Can't buy me love, but you can buy me dinner

First dates can be awkward. If you can get past the joke that didn’t quite land, or stop worrying whether there’s something in your teeth, then the arrival of the bill is guaranteed to bring with it an uncomfortable discussion – often about money.

It’s an age-old dilemma. Should you go 50/50, is it romantic to pay for the whole thing, or do you just pay for what you ordered? Wait… didn’t they eat some of my fries?

And to make things fairer, are there other factors we should consider? Should the person who earns the most pick up more of the bill, for example? And what about those age-old gender stereotypes that still expect men to pay? It’s complex stuff.

To help with this, Credit Karma consulted with Professor Shireen Kanji, gender equality specialist at Brunel University, to produce a study aimed at understanding the complexities of gender when it comes to dating and money. In addition, we’ve launched the "Split the Bill" calculator, a tool that leverages data to help couples calculate what’s really fair when it comes to paying the check.

According to the study, women should actually be picking up about a third of the bill (or 33.9% to be precise). Every relationship is different though. And all couples face hurdles when it comes to talking about money.

To take some of the discomfort out of the unavoidable split-the-bill conversation, Credit Karma has created a calculator to help all couples split the bill in a more equitable way. We’ve made this calculator to demonstrate some of the challenges women face when it comes to the world of dating and money, as society’s understanding of the disparity between men and women is currently better understood than the challenges faced by non-heterosexual couples, however any couple can use the calculator.

To learn more about the study click here

Try it out