I have to disagree. The problem with Zoey running out of money has nothing to do with materialism, it's that it undermines the arc the Interlude was (presumably) supposed to be about. While the Interlude doesn't show the passage of time clearly, we know at least 6 months passed between when Zoey confronted Emma and when she returned home. In all that time, she never reached out to the MC. It's all well and good to say she learned not to take home for granted, but what actually happened is that she continued to stay in San Diego with her 3-4 friends until she could no longer afford to remain. The alleged revelation didn't have much effect.
Now sure, it's possible to claim the timing is a coincidence and she just needed a while to sort out her feelings; she'd have spent time weighting tables (or something) before returning home if she'd had a little less money. But there's nothing in the game itself that really suggests that. The far more likely explanation is that Zoey is still in denial about her feelings and is only returning because she has no viable alternative. Which means she's still in the same headspace she was when she left the MC, which in turn means the Interlude was a complete waste of time.
IMHO, that's just bad writing. A much better way to handle it would be to have Zoey choose to leave San Diego before she runs out of money. She doesn't need to have a large sum left or anything, the point isn't the amount. The point is that in this scenario, we see that Zoey really was changed by the revelation. She's able to accept her feelings, face her own shortcomings, and proactively reach for new goals. In other words, we'd see that Zoey has matured after her time in San Diego, just like the MC has matured while at B&R. That would put her in a much better position to serve as a romantic foil. I'm still not keen on that idea, but if we're going to do it we may as well do it right.
