Relationships are about giving and receiving. This may be time, money, affection, gifts, what have you. During the dating process, neither party wants to give too much before they know that his/her amount of giving will be reciprocated. The most well-known adage embodying this sentiment is the advice often given to young women “why would he buy the cow when he gets the milk for free?” Similarly, men are advised not to be pushovers, or yes-men, or henpecked.

Ideally, in a healthy marriage or committed partnership, the giving and receiving has been well established, comes natural, and occurs without question.

How do you determine how much to give while dating and how to progress it?