If you consult the sort of manners book which involves holding open doors and helping with chairs, you will find the book was written in 1940 and says "the man pays for everything, that includes after marriage". So that’s not much help – we’ll have to make up our own rules.

I think the seventh date, or the seventh expensive-for-the-guy thing is probably where the line should be drawn.

How to implement this if the girl doesn’t pick up on it, though? You could simply halve the cost of your dates – home-cooked candle-lit meals instead of going to restaurants, going for picnics at the beach, and suchlike can provide less expensive means of dating. If she asks why, tell the truth: say you’re a bit short of money at the moment.

As a practical matter it would probably be worth maintaining an early dating level of romance by occasionally going out for a nice meal at your expense – once every six or eight weeks would be frequent enough if you’re on a budget.