Who Should Pay on a Date?

Who should pay on a date?

When I used to date, I instituted a hard and fast rule: I would not pay a dime.  I instituted this rule because I learned it the hard way. Call me old fashioned, but after experiencing the emotional roller coaster of a failed relationship, I refused to pay a penny for all future dates.

In my opinion, a guy will show (or not show) his  interest in a gal by paying (or not paying) on a date. Prior to instituting my rule, I paid for myself (and for the guy I dated…ugh!), and it turned out to be a disaster. For the rest of the time that I was in this broken relationship, I felt this crazy need to cover for him whenever we were out together. That got old really fast, and I ended up dumping him.

Later on, when I went on my first date with my now husband, I decided not to pay. I didn’t tell him this, of course, I simply waited to see if he would fork over the cash.

He did. And he did it again on the second, and the third, and the fourth dates…and the rest is history.

To me, one of the fun parts of romance is the thrill of the chase. I like to be pursued. (I told you I’m old fashioned.) When I was dating my husband, I enjoyed those moments when he called me. Or when he asked me out on a date. Or when he reached over and held my hand. It made me feel all princess-ey and special like.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I fell for the first guy that expressed interest in me. No, no, no! After my prior relationship fail, I upped my standards a tad (Okay, I upped my standards a whole lot, and that’s a topic for another blog post). If the right guy wasn’t around who met these newfound standards, I kept on living till he showed up. No biggie.

But when Mr. Husband Material did show up…

…I made sure I didn’t pay on the first date or on any other subsequent date for that matter.

What about you? Do you think a woman should pay if she’s on a date? Why or why not?