Posted on 09/01/2006 6:00:41 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Womenn: Money more important than looks in a man
By Jennifer Hill Thu Aug 31, 9:44 PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Women regard healthy finances as more important than good looks in a man, according to a survey on Friday.
Almost half (45 percent) said a healthy bank balance is more significant than physical attractiveness in a potential partner, according to National Savings & Investments' (NS&I) latest quarterly savings survey.
Just 22 percent of men, however, rate finances above looks in women.
A salary of almost 50,000 pounds a year is demonstrative of male financial success, according to women.
Men need to earn at least 49,247 pounds a year before women consider them successful and wealthy, the study found. And more than one in 10 women would only consider a partner to be successful if they are earning 100,000 pounds or more.
Men were found to have lower expectations, saying they would deem women earning 42,147 pounds to be successful and wealthy.
On the savings front, women expect their men to have an average of 24,281 pounds in savings -- compared to 20,335 pounds in reality -- while men are happy with savings of 15,143 pounds among women, much in line with an actual average of 14,167 pounds.
Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I, said: "Finances form a very important part of relationship dynamics and this is reflected in the expectations people have, both in terms of salary and savings levels. Maybe people do believe they can buy happiness after all."
Despite marked differences in expectations, 64 percent of those questioned agree that financial security is important to the success of a relationship.
Kate Maycock, from Relate, said: "Feeling financially insecure will put some strains on a relationship.
"These latest figures bear out that two people are unlikely to exactly agree on what is a healthy nest-egg and what is a financial crisis.
"Accept that you will not change your partner's attitude to money, but that the two of you can come to an agreement on how you will manage your differences and plan your saving."
The research also found that regular savings are on the increase. Average monthly savings were 87.85 pounds in the three months to end-July, up 8 percent on the year.
This savings rate -- equal to 6.8 percent of average income -- is second only to a high of 89.11 pounds recorded in autumn last year.
Around 54 percent of the population put money away each month. They are saving 174.50 pounds a month -- a 10.3 percent increase on this time last year.
LOL! Perfect.
Or Fred and Ethel.
Did I say it was my experience I was talking about?
whether on either side at the location of the wallet, or dead center....it always comes down to the size of the bulge in your pants.. (j/k)
So that was just random, undirected bitterness? okay.
No, Ethel's too classy to hang with you guys.
I signed up for Match.com and it seems every woman I get interested in desires an income of $150K+ for her prospective mate. Leaves my opportunities very slim.
Ahhh, thank you.
I know personally of at least five cases where a woman left a good man to "trade up" to a guy that she liked less but made more money and one of those five cases happened to me. For men it is just a fact of life.
Sorry to hear that. Ironically, in my rural area, the opposite seems to happen. I know several cases of the sugar mama effect. These people aren't generally rich, mind you, but it goes like this: Avid outdoors man marries woman. She works full time, pays for house payment (because in the words of one guy, 'hey, she wanted to get married'), buys groceries, arranges childcare if they have a child, and naturally, if she can go back to work before her 6 weeks of maternity leave are up, all the better. Basically she pays for everything, has meals ready on demand, and he spends all his money on his hunting/fishing/snowmobiling needs. And beer. I know more than a few couples with this arrangement. And it's not like the ladies are making big bucks, either, they're very frugal, they have to be. One couple I know recently broke up over it. But most just go on like that...
Like these foam ones:
That could be more of a flirtation, than a deterrent... Not that you'd mind so much...
Tee hee! ;-)
As long as the man has a stable job and can provide for his family, that's the only part of "money" that matters to me. But I say he has to have decent looks too. For me, it's an equal amount of both.
Must women always be so hyper-sensitive? Its like 90% of the time that women claim a man was 'shouting', if you got a recording out, you'd hear him talking in a normal tone of voice.
OTOH, when she is screaming for an hour like an irrational banshee, it becomes a "discussion" when she brings it up later....
*LOL*
Well darn. All these years we had it wrong.
When we met, she was 20 years old and had already achieved her BA. I was a high school dropout. Actually, I had been kicked out. I had been the classroom cutup, a rebel, school bored me to death and at 17 1/2, all I wanted to do was jump out of planes and kill people.
We became best friends and have remained best friends for over 33 years. This remarkably beautiful, loving, talented, God fearing and just plain fun lady, has been by my side through thick and thin. She has helped me become all that I am.
We share in everything, good and bad. We have been poor and we have accumulated a reasonable wealth. We...that's right, WE did it.
While we enjoy the freedom that comes with a few bucks ( I love toys and building memories), we would still enjoy each other if we were flat broke.
I buy her flowers and other gifts out of the blue..I like spontaneity and she loves it.
After 33 years, tons of fun and raising two great children, we are still on our honeymoon.
For me, the success in our world.... has been starting out as best friends, keeping life fun, making her laugh each and every day, and her remarkable beauty--both inside and out.
I only wish I would have aged (damn hair) as gracefully as she has. When I look into her eyes, I still see my 20 year old Bride and she still sees her 23 year old cowboy (with less hair...damn).
She remains the reason my heart bothers to take it's beat and why I continue to breath.
I repeat...be real, be yourself and perhaps most importantly....find a best friend and go from there.
I can definitely believe it.
Emperor Pissanticus doing the daily shopping.
That which makes the nest safest is that which attracts women. In our era, and for some time now, that is money.
***
Exactly. No shock here. Conversely, men are attracted to women who appear to be nubile because, at the glandular level, they are hardwired to seek the best chances of passing on their genes. An ugly rich man has much greater appeal to women than an ugly rich woman does to men. It's just biology.
See #99. It's just a biological imperative.
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