Am i the tight***? Splitting bills?

Austrian Oak on 17/05/2017 - 22:22

Ok, i know bill splitting has come up before but i just want to get your thoughts.

I find that whenever I go out to dinner with mates, a select few seem to order all the expensive dishes, or extras and then when it's time for the bill to come, they're all let's just divide it equally.

I'm sick of paying for everyone elses shite. Recently we got delivery and i ordered one dish at $13.50. There were 5 of us and the bill came to $150 because everyone basically ordered two dishes, extras etc. Of course everyone says let's split, so I end up paying more than double for my meal. $30

I feel like if i speak up then i'm the tightarse. So i just grind my teeth and pay up. Am i alone? Others more vocal?

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • retiredfeline on 17/05/2017 - 22:27
    +144

    So you're comfortable telling us this but not comfortable telling your mates? I think you should learn to squeakspeak up.

    • Thenarrator on 19/05/2017 - 20:54
      +6

      of course, its an online forum afterall

    • philart on 22/05/2017 - 16:45
      +4

      Easier said flippantly here online, but quite another thing in company after a few beers. I feel for the OP as I've been in the same position and I'm as audacious a person as you get.

  • Ughhh on 17/05/2017 - 22:28
    +137

    If the meals are shared, then split bill is ok. But if everyones eating their own food, then no way split bill.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/05/2017 - 22:34
    +23

    Easy two options:

    1. Whoever is paying for the order, give them your share straight up when you order (assuming it's takeout, harder to do in a restaurant)

    2. Wait to see what everyone else orders, then order something more expensive than they do. Either they'll get the message or you'll get subsidised takeout

    • mskeggs on 18/05/2017 - 07:21
      +4

      The approach in (1) really sucks. If you pay your precise bill and disappear, when everyone else splits the bill the payer will be left to make up the difference.
      As one of the people who can do arithmetic, I often get the job of payer, and chasing the 2 people who pay their precise total when everyone else is splitting is really frustrating, and just pushes your issue onto that other person without solving it.

      My advice to you if you don't wish to split the bill evenly is to announce at the start you will be ordering separately, then do so, and don't rort it by sneaking a slice of the communal garlic bread or glass of the communal mineral water.
      And for everyone who has to leave before the final bill is worked out, leave somebody more than enough to cover your share and ask them to settle the account for you and give you any change next time they see you. It might mean you end up paying for a share in a round of coffees drunk after you left, but doing otherwise will rip off the person you left to pay for you - and it isn't their fault you left early

      • miicah on 19/05/2017 - 09:31
        +1

        The approach in (1) really sucks. If you pay your precise bill and disappear, when everyone else splits the bill the payer will be left to make up the difference.

        And? If you order a pizza and eat your pizza, why is it your problem that Joe and Jane ordered some coke and garlic bread and have to pay for it?

        • mskeggs on 19/05/2017 - 10:44
          +1

          Because if everyone else says split the bill, and you have left only paying for your lesser bill, the person settling the account will be short the difference.
          Expecting them to enforce your decision to not split the bill is unfair, unless you have explained the situation to everyone else that they will not be able to split the bill equally as you have decided to pay a lower amount.

        • miicah on 19/05/2017 - 11:23
          +7

          @mskeggs: Maybe our circle of friends have different definitions of split bills… If I bought a $17 meal and everyone else is closer to $30, everyone else would throw down $30 and I would add my $20. Splitting the bill exactly equally is dumb, unless it was a banquet and no one bought any drinks.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 12:18
          +31

          @mskeggs:

          So subtract the individual payer's total from the table total and split the net total between the remaining payers.

          You did say you could do arithmetic…

        • SilentBob on 19/05/2017 - 13:46
          +5

          @Scrooge McDuck:

          Yeah that's the way common sense tells you to do it.

          Some people tho…

        • dbun1 on 20/05/2017 - 16:25

          @mskeggs:

          You're doing it wrong

        • mskeggs on 20/05/2017 - 23:00
          +2

          @dbun1:

          I guess my meals with friends/family are usually a race to see who can pay the bill first, unless it is a big celebration like a wedding or similar.
          In these circumstances I'm happy to kick in whatever the top dog will allow if it isn't me.
          The times I need to split the bill more equitably are usually with work acquaintances or other people I don't know well enough to call them out if they skimp on their share, and the idea of auditing everybody's meal would be very, very inappropriate.

