Over at our fellow WSJ blog, The Wallet, there's a provocative Q & A with the authors of a new book called 'Smart Girls Marry Money,' a satirical self-help book which has a serious mission: to get women and men to talk more about marriage and finances.

The book came into being when the two working-mom authors, Elizabeth Ford and Daniela Drake, M.D., met while picking up their young children from preschool. They noticed that the moms who were able to spend the most time with their kids were the 'moms who hadn't necessarily taken their careers seriously and married someone with money,' said Dr. Drake in the interview. 'It became a joke that if we were smart, we would have married for money.'

The authors aren't saying that every woman should aspire to marry a rich guy. But they argue that marriage shouldn't just be about love—it should also be an economic partnership (as marriage traditionally was for centuries.) Women and men should be more upfront about marriage and money, instead of entering marriage starry-eyed without considering the financial future.

Dr. Drake, in the interview, also asserted that women shouldn't abandon their careers, in case of a spouse's illness or divorce. 'It's an important asset,' she said. (The full Q & A can be found here.)

The interview struck a chord for me: I happen to know quite a few women, especially back in New York, for whom the net worth of their potential spouses—or at least their earning potential—was an important factor in determining suitability for marriage. I'm not saying these women married solely for money, but it was a key consideration. Now, after having children—or in some cases, after marriage none of these women work.

Readers, do you know women or men who have married for money? How important, honestly, were financial considerations when evaluating your partner?

在《华尔街日报》网上博客“The Wallet”中，新书《聪明女孩嫁给钱》(Smart Girls Marry Money)的两位作者与读者之间进行了颇有争议的问答。这是一本讽刺性自助书籍，它的一个重大使命就是：让女人和男人多谈谈婚姻和财务状况。

玛丽莲•梦露在1953年出品的电影《如何嫁给百万富翁》中的剧照这本书的两位作者福特(Elizabeth Ford)和德雷克(Daniela Drake)都是上班族妈妈。她们从幼儿园接孩子的时候碰上了，这本书就这样诞生了。德雷克在接受采访时说，她们注意到，能花最多时间和孩子在一起的妈妈们并不一定是在事业上兢兢业业的人，而是嫁给了有钱人的女性。她说，聪明的话就嫁有钱人这个说法曾一度成了笑话。

两位作者的意思并不是说，每个女性都应该立志嫁给有钱人。不过她们说，婚姻并不是光有爱情就够了，还应该是经济上的伙伴关系（就像几百年来婚姻的传统模式一样）。女性和男性应该在婚姻和金钱的问题上更加坦率，而不是在没有考虑财务未来的情况下就满脑子幻想地步入婚姻的殿堂。

德雷克在采访中还主张，女性不应该放弃自己的事业，以防伴侣生病或是夫妻二人离婚。她说，这是一项重要的资产。

这个采访让我深有同感：我碰巧认识很多女性，特别是在纽约的时候，对她们来说，潜在伴侣的净资产──或至少他们的赚钱潜力──是决定是否适合婚嫁的重要因素。我并不是说，这些女性纯粹为了钱而结婚，而是说钱是一个重要的考虑因素。现在，这些人在有了孩子之后（有些人在婚后）没有一个在工作。

读者朋友们，你们认识为了钱而结婚的女性或男性吗？坦白的讲，金钱因素在评估另一半时有多重要？