So you are one of the fortunate people who have been Chatting Online with someone great while browsing Internet Dating sites. You have been talking and enjoying one another's conversations for a few weeks and you both feel that it is time to meet to take the relationship to the next level. When planning your first date, how do you decide whether to meet for coffee or a drink or whether to meet for dinner?

More to the point, how are you going to decide who pays? Money can be a sore point for some people. Some divorce because of it, others argue about it nonstop, and friendships have been known to end because of it. It's such a touchy subject that ignites so many emotions. Dating should be fun, so how do you decide?

It all depends on how comfortable to feel with your new internet dating sweetie. If talking about it doesn't present an issue, then by all means, bring it up. Tradition says that most men are open to paying for both at least initially. It's certainly easier and allows for the two people involved to talk about their interests rather than about money.

If you eventually do end up in a relationship things will progress naturally and the result is usually a fair exchange. Times have progressed and most women are more than willing to pay for things. But before you ever get to that point, here are a few things to consider;

1. Discuss a day and time you want to meet.

This is crucial on a first date. Women tend to feel more at ease meeting during the day, say for coffee or for lunch, while he might be thinking about a night on the town. Discuss this beforehand and come to a mutually acceptable decision.

2. Where are you going to go?

Now that the "when" is out of the way, here comes the "where". Are you going to meet for a coffee, enjoy a lunch or dinner together, go to a museum or an art gallery? The possibilities are endless. You've been chatting online for a while so you should have a good grasp of each others' likes.

3. What are you going to wear?

While many first dates are pretty casual, where you go can determine what you wear. This might be something good to talk about so you can both be prepared and have the most comfortable first date possible.

Now that you have decided where to go and when to meet, you can just prepare to allow nature to take its course. It is not absolutely mandatory to discuss who should pay on the first date and the thing to remember is that there will always be enough time to bring money into the picture. Just have fun getting to know one another so that your relationship can be stronger so that when the tough times come around you have a solid foundation to help you through them.