The Busy Person's Guide To Romance

Romance isn't overrated; it's wonderful. Really. But so is eating caviar off a stripper in the back of a limo (well, for some people). In terms of time, in terms of money, in terms of inclination, romance is just unaffordable in this economy, when you've got three crappy jobs and two underwater mortgages and a Facebook page and a Twitter feed. He Said, She Said: Is Your Man Romantic Enough?

Casanova himself couldn't keep up with the ideals of romance set forth by today's helpful movies. Every year the gap widens between what handsome, rugged Hollywood millionaires can pull off in stunning HD—surprising you with the house of your dreams, filling your sorority lawn with daffodils, racing along the beach on horseback with your piano, risking their secret vampire identity to stop you from getting on that plane—and what little, old you can. Why Guys Hate Date Movies

When you don't have time/money/inclination for romance defined by such wide-screen dreams, the risk is that you fold up your tent and do nothing at all. Out here in the post-recession real world, if romantic gestures mean hours of setup time and a limitless credit card and police permits and a crew of carpenters, it simply ain't gonna get done. But no romance at all is a dangerous game to play for any forward-thinking relationship. Male Take: Why Romance Matters

Hypothetical help is on its way! If you find yourself intimidated by keeping up with the Bridget Joneses and settling for nothing instead, RoMints might be for you.

RoMints are delicious, bite size nuggets of romance anyone can pull off for tiny scraps of cash and commitment. It's not the rebuilding of the 200-year-old dream home from The Notebook… it's more the holding up of the cue cards from Love Actually. RoMints are wafer thin, and significantly less filling than the real deal. But they taste great, and they remind your significantly ignored other, in a small but achievable way, that you really are thinking about them, even if you don't always drag out your cracked and battered credit card to prove it.

Surgeon General's warning: RoMints have no nutritional value. They are not meant to substitute for a healthy recommended allowance of actual romance—they are just slightly better than nothing. How To Be Romantic

Ideally, RoMints should cost less than $20 and take less than 20 minutes to execute. You literally can't NOT have time for them. Here are a couple of RoMints ideas: mostly gender-neutral, all theoretically achievable. And feel free to share your personal experiences in the comments section… It's us vs. Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock, and we're all in this together.