As young millennial women, we don't talk about money enough - how we use it, how we earn it, how we feel about it, and everything else in between. Money Talks is an xoNecole series where we talk candidly (and anonymously) to real women about how they spend money, their relationship with money, and how they get it.
In this installment of Money Talks, xoNecole chats with Simone Faulker*, a 25-year-old graduate student who had her credit card debt paid off by a sugar daddy who also sends her to Bergdorfs and pays for her facials. Here's what she had to say.
Interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Names have been changed to protect identity.
Did you always want a sugar daddy, or did you meet this man out of the blue?
I met him out of the blue, definitely. One night I was out at the bar with my friends, and Tim* came over and introduced himself. Of course, I wasn't paying him any mind because I could immediately tell he was older, but he was extremely persistent in a grown man way. I gave him my number and he called me the next day, and we started going out on dates.
Were you judged by family and friends when they found out you were dating an older man?
People definitely side-eyed me when he and I first started going places. My friends were surprised that I was still talking to him, which is understandable because he and I are twenty years apart. He and I didn't care though because we both wanted something out of this and we were both fulfilled.
What were the things you and he wanted?
Well, Tim works in finance and has worked in the industry for a long time. He made it known to me, almost immediately, that he had money and he wanted to financially take care of me. Of course, he also 'wins' because he gets a pretty girl on his arm when he has to attend galas and fancy meetings and whatever else he has to go to. We love to sit and talk to each other, so it's not like we can't stand one another.
Did it ever bother you being financially dependent on a man? There are still money taboos around women when it comes to money.
I was uncomfortable at first and would tell him he didn't need to buy me this or that. But if we were in a department store and he saw me looking at something, he would come back and get it later if I didn't agree that I wanted it then. Money is not the most important thing in the world, but I definitely learned how liberating life could be when you don't have to worry about bills and you can have a lot of the things you want. Sometimes he would just give me money, which I would use for things like my tuition money, books, and my hair or nails.
"Money is not the most important thing in the world, but I definitely learned how liberating life could be when you don't have to worry about bills and you can have a lot of the things you want."
Are there any parameters you have to abide by?
Not really. Obviously there's an emphasis on my looks, like making sure my hair or my nails always look nice. I get facials once a month and have a membership at Equinox so I can stay in shape. He usually doesn't like for me to wear the same thing at events, so he will usually schedule for me to go somewhere like Barneys or Saks to get a dress and any alterations. I get asked by my friends a lot if I am obligated to have sex with him, and that's never been something he has pushed on to me or forced me to do in exchange for money.
There are other women he talks to and possibly wines and dines, but that has never been a breaking point for us and something that directly impacts our relationship.
But do you guys have sex?
Yes.
What's been the largest financial act he's done for you?
The largest single moment was when he paid off my credit card debt. It was about $15,000, and had mostly happened from a lack of knowledge on using a credit card while in college. One day he came home and said that he had paid it off. Of course, he pays for other things that can get pretty close to that number, but that's the biggest one that comes to mind immediately.
If you don't mind me asking, what else does he pay for?
He pays my rent, gives me money for food, my hair, my nails, and sometimes a clothing allowance. I pay for graduate school myself because investing in my own education is very important. I use that for important events or situations that I need something to wear. I wish people, not just women, would stop looking down on situations like mine because they don't know everything on the backend. People may see me as small or dependent on him for finances, but I know how to take care of myself. I'm in important rooms with important people and I get to learn and network. I get to focus on the things that matter to me while also having fun.
If that's not liberating, or at least reclaiming power in my own way, then I don't know what is.
"If that's not liberating, or at least reclaiming power in my own way, then I don't know what is."
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