Posts Tagged ‘Dating Advice’

Have A Great First Date Without Breaking The Bank

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Most people seem to think that to have a great first date means you have to empty your bank account or max out your credit card just to impress your date and have a great time. A great first date or any date does not have to mean a couple of dozen roses and dinner by candlelight, although that is a very grand and a very romantic gesture.

The idea behind going out on a first date is to spend some time together with someone you like, get to know him or her and have a good time. A great first date does not have to be expensive, it just has to be something the two of you can have fun doing together. Take note that having fun together means both of you like whatever it is that the two of you decided to do on your first date. A first date where only one of you is having the time of his or her life is no good.

Here are some great first date or any date ideas that are certainly inexpensive, but definitely not cheap and yucky.

Date for book lovers:

  • Go to a poetry reading or a book reading by an author you both enjoy.
  • Sip coffee together, either at a coffee shop, your place or at your date’s place and read chapters of the same book to each other.
  • Play a game of which quote came from which book and who wrote it. You can even set it up Jeopardy style.
  • Sit at the beach or in your backyard under the moonlight and recite poems to each other. If you can recite a poem you made up especially for your date, all the better.

Date for movie lovers:

  • Schedule a movie night at your place or your date’s, and then agree on what theme your movie night should be. If the two of you agreed on a horror night, then the movies you ought to watch should be horror and suspense flicks. Or you can agree to watch all the movies that you hated and point out to your date exactly why you hated that movie.
  • There are some places like parks and museums that show good movies to the public for free. You can check out which places in your locale that do just that and make it a point to return the next time they do some showings.

Date for homebodies:

  • A game of Poker or Scrabble. If you want to take it to the next level and do Strip Poker or Strip Scrabble, it is up to you.
  • Spend time in the kitchen cooking each other’s favorite dishes. You can invite friends and family to eat what the two of you have cooked with you.
  • Stargaze.

Date for those who love the outdoors:

  • Go for a walk at the park or the local botanical garden.
  • Go for a swim at the beach or build sandcastles. Make bets on which one of you will make the best sandcastle.
  • Jog or work out together.
  • Pull together a picnic basket and spend time at some secluded or isolated spot.

First dates or any date doesn’t have to be expensive. Great dates can be pulled off without spending too much. And if your first date is based on money, you may set a trend that you can’t afford or top in the future.

Book readings, movies, cooking at home, working out together oh my. It should be obvious that if you don’t match your interests well with your date then these date ideas won’t work for you. Make sure you use any available compatibility matching features the dating sites have to offer. If you need extra help, try a site like Chemistry.com, PerfectMatch.com or Eharmony.com which boast science based matchmaking and compatibility.

  • Share/Bookmark

First Date, Who Pays?

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Who pays on your first date can set the tone for the entire relationship, should the relationship spring up from that first date. Of course, it was not that way before. When our parents were young and dating our mothers could always count on the man to settle the bill for her without being prompted. In the past, such was seen as being a gentleman, an act of chivalry.

Chivalry is not exactly dead in this present time, but women are now more assertive about taking their own fair share and paying bills. Thank women’s liberation and emerging gender sensitivity for that. A man’s sense of chivalry, however, determines whether or not he should pick up the tab on a first date, and this puts us back into our first question of how whoever settles the bill sets the tone of the relationship.

Many relationship experts say that for a guy to be chivalrous on a first date and pick up the tab without asking for his date to give up her share of the bill is a sure sign that he is interested in her. This is especially true if he refuses to accept the lady’s offer to pay for her share, with the excuse that he would like her to treat him the next time they go out. It means he wants to make a good impression on her. If that is not a clear sign of interest on a first date, nothing is.

In this scenario, what a lady should do is to stop insisting on paying for her share, because it might offend the guy she is dating and spoil the mood. A guy who is chivalrous and generous on a first date is a guy who loves taking care of his woman. The time for a woman to assert herself will come soon enough in the relationship.

If the guy does offer to pay the bill but accepts the woman’s offer to either pay for her share or pay for the entire bill herself, it means he is interested and he does not want to offend the lady he is with. It could also mean that he is just being polite and not really that interested, which means that the lady would have to look for other signs of whether the man is into her or not.

On the other hand, if the guy is not even making a move to pull out his wallet, or if he just did and he is asking for the woman to pay for her share, that is a sure warning flag. He is definitely not into her. But if he says that he forgot to bring his wallet, debit card or credit card, the lady could be gracious and pick up the tab. However, if he does this on a second or third date, she is better off moving on without him. A good time to try internet dating for sure.

  • Share/Bookmark

Protect Personal Information On Internet Dating Sites

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Always remember to protect the personal information you post on any  internet dating site. It’s important that you go slow, and don’t  disclose things about yourself that you would not disclose to others offline. Common sense right? In many ways internet dating is very helpful. So just be careful out there.

Aside from taking your free dating profile pictures, you don’t have to worry about how you look at the moment. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a bad mood, or just a mean and rotten person, as long as you write a pleasant email or instant message reply. Remember that is also true of  those you will meet on the best dating sites. That very nice single woman or man who you are trying not to lead on, is really into you. Because you do not have the visual cues used in ever day life, it is wise to hold back anything you might regret later on.

So what do you do when someone from a dating site or dating service keeps emailing you asking where do you live, let’s meet today? Don’t be afraid to say “Hey, I don’t want to tell you where I live just yet. We just met online!” If the person doesn’t understand your desire to be safe online, compare their actions to that of someone you would meet offline. Make your decision as to whether or not to continue interacting with the person. Notify customer support of the dating site or dating service if a problem arises.

When you create your free dating profile, it’s important to talk about your interests, your likes, dislikes and some topics of interest. You are in control of your personal image from the beginning. You tell people on the dating sites what you want to know and hold back what you don’t want anyone to know. This is different than being dishonest. Your free dating profile should always be truthful, just don’t put your personal information at risk. If later on you break up (or had a bad first date) with that single woman or man who first replied to your internet dating profile, he or she just might kiss and tell, say something offensive, or become emotional.

Internet dating is one of the highest uses of the internet today. Don’t be afraid, just be safe online the same as you would offline when meeting new people. If you haven’t done so already, sign up for a free trial for Yahoo Personals, Match.com, Chemistry.com, or JDate.com. Have fun!

  • Share/Bookmark