Will making more money make me more popular with girls? It’s an age old question and you’d think the answer would be a simple yes. But as rom-coms and countless 80s songs have taught us, things aren’t always so black and white.

The first thing I want to say is that you will need money if you want to be in the dating game. But that doesn’t mean you have to have a lot of money. The real trick is what you do with your money, how you invest it in yourself as well as your relationships.

One of the first things we think about when it comes to money and women, is the fear of gold diggers. Obviously there are women out there who want to be with a man of wealth for the materialistic gains she might benefit from the relationship, but that doesn’t mean that women will only want you for your money.

The money you earn after all doesn’t have to spent on your girlfriend. There are a lot of ways that having a higher income can help you become more popular with women, without simply saying “I can buy you designer bags.”

When it comes to relationships, invest in yourself. You should always strive to make yourself a better person and a more attractive potential partner. There are good, cheap ways of doing this, such as gaining an interesting hobby  (playing an instrument, learning a new language) and there are also ways of self improvement that’ll cost a bit.

Wardrobe – Never underestimate the power of a good set of clothes. Most people will wear clothes they feel comfortable in, normally a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. It might sound silly, but a t-shirt made from a really good material and in the right size and style for your body shape can make a huge difference to a t-shirt you bought from Walmart. Some people don’t want to spend $50 on a t-shirt, and you don’t have to, but next time you’re out shopping try looking for things that are made with a little more quality.

Look out for styles and colours that match your body type and skin colour. Blue might be your favourite colour, but have you tried wearing a red top recently? Statistics have shown women are actually more attracted to men in white or red tshirts over any other colours.

A good pair of shoes will always make you look better. I’m not talking about limited edition trainers, but a solid pair of leather shoes in a nice brown colour can make any outfit look a little bit smarter and just adds that extra detail for your date to notice.

Personal Grooming – Whether you have long hair, short hair, beard or no beard, getting yourself a proper hair cut goes a long way. Forking out to go to a more established barbers on the nice end of town is worth it for the expertise. You might not be rocking a hair cut that properly frames your bone structure, and getting trimmed instantly makes you more appealing to women.

Look after your skin. Skincare might seem like something for women, all that cleansing and moisturising, but good skin goes a long way for guys too. Try to clean and moisturise every day, exfoliate once a week and also look into getting something to firm up your skin if you see wrinkles. Looking younger and fresher is always a good thing.

Personal Fitness and Hobbies – Keeping in shape and having a good body will always be attractive to girls. Whilst you can of course do running and exercises at home, it can really help to go to a gym with lots of weights and machines, or even get help from a personal trainer. There are both cheap and expensive options when it comes to personal fitness, but from personal experience, having a trainer really keeps you motivated and  constant.

A man with a lot of interests is more interesting than a man with nothing. Picking up new hobbies is easy and fun. They can be pretty much anything, but I would really suggest having a range of hobbies that are good to do alone as well as hobbies that include groups. Playing team sports such as football ticks both the hobby box and the fitness box.

By having more hobbies, you have more things about yourself that you can talk about, and more things that you have that you can relate with someone else on. Group activities gets you out and socialising which also gives you a chance to meet more people.

Dates – Going on dates might not be about 5 star hotels and trips abroad every weekend, but there is a cost to dating. Going for meals out, going to the cinema, buying good ingredients to make a meal at home all costs money. In a good relationship you’ll want to be able to go out on regular dates, because this keeps your relationship fun and interesting. If you have more money, you have more opportunities and activities you can offer your potential partner. Always try and keep a budget in mind for dates.

In conclusion, I really believe that to be popular with girls you do need a bit of money. A lot of things that make you attractive and popular to girls can be done cheaply, but like in video games, upgrading your gear or yourself can vastly improve your chances of winning.