by Alicia Heckaman and John Evons of John Adams High School in South Bend, Indiana

Girls | Boys

OK, girls, would you not agree that we bust our butts and our wallets to look nice for our boyfriends? They're complaining that they have to spend so much on our dinners and our movies. What they don't realize is how much we spend just so we can look nice for them.

For Friday nights you basically need an outfit which will cost about $60 keeping in mind you are a bargain shopper. You will also need nail polish ($2), mousse ($10), a hair straightener ($20), body spray and lotion ($35), make-up ($30), and new shampoo and conditioner. What guys don't realize is that girls need top-quality hair products. Guys use the $3 Head and Shoulders. We buy the $10 shampoo and the $12 conditioner. You can't forget the cell phone bill ($80) for when you need to call your friend to rescue you from a bad date.

Aspirin ($4) is essential when he gives you a headache because he complains too much about having to pay for the date.

Then, you have to take into account the money we spend when he stands us up. $1 to rent a movie, $2 for tissues, and $10 for snacks. That's about $220 just for Friday nights. There's no way dinner and a movie adds up to that!

Now, let's consider those formal dances! For the perfect Cinderella-type hair, girls have to go to a salon. They need a haircut ($35), highlights ($75) and then have it styled. Plus you have to give a good tip because the stylist did so well ($15). Then you need to get all new Clinique make-up ($115) and jewelry. A necklace ($50) and earrings ($60) will do great. You can't forget your nails! A manicure and pedicure will add up to $30 plus a $10 tip.

Now the good stuff: shoes and a dress, a girl's must-haves. You find a Versace dress for $3,000 and Gucci shoes for $1,000. Next thing on the agenda: a matching purse! You're lucky enough to find a Prada purse for $500, a HUGE bargain. For his boutonniere you end up spending only $7. Not bad.

There are also parties to go to after the formal and you don't want to take the chance of ruining your $3,000 dress with spilled pop. You spend another $20 on a cute shirt you'll wear with a pair of your jeans.

We all know that girls have to pay for the pictures, too ($30). Along with professional pictures, girls always need personal pictures. A Kodak disposable camera is around $8. Bad breath can be a killer for your night, so you need gum and mints which is another $3. The total for your Cinderella-type-nigh with Prince Charming is $5,341.

Now your boyfriend has a birthday, too. You want to make it extra special. He absolutely loves a specific band or sports team. You buy him tickets. Tickets cost a pretty penny these days. Let's say two tickets cost $100. That's a good price, too. You guys go out to dinner and for once, you pick up the bill. It's about $21 for a dinner at Chili's. Plus, take into account birthdays, anniversaries, sick days, and those days you pick up the bill. (Yes, girls can do that! It's the 21st century, ya know.)

There is so much more girls spend money on for their boyfriends but I don't want to take up the whole page.

Girls spend approximately $6,000 on their boyfriends. I don't know what the guys are talking about when they say it's expensive to have a girlfriend!

Boys | Girls

As a guy, I am faced with the wonderful role of being a boyfriend to some lucky lady out there. Unfortunately, that means my wallet now has a date as well. With my immense income of $60 a week, I'm on what we would call a bit of a "budget." Any guy would know that a typical night out with your girlfriend can range from $20-$30 easily, a shot. In my case, that's half my money. On top of gas, which is $20 a week, and a haircut depending on the time of the month, this doesn't give me a lot to work with. After gas and a haircut, I am left with $30 to spend on my girlfriend. In some circumstances, she'll offer to pay, yet, any rational guy always knows to pick up the tab.

Let's say we decide to see a movie. Although South Bend, Indiana is a thriving metropolis with numerous things for a teenage guy and his girlfriend to do, this is an opportunity to relax from the busy week at school. The tickets are, ehh, about $7.50 apiece; luckily, that student discount kicks in, leaving a ticket purchase of $11. That leaves me with a whopping $19. Now I'm walking in praying to the lords of my wallet that she's not in the mood for snacks. But, oh, they don't have mercy on me. She wants popcorn, and with popcorn you have to get a drink because you can't let her be thirsty from all the salty popcorn she just inhaled. After food, I am left with a grand total of (DRUMROLL PLEASE!) $10.

At this point I've realized that the money-spending portion of my weekend is over and I'm done with. The hardest part about this is when the holidays roll around or her birthday. This is when massive budgeting skills come in handy. I go to the mall, and look at the things I think she might like, but will probably laugh at. I explain to her friends that I'm on a mission to find the perfect gift. Uh oh, what's that? Is that a shirt that she said she wanted on sale? I make my way to the rack and finally decide on a size. It's probably too small, but that's not so bad for me (every guy knows that if you buy a size too big she will never forgive you. . . EVER!).

I leave the mall proud of my budgeting skills. Many scenarios come into play when a guy has a girlfriend, which usually requires money. For example, we get into a fight and of course she's always right and I'm the one at her door at 2 a.m. with flowers. That's not exactly lightweight on the wallet. My friend, the wallet, has taken a beating these past two years. I would have to say that having a girlfriend is a great thing, and I would recommend it, it's just not good in a city like South Bend. We all know there is nothing to do except eat and see movies. Girls, on the other hand, are experts at exaggerating their expenses.

Girl: "Oh, John, how am I ever going to afford prom? It could cost me almost $1,000."

Boy: "Riiight. . .why don't you go find a dress in your mom's closet and go to Payless and get some new shoes? That should cost, what, about $30. Then why don't you go get your make-up done by your mom for free! Go to the (not so stylish) salon and get your hair styled, that should cost you about $30. Hmm. . . That leaves you with a grand total of $60! A typical weekend payment for me!" Tahdah!

I have just proved that a guy spends 52 times as much as a girl each year. Now that I have had the pleasure of reading the lies that my partner has written in her fantasy article about girls paying money, I will start to list my "fantasy" expenses: 1.) Armani suit, $1,600. 2.) Alligator shoes, $500. 3.) Dinner at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, $300 (without dessert). 4.) Cadillac Escalade Limo Rental, $400/hr for three hours ($1,200). 5.) Back-up pair of alligator shoes with gold laces, $500. That brings my grand total to roughly $3,800 in one tiring night!

I'd just like to say that if one plans on getting into a relationship, he should look into a local financial institution first. That is, Bank One, Teacher's Credit Union, and First Source. All of these places offer great loan rates.