10 Dating Tips for Rich Men

When it comes to dating, being wealthy can leave you tripping over your own assets. For those of you who'd like to date a woman who loves you more than your money, I present:

Dating Tips for Rich Guys

1. Ditch the CrackBerry.
We know you're a very important person. You know you're a very important person. If your PDA has become so significant that you can't sit through a meal without checking in, perhaps you should be taking it out on a date. For now, focus on the person in front of you.

2. Pick Up the Check ...
If you ask for the date, you pick up the check. Period. This is an opportunity to show you're assertive, decisive and more importantly, a gentleman. She can get the next one, or better yet, she can invite you over for a homemade meal. This one's on you.

3. ... Not the Waitress.
Do not attempt to hit on any other women while you are on a date. Often, women will "pass" a date along to other women (friends, sisters), but only if she thinks you're great. This means giving her your undivided attention for the evening. You can be with her best friend next week, and she might just help you get there, but for now, you're with her.

4. Don't Spend More Than $100 on the First Date.
During the dot-com boom, I was taken to Napa Valley on a very expensive first date. He arrived at my San Francisco apartment with a limo, and we were driven around Napa, where we shared bottles of wine and ate more than I usually do in a week. Before going home, we went for mud baths and couples massages.

Though I enjoyed it, and thanked my date profusely, I couldn't help but think that he was trying too hard. A few years later, I went to Napa with another date. We drove up in an old convertible, rented bicycles, filled a picnic basked with treats along the way, and romped in a hot spring that we found. It was a blast. Just because you have the money doesn't mean you have to spend it.

5. Talk About Your Kids ...
If you've got kids, tell her. Heck, show her a picture or two. If you're spending a good portion of the date talking about your sexy new Babolat racket and your golf bag full of TaylorMades, find a way to work Jack and Sophie into the conversation. She wants to know.

6. ... Not Your Ex.
The wine is flowing, and you find yourself sitting across from a doe-eyed beauty who is hanging on your every word. No one has listened to you like this in years. You're relaxed, comfortable and suddenly you want to blurt out your deepest darkest about your ex-wives, ex-girlfriends and your overbearing mother. She liked you so much until then. If the phrase "psycho bitch" comes to mind, change the topic.

7. Lose the Wife.
I am shocked by the number of ringless guys who casually mention their wife several weeks (or months) into dating. That divorce you've been working on for the better part of a decade? Get 'er done.

8. Enjoy What You Spend Your Money On.
I recently went out with a man who ordered a bottle of the most expensive sake in the house as we were leaving the restaurant. He took a swig, left the bottle on the table, and said, "I make $100,000 per month, this means nothing to me." Yowza. Instead of taking time to enjoy the best bottle of sake in one of the top sushi restaurants in New York, he enjoyed leaving it on the table. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

9. Splurge on the Free Stuff.
It's not the dozens of roses you send, it's the wildflowers you gather from the highway median. It's the way you stand up in a restaurant when she arrives, and how you help her with her coat. It's that you send a text message when you wake up and yes, the graceful way you get the door. I recently took my dog for a walk during a date and he offered to pick up what she left at the curb. Though you need not take it that far, his offer was sweet, and I'll remember that.

10. Show Restraint.
When you walk her to the door, instead of asking to come in, give a tender goodbye kiss and leave it at that. Nothing is as delicious as the first bite of dessert, and nothing is as intoxicating as wanting more.