Bothered that he is always broke!

Illustration/Uday Mohite

My boyfriend is around five years younger than I am and always broke. I know this isn't his fault because he has responsibilities to his family and doesn't earn as much as I do, but it creates some tension between us when we are on a date. My friends think it's strange that I am with someone younger, but I have never had a problem with it. He and I understand each other well and have a strong emotional connection that my friends don't see. I don't want to lose him just because of money and keep trying to make it easier for him until he starts to earn more. What should I do to stop things from getting to a point where he feels as if I control him? I don't want that insecurity to destroy what we have.
If this is already a problem, the only way out is to come up with financial rules that address the inequality. You can't stop someone from feeling insecure, but what you can do is highlight what works about your relationship and talk about what you want to prevent. Financial issues can cause a rift even between people who earn a lot of money, so this isn't an unusual situation. If you say you understand each other well, use that to your advantage by being more honest about what you both earn and why it makes you worry about a future with this person.

I went on a date with someone I found using an app, and we had a great time. He called the next day, and we made plans to go out again but, since then, he has not responded to my messages. This isn't okay and I don't know if it means he's not interested. What do I do?
Think about how long you are prepared to wait and, if he doesn't respond, assume that he is being disrespectful and not worth wasting more time on. Ghosting may be common, but that doesn't make it okay.

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