Search Results: paying for the first date

According to my sister, my mother, my aunts and my cousins, all of these things are "instant red flags", and if I did any of them on a date, "it doesn't matter what you're like, how nice you are, or how good you look; literally ANY girl would instantly dump you for doing that":

- tucking in my shirt, buttoning my collar, and/or having my trousers pulled up (even when wearing a suit and tie)
- wearing any colors other than shades of grey, blue or brown
- smiling at her
- smiling at anyone else
- looking at her for more than three seconds
- looking away from her for more than three seconds
- not waiting for everyone else to sit down before taking a seat myself
- ordering the best value meal from the menu
- asking the staff about anything
- asking her about anything
- trying to engage in conversation with her
- not engaging in conversation with her
- laughing at anything
- failing to make her laugh
- making any jokes
- being too happy
- being too serious
- not paying enough attention
- paying too much attention
- looking 'out of it'
- looking like I'm too 'with it'
- not finishing my drink first before starting to eat, or vice versa
- spilling anything, even if it's a single drop
- holding my cutlery incorrectly
- putting my cutlery down incorrectly

And many, many more. So many. Are all of these true? And if they are, then just how in the hell is it supposed to be humanly possible for any guy to have a successful date with any girl? Tiny accidents and missteps will always happen, things will ALWAYS go wrong, and there's nothing I'm humanly capable of doing to stop them from happening. I'm not perfect. I can't be perfect. So should I just give up, knowing that any girl will instantly reject me and/or dump me the second that I make the tiniest little 'mistake', no matter what? Why even try?

When discussion comes up about paying for a first date women use the excuse of spending money on makeup and outfits and their hair as why men should be forced to pay for them on a date. But then women also say men need to stop thinking girls do all these beauty things for men.

So which is it?

I had a date with a girl I met at the gym (I'm not a gym freak, I go about 4 times a month) and after we ate on the first date I was going to pay but she said that she was the one who asked me out so she should pay but I declined because I've never had a girl pay for me on a date and it felt weird (may be an ego thing, I really don't know).
So what are your opinions on guys paying on the first date.