of love is a reason to divorce. Such counselors are misguided. The reason to divorce is to improve a woman's financial station. Take your half and move quickly to the next opportunity.

The book also talks of sex and marriage. Personally, the two are mutually exclusive and anyone who would assume otherwise has likely never been married. The advice that it is imperative to marry young while physical seductive powers are strong is contrary to the position of enlightened women. Enlightened women marry initially for money and never stop looking for someone else with even more money. Through experience, women can continue to marry up the ladder just like men continue to marry younger women under the delusion that they are some how "trading up." Unlike some advisers, I don't advocate sleeping with your boss. That is unless you are confident of your boss's true net worth (or you have a great sexual harassment lawyer on retainer. ) Such a strategy may be a way to obtain job security; however, the close proximity rarely allows a gal the freedom to keep looking for a better paycheck during the working day. (Keep in mind the majority of folks meet their mate in or through their place of employment.)

Advice that men don’t want high-earning women is just plain silly. If your target does not think you have substantially less than he, then you are aiming way too low! Male-driven greed needs to take a backseat to female- driven wealth seeking skills. The Cinderella syndrome needs to be redefined into an educational based wealth seeking methodology. The assumption that the man will still pay for it remains constant, but by marrying for money and always looking to upgrade, men will pay SO MUCH MORE! Those against marrying for money argue that it is fine until he leaves you. After speaking to a good divorce lawyer, these opponents quickly see the error of their argument. Divorce after marrying for money will keep a gal in the lifestyle she has become accustom to. SEE ALIMONY LINK.

Enlightened women who choose to remain married do so because they have not found an upgrade yet. Perhaps they never will. But by making the right choice to marry for money, the enlightened woman will be financially secure in marriage and even more financially secure after a divorce! Enlightened women free themselves from servitude and drudgery and have the foresight to know that with a stroke of a judge's pen, they can have it all.