Although you matched with each other on an online dating site, the same traditional dating rules apply.

The man should pay for the first date.

It’s critical that you don’t break this traditional rule, thinking that somehow this meeting is different because you met each other on an online dating site.

It isn’t any different.

A man is more emotionally invested in a courtship when he is financially investing in it.

If you make the mistake of choosing to pay for the first date or paying for yourself, you are setting a tone that runs the risk of making him not take you seriously moving forward.

Yes, he won’t mind hooking up with you, but he is less likely to take you seriously when the courtship begins with you paying for a first date or paying for yourself.

It’s not that you can’t be generous and pay for a date down the line, during the courtship stage, but when it is this early, you should leave it to him to pay for the first date.

Again, a man will struggle to be emotionally invested in you if you take the financial burden off of him this soon into courtship.

The most successful courtships are those where the man led from the beginning.

If you pay for the first date, you would be taking that leadership role away from him.

As a result, he isn’t compelled to lead as much as he should be.

In short order, he puts his feet up, leaving it to you to initiate communication and set up the dates for the most part.

This puts that much more responsibility on you to lead the courtship, taking the leadership role further away from him.

You are going to become exasperated by this.

It is not in your nature to take the lead in initiating calls and text messages and setting up dates.

Most women want to be pursued, not the other way around.

Furthermore, letting him pay for the first date lets him know that his time with you has value.

This doesn’t mean you develop an entitlement complex.

An entitlement complex is a turnoff to men.

A man likes it when a woman is appreciative of his efforts, not entitled to them.

Therefore, be sure to be appreciative of him paying for the first date and any consequent dates he pays for in the early weeks of courtship.

This encourages him to keep courting you.

Appreciation of him and his kindness is an absolute must.

In addition, remember that you met him on a dating site, and that you aren’t the first and only woman he has matched with.

Which means, you are in competition with other women for his romantic interest.

By not letting him pay for the first date, you make him question whether you are a woman he should take seriously.

Mentally, when a man is financially investing in a woman by taking her out on dates and paying, he is taking more of a risk.

Because they are taking a financial risk on the women they are taking out on dates and paying for, men tend to take these women more seriously.

Basically, he has more skin in the game.

When a woman pays for the first date or goes Dutch, he is forced to classify her in a category where he is unsure if she is someone he should take seriously.

There is no strong desire to pursue such a woman, as it is a bit too easy.

By letting him pay for the first date, you set the tone from the start, compelling him to put you in the right category.

That of someone worth pursuing.