What do you feel when you give an allowance?

I’m Saito, a column writer♪ > When I hear about my papa’s private life—his travels, luxury watches, and dining—I really feel how wealthy he is. There’s also a lot of effort and hardship behind the scenes, so please try to appreciate those aspects as well.

I’m Dai, a male member. Men aren’t exactly sitting around with nothing to do, so if meeting someone doesn’t feel worthwhile, they won’t keep seeing her. I doubt many men think of tens of thousands of yen as being the same as a convenience-store drink. The wealthier someone is, the less likely they are to spend money on things they don’t need. Have confidence!

I’m Date◎Yume, a male member. A lot went into getting to the point of dating, so I’m grateful, I guess (lol). I always say, “Thank you…” and hand over the allowance. If he keeps meeting with you, it’s because you’re one of his favorites. You should feel confident about that. Convenience-store tea and an allowance for dating are two completely different things—you can’t compare them.

I’m Flagmaker, a columnist. It’s “nothing.” I don’t feel any particular emotion—I just hand it over and say, “Here you go.”

When I go grocery shopping, I’ve noticed that cabbage—until recently, a model of affordability at 98 yen per head—has gradually started rising to 148 yen, while many other vegetables have doubled or tripled in price. I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. Anyone would lose the desire to buy something that has gone up by 50%, let alone doubled or tripled in price. I wouldn’t feel like buying a single cucumber for 148 yen—3.4 times its usual price. By the tenth meeting, I’m sure you’ll be filled with happiness at being able to meet, along with joy and gratitude for the time you’ve spent together. Likewise, I think it’s important that you, the person asking the question, don’t lose your sense of joy at being able to meet or your gratitude for being fortunate enough to keep the arrangement going.

Why does it make you sad? Just because he’s wealthy, do you feel he should give you more? To a wealthy person, does a small amount even matter? No matter how rich your papa (a male supporter) is, you should judge things based on your own standards. Since you’re not able to earn that much yourself, wouldn’t it be enough to accept the amount and simply say thank you? Akari

I’m Maezawa from the President’s Office, and I’ll answer as well. > Can I feel confident that he thinks I’m worth continuing to see? Men don’t keep meeting someone they don’t want to see. I’m not sure whether you should feel confident or not, but I don’t think you need to worry about that part. That said, if your confidence leads you to let your guard down, he may end up pulling away. So I think it’s best to continue as you have been. > Sometimes I feel a little sad thinking that, to a papa, an allowance of tens of thousands of yen might feel like buying a convenience-store tea. I don’t know how much your allowance was when you were around middle-school age, but let’s say it was ¥10,000 a month. If you now earn about ¥200,000 a month, your income has increased twentyfold. Would you be able to drink a ¥2,000 tea with the same casual feeling as a ¥100 convenience-store tea? Thinking of it that way may make it easier to understand. Or perhaps it’s clearer to imagine seeing both a ¥100 tea and a ¥2,000 tea for sale at a convenience store, and asking yourself whether you could casually choose the ¥2,000 one. People can afford to spend money on things they consider worthwhile. But for someone who thinks tea should cost ¥100, no matter how much they earn, ¥100 will still feel sufficient. Of course, people who care about the aroma of their tea may buy high-quality leaves, carefully prepare them with hot water, and enjoy them. It depends on how particular someone is and how much value they place on it.

I’m Shingo Lee, a columnist. No matter how much money you earn, the value of a single yen doesn’t really change. If something that cost 100 yen goes up to 110 yen, you still think, “That’s gotten more expensive.” You might buy a ¥30,000 T-shirt because it feels worth 20 times as much as a ¥1,500 one. The ¥50,000 your papa (a male supporter) gives you probably doesn’t feel all that different from ¥50,000 to him. People often say that the more money someone saves, the stingier they become. So rather than you buying ¥50,000 worth of clothes, the ¥50,000 your papa gives you because he cares about you might actually be a greater “psychological burden” for him.

I’m a male member who’s basically a loser. 80% gratitude 20% “Sorry it’s only this much” That’s the mindset I have when I give an allowance. I know my allowance is higher than the going rate, but when the time comes to hand it to a woman, I’m thinking in terms of an “absolute evaluation, not a relative one.” Sorry, I’m not very smart. Could someone translate what I mean? (汗) I always find myself wondering whether this is really enough for an old guy like me to borrow the body of a young woman... By the way, I almost never shop at convenience stores. For example, I’ll see a can of coffee at a convenience store and think, “130 yen? That’s expensive!” Then I hesitate to buy it and desperately search for a cheaper can from the store’s private brand—100 yen. There’s absolutely no way I’d ever go alone to afternoon tea at a five-star hotel. Even Starbucks feels “too expensive!” to me, so I rarely go in. A Ferrari or Bentley is out of the question. My credit cards are, without a doubt, a free Rakuten Card or an AEON Card—which is also free. If I’m going to spend money on something like that, I’d get much more satisfaction from giving the cash to a woman. ■ Mac-san I don’t understand myself as well as anyone else does, so if a professional observer of human nature like Mac-san says that’s what I’m like, then I suppose it must be true. There’s one goal I want to achieve, and that is: “To become the best papa in Japan.” Of course, I mean the best overall—not simply the one who gives the most money. Even someone as slow-witted as me has vaguely realized that giving too much isn’t a good thing. But I still want to give as much as I can—right up to the line before it becomes too much. And even after giving it, I don’t really make any demands of the woman. I’m currently indulging in the fantasy of finding out whether it’s possible to support a woman’s life almost like air, without making a big deal of it, and make her happy—especially the girl who’s currently my ace. Mac-san, with all your life experience, please teach me all sorts of things. I’m really not very smart. I’d also love to hear from the women involved in papa-katsu about your ideal image of a papa. I honestly have no idea how to make a woman happy... I don’t really care about myself anymore. I’ve already achieved most of my dreams and goals. I want someone to give me a goal to live for. I can’t go on living without one. ■ Mac-san, Part Two Let’s have tea sometime with the woman you met today, ○○-san, and use it as a chance to confirm whether we’re connected. We might even turn out to be three brothers. (笑) I’d love for you to teach me all about the way of the papa. I feel terrible that there’s absolutely nothing I can contribute to you, Mac-san...

I’m Kazu, a male member. It’s simply understood that this is part of meeting up, so I don’t give it much thought. If we keep seeing each other, I assume there’s value in meeting. For a papa (a male supporter), convenience-store tea costs a little over a hundred yen, while tens of thousands of yen is still tens of thousands of yen. That’s just how numbers work.