As much as the thought of dating someone solely for how they make you feel sounds romantic, it doesn’t work in reality.

Yes, you should want to date someone that makes you feel good.

But when you are thinking about someone to date for the long term, that person’s income level is highly important.

It gives you insight into the person’s relationship with money and their ambition.

When you allow yourself to fall for the romantic notion that it should be all about how you make each other feel, you will live to regret it.

Dating is serious work, especially when you are looking for a long-term partner.

Real-life dating isn’t a romance movie.

A romance movie is scripted, written to appeal to the emotions of those watching.

It’s about making the viewer feel goosebumps and a dopamine rush.

A happy viewer is likely to return to watch another movie by the same creator.

That gives the creator further notoriety and wealth.

Sadly, watching the protagonists ride off on a horse-drawn carriage to live happily ever after at the end of the movie isn’t true to life.

In real life, there’s a whole lot of living to do after the credits roll.

There are future hurdles to contend with, as a happy relationship is never a clean slate.

It is in this future that a person’s income level becomes a major factor in a relationship.

Statistics show that the biggest killer of relationships is that of finances and a lack thereof.

Considering a person’s income level gives you an ability to determine what a relationship with said person will look like down the road.

If you decide to date a man who makes significantly less money than you, there will be future resentment as you find yourself having to bear the brunt of paying for the majority of the bills.

Regardless of how he swept you off of your feet when he was courting you, that honeymoon phase has ended.

This is real life.

In real life, there are bills to pay.

That is the harsh reality of life.

Letting yourself get carried away with how good he makes you feel and deciding to date him without taking his income level into account is akin to jumping off a plane without a parachute.

You have a certain lifestyle.

It’s inevitable you grow to resent a man whose income level is so insufficient compared to yours; you are repeatedly footing the bill to pay for vacations, home repairs, a mortgage, etc.

In time, a man whose income level is drastically lower than yours won’t look like a man.

In the early phase of dating, your body is influenced by neurotransmitters such as dopamine and oxytocin, which make you euphoric and bonded to him.

But this wears out with time.

His income level becomes front and center once it wears off and the reality of dating someone else that you are sharing your life with on a day-to-day basis sets in.

Do not waste your time dating a man who doesn’t meet an income level that at least allows him to match your lifestyle.

Without this consideration, your relationship won’t succeed.