My all-time favorite movie is Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  Even though it’s insanely glamorous, infused with oddball humor, and driven by some pretty wacky plotlines, it has this really warm, sincere core that most movies don’t have.  One of the reasons for this, I suspect, is that it’s one of very few romantic comedies where people are actually worried about money.

I’m sure that as a personal finance blogger I’m thinking and talking about money a little more than most people.  Still, though, I also notice that people on television and in the movies hardly ever talk about money at all, even though our finances inform our lifestyles, dreams and fears right at their foundations.  I can’t be the only one who sits in front of the TV and constantly asks, “But how is she even paying her rent?” (Yeah, Carrie Bradshaw, I’m looking at you.)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s answers that question.  Holly pays her rent by trading her time as a party girl; Paul is “kept” by a wealthy society dame.  The film is driven by the conflict between maintaining these lifestyles and maintaining their integrity, especially in the face of their increasing romantic entanglement.  And it’s so interesting! Why don’t more people make movies about paying rent?

Each week, Holly visits mob boss Sally Tomato in prison, and passes along messages for him.  After she tells him she’s having trouble saving money, he tells her to switch to a cash-only lifestyle and to track all of her income and expenses.  (Sound advice is sound advice, after all!)

Sally Tomato reads Holly’s expenses to Paul, a writer, and tells him that one day he’ll be able to take this little book and turn it into a novel.  Holly demurs, saying no one would want to read it, and Sally Tomato says, “No, this here will break your heart.”

This makes for such an interesting story because it’s based on something a lot simpler and truer than the convoluted setups of most romantic comedies.  It recognizes that the characters’ lives depend on their money-which shouldn’t be so strange, but it’s a realization that even real people tend to avoid as long as they can.  We all have to get real about our finances eventually-if an awesome old movie full of Givenchy gowns can help us get there, that’s even better.

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Melissa Eastlake is a contributing writer at Queercents, a syndicate of personal finance writers serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Since its launch, Queercents has offered up daily tips and financial commentary to over 250,000 visitors.