Who Should Pay on First Dates

A particular touchy subject when it comes to first dates is who will take the tab. It is after all, the 21st century, and rules of etiquette and proper conduct have been rewritten, and old ones have been thrown out of the window. While in the past decades it is always assumed that the guy pays, the case these days is not that strict anymore. That's because usually in the past, the man is always the one who asks the girl out. As common courtesy dictates, the party who asks the other out should be the one to pick up the tab. This also coincides with the idea that men should be gentlemen and chivalrous enough to always pay for a date. But in today's society where women are now "aggressive" enough to ask men out, would men still be expected to pay? Indeed, the rules of date paying have gone a bit tricky. Thus, here is the one "rule" to follow in order for the scenario to be more manageable:

The person who asks for the date, meaning the "asker" of the other one to go out on the first date should be the party to pick up the tab.

There, no more confusion, and just so that awkward situations such as the two of you eying the check at the end of the date or embarrassing encounters of stand-offs toward the end of the date will be avoided, the one asking for the date should make it clear that he or she will pay as soon as he or she arranges the date or asks the question. So, when asking someone out for a date, the ideal "template" line should be something like this

Person asking the other out: "Would you like to grab some dinner tomorrow night? My treat."

The air is cleared as to who will pay, so there shouldn't be any confusion.

But then when the person asked gets the bill at the end of the date and brings up the subject of going dutch, the person who asked for the date should reassure that he or she doesn't mind paying - after all he or she was the "instigator" of the date. But then when the person asked insists to go dutch, the person who asked should allow this, or an awkward and unnecessary "stalemate" might follow.

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