          I guess when I was an 18yro at uni we were more specific about who had what and paid what, but the ideas here of making sure everyone pays their specific amount would be a major cultural faux pas in a white collar job or most middle class settings like a community group or sports team.

        • philart on 22/05/2017 - 17:16

          @miicah:

          Best response imo. Someone perhaps the OP should take control of the situation from the outset. Anyone not wishing to round up say from $28.20 to $30 because it's against their religion to tip the delivery driver, that's okay they have to pay exactly $28.20, not a cent less. Otherwise part of the delivery drivers tip goes into the under-paying diner's pocket and not the drivers.

        • boredofficeworker on 22/05/2017 - 17:30
          +1

          @mskeggs:
          Nonsense. If you pay for your meal (and don't eat shared/others food) and then leave, everyone is no better or worse than if you didn't attend and there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion. It's the responsibility of those who remain to then figure out how the payment is done in a way that is fair to all, be that split evenly or itemised. In a perfect world, if each person pays for what they eat/drink and there would never be a problem (split evenly if sharing meals, itemised if not)… Unfortunately some people want to split regardless and that makes them arseholes, not the person who left early and paid what they owe before doing so.

      • neyo on 19/05/2017 - 18:12

        that flawed logic though

    • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 12:04
      +15

      Easy two options:

      1. Whoever is paying for the order, give them your share straight up when you order (assuming it's takeout, harder to do in a restaurant)

      2. Wait to see what everyone else orders, then order something more expensive than they do. Either they'll get the message or you'll get subsidised takeout

      Bodybuilder options:

            3. Bring your own prepared chicken and rice to eat at the restaurant because that's all your diet allows.

            4. Don't go out to dinner with people because friends come and go but 200 lb is always 200 lb.

      The Austrian Oak should know these!

      • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 13:02
        +20

        Professional options:

              5. Pretend to answer your phone and respond to an emergency, gathering your belongings and leaving hastily without paying.

              6. Arrange for a confederate to steal your bag after the meal. You won't have to pay, and your friends will give you some cash for a taxi home.

        • Skinnerr on 22/05/2017 - 00:57
          +3

          Logical option:
          7. Go to the chiropractor to get your spine checked.

    • Skinnerr on 22/05/2017 - 02:07
      +1

      No. 1 is fixing the symptom, not the cause. Id go no.2. Test the 'friendship'. Id go troppo on surf'n'turf's and prawn cocktails or anything else that would raise eyebrows. Gauge the response, gauge the friendship. Live on your feet, not on your knees.

      Yeh it sucks bein ripped off by 'friends', take my word for it.

  • John Kimble on 17/05/2017 - 22:45
    +7

    Really depends.

    With my group of friends we usually split evenly just because it's quicker and easier and it would even out over the many dinners…

    If a portion of the group is drinking a lot, then they split between them and the non drinkers split the food. It's not that hard.

    If you are always the person paying extra, then I would speak up and say you choose not to split evenly. If they were reasonable people they would understand how unfair on you it is and not hold it against you.

    How have they not noticed? Surely they would notice, feel guilty, try to make it up to you in other ways (eg buy you drinks after or something?). If not then they are either completely inconsiderate or taking advantage of you. Not a good group of people to hang around with.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 12:39
      +6

      With my group of friends we usually split evenly just because it's quicker and easier and it would even out over the many dinners…

      Are all the friends in the group OzBargainers?

      It would be very rare for any group of friends to have exactly the same spending preferences. All the friends who have lower spending preferences than the group average are overpaying.

      Surely they would notice, feel guilty, try to make it up to you in other ways (eg buy you drinks after or something?). If not then they are either completely inconsiderate or taking advantage of you.

      Or they could be oblivious, ignorant or imprudent…

      Not a good group of people to hang around with.

      No one is entirely good or entirely bad. People with negative qualities may have positive qualities which others appreciate.

