“We’ve been madly in love, for almost a year now. Gifts, concerts, weekend getaways, we still surprise each other and it’s great. I’ve never met someone with the same taste as me. Plans pop up like mushrooms, and for the first time, it doesn’t seem like… Together we are a building of compromises, but rather a shared adventure.

Jake has a gift for choosing the right gift and I try to do the same for him. But I’m running out of steam on that. We do a lot of fun things, and it feels like the world is our oyster. Nothing is too crazy. My friend only earns twice as much as I do. He often gives gifts, and I do too when possible. I often make sure I pay for lunch so he can eat dinner.”

“It’s his birthday next week, and I really can’t afford to buy a book worth twenty euros. But the month has just begun and there are only 300 euros left in my account. I can no longer maintain this relationship financially and I don’t do it.” “I know how to deal with him.”

New Year’s Eve in Sydney

“I don’t want to be a boring bastard and whine about money, but I also don’t want to pay for everything for myself. He feels unfair when he takes care of most of the outings. Even when he says it makes it worth it.” I feel like he likes me, it doesn’t matter to Jake, but it matters to me, his generosity makes me feel small.

Next year he wants to go to Sydney for New Year’s Eve and for the first time I felt doubtful whether we would do it. Very nice plan, but I need to start saving now to be able to afford it. When I say something about it, Jake waves away. “We can dream,” he says. And of course that’s true.”

“People who have a lot of money also care a lot about money. How much something costs, what kind of service they expect, and how smart they should be with their money. Whereas: You’re not talking about money, so it’s often a matter of guesswork. The real situation “For things.”

The difference is in the gourmet taste

“I don’t know what Jake earns and he doesn’t know my payslip either. I can’t talk about investing and bitcoins, but I don’t mind that much. It’s the difference in tastes. Jake only likes wine if a bottle costs around twenty euros, but for me it doesn’t Absolutely worth it.

I can’t even taste it. “I’ve noticed more and more that our definition of fun comes at a different price, and even though Jake isn’t really posh, I feel like I’m a public person.”

“The great thing about these two worlds is that we also learn from each other. I’ve come to appreciate investing in quality, because Jake doesn’t just wave his money around. He chooses carefully and buys only with love. I like that.”

In turn, I teach Jake to enjoy the little things, like a walk in the dunes or a wide-ranging drink instead of a four-course dinner.

All the money is on the table

“I didn’t expect the income difference to have such a big impact. I always thought a rich friend was an advantage, but now it feels like a burden. To break the entertainment circus, I increasingly suggest getting a tiki sometimes I have to pay three times, Because Jake likes to keep giving, and I hope it works out.

Otherwise I will soon have to put everything on the table, because this relationship is costing me so much now. If he kicks me out after that, it won’t be worth the investment of time, money and love anyway. “If we can’t sit on the couch together and be perfectly happy with a movie and some popcorn and each other, is that love?”

The names in this article are fictitious. Their real names are known to the editors.

Wanted: Love Lessons

For RTL News Lifestyle’s Love Lessons section, we’re looking for love lessons that are beautiful, vulnerable, funny, inspiring and honest. An insight, a moment of contemplation. Preferably with your hand in your lap. In the end, did you turn out to be the person who is afraid of commitment? Should you have never immigrated for love or was a blended family just an illusion after all? Journalist Haneke Megenster would like to ask you about this. You can say anonymous. Email to: [email protected].