      • John Kimble on 19/05/2017 - 13:57

        Valid points!

        My post was long enough, so extra explanation would make it gigantic.

        Maybe I should have just left it as "really depends"!

        Haha

    • [Deactivated] on 20/05/2017 - 14:13

      I think it would be socially acceptable to say "I'm trying to save for -something-, so I will be eating less today/night/each time). Otherwise, yea agree, change friends.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/05/2017 - 23:05
    +7

    Order last and most.

    • John Kimble on 17/05/2017 - 23:09
      +34

      And that would be the first time the group decides not to split evenly!

    • poiuy1234 on 19/05/2017 - 10:45
      +4

      This! And keep leftovers for lunch for the next day, or two or three!

  • Austrian Oak on 17/05/2017 - 23:05
    +1

    Thanks for the replies guys, food for thought! ;)

    • theHMASfriendship on 18/05/2017 - 08:21
      +79

      I can't help feel that your goal with this forum post was to provide yourself an opportunity to use that pun

  • wukachuka on 17/05/2017 - 23:33

    Ask for a separate bill when ordering?

  • [Deactivated] on 17/05/2017 - 23:40
    +5

    Passive aggressive move might be to bring a good assortment of notes and change and place the exact amount of your order on the table early on.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 13:07
      +5

      Financial prudence is passive aggressive?

      OP's friends are Communists!

  • AlienC on 17/05/2017 - 23:42
    -2

    Why pay when you can eat free and watch your friends go wtf haha lol eat my shit /s /s /s

    • nemo1990 on 20/05/2017 - 17:08
      +1

      What?

      • AlienC on 21/05/2017 - 00:33
        -1

        Bad late night high drunk pass out stressed advice

    • Gnosh on 22/05/2017 - 19:57

      This is truly remarkable advice.

  • poppit88 on 18/05/2017 - 00:26
    +7

    I feel your pain. Order what everyone else is ordering and go with it.

    Otherwise just politely say you won't split you're on a tight budget the next few months, saving for a trip, car, shares, gold.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 13:09
      +5

      Why lie when the truth is perfectly reasonable?

      Simply say that you don't wish to pay for more than what you consumed.

      • Thenarrator on 19/05/2017 - 21:03
        +3

        coz then you'll seem like a cheapskate and friends dont hang out with cheapskates coz its no fun.. its how the world works dont ask why.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 22:07
          +5

          And that's why credit card debt is at record levels!

          You can't get ahead by following the herd.

        • BexForHeadache on 20/05/2017 - 11:55
          +1

          The world does not work like this, just your little bubble.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/05/2017 - 00:30
    +26

    find new friends

  • CheapskateQueen on 18/05/2017 - 00:46
    +21

    This is a tough one but i feel like you should say something,or subtly change your behavior re paying. If it was only the rare occasion, I'd let it be but it seems to happen a lot.

    I personally feel it's a matter of respect that everyone should kind of pay attention to what's being ordered..not to the dollar but if everyone is in the same price range,then splitting equally works. But,and I'm usually watching out for the benefit of other ppl, if someone's meal was clearly much cheaper, it's not fair on them. I'd never make a non-drinker cover any alcohol and if there's like shared plates but someone's a vego and can't eat most the dishes, i always separate their bill.

    Sometimes we split, sometimes we each pay our own. Sometimes someone grabs it this time, and it's reciprocated the next time. Often I'll pay the bill and ppl will transfer me their meal which makes the transaction quick and everyone pays their way.

    Really depends on the ppl I'm with.

    I've come to learn that one of my friends is cheap and will take me/others for a ride with money. It's so against my nature, but I've had to train myself to be really "stingy" with her. All the $5,$10, $20 etc that I'm out of pocket all added up and it was never ever reciprocated..which was the ultimate issue. I could not bring myself to ask for $5 so now i just avoid putting myself in that situation.

    Then there's another friend and I'm telling her off for transferring me money after a night of taking rounds cos I'm sure she spent more than me and she's convinced i did. Neither of us are bothered really cos we know that we'll both spend on eachother.

    Point is, your approach with money and friends depends on their behaviour and the group dynamic. And you use different approaches for different ppl. But if you think you're being taken for a ride, you probably are.

    Next time just be like "oh hey i only got one plate, here's $15" and if they're mature ppl,they'll understand it's only fair.

    • purplelady on 19/05/2017 - 16:11
      +3

      Same as me, different friends need different treatment. When I go out with friends who drink a lot, while I don't, then I will order more sides and desserts. I still end up paying more, but at least I still get extra stuffs to eat.

      However, when I order more, and my friends only order 1 thing, then I'd say to her, I ordered an extra drink, so here's the extra.

      One time I went out with a bunch of friends and we ordered a lot of alcohol. Some people didn't drink at all, some drank like it was the last time they could drink, and some were just being social. So this girl grabbed the bill, split the food evenly, and then said, ok, you 2 didn't drink at all, just pay for the food. You 3 drank a little, pay $20 extra. And the rest of you, pay $40 extra each. It was very fair and good on her. Everybody was happy.

  • Chrissy213 on 18/05/2017 - 07:17
    +4

    Use to have this problem with my ex's family. Some of them would drink and eat the more expensive meals and I would end up subsidizing it.
    I used to then make sure I would eat a more expensive meal and dessert.
    I remember my ex saying one night after dinner how cheap the meal was as he had a main dessert and a couple of beers.
    I politely told him that it was cheap for him as others at the table didn't drink and only had a main.

    • ThithLord on 18/05/2017 - 07:39
      +39

      Amazing how some people can be completely oblivious, isn't it?

    • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 13:19
      +2

      I used to then make sure I would eat a more expensive meal and dessert.

      It's no wonder restaurants have "No split bills" policies. It's a profitable culture for them!

      • Thenarrator on 19/05/2017 - 21:11
        -3

        how? the restaurant still needs to give out the change. the payer pockets it

        • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 22:22
          +4

          Because it incentivises customers to order more so as to extract more value from their share of an equally split bill.

           

          We definitely need a Gonski…

        • no not me on 21/05/2017 - 14:40

          @Scrooge McDuck: I always thought it was to avoid drama and involvement of the business. Also, when paying by card, multiple splits probably means multiple surcharges, which would add up quickly.

        • tomsco on 22/05/2017 - 14:12

          @no not me: depends. Isn't the EFTPOS charge generally around 20c. And Mastercard or Visa is generally charged at a %, So 10 payments of $10 could cost the company the same as 1 payment of $100.

          And really, by saying you can't pay for only your meal, would the restaurant turn away diners that would want to eat by themselves?

  • Geoff-bargain on 18/05/2017 - 08:13

    Usually with my friends if we do a banquet or something where everyone's bill is a similar account we split because it's easiest. But if everyone is having something different we pay our own. I have been out with people who do what your friends do and it pissed me off. Luckily they weren't my main friends as I would have to say something.

  • barbarella on 18/05/2017 - 08:19
    +5

    I won't/don't subsidise others when out…I only pay for my own unless its my shout or I am with close family.

  • holdenmg on 18/05/2017 - 08:28
    +1

    Hill of Grace or Grange? lol

  • jjjaar on 18/05/2017 - 08:39
    +17

    I go out with a group of 4-10 of us (depending on who can make it) and when we get the bill, we go around one by one and put in cash. Usually everyone* rounds up a bit ($13 order would pt $15 down), so whoever ends up paying on card makes some money, but we are all adults and all trust each other and ourselves to put a fair amount down.

    *tho if a $2 coin is sitting there and I paid $13 and put down $15, I would take it. But similarly, if I saw someone put $15 down when they owed $13, and the $2 coin was there, id tell them to take it.

    They kind of let me oversee the bill too. My friends all know I'm stingy and tbh, I don't care. They know I'm stingy for everyone, and therefore fair, and they trust that I won't let anyone rip anyone else off (though I don't think any of us want to rip the others off…)

    • brendyboomboom on 19/05/2017 - 17:25
      +6

      i wanna be your friend

    • Thenarrator on 19/05/2017 - 21:14

      im stingy myself however whats different is I hate myself for being stingy. I want to be like "CheapskateQueen" above. I want that personality. However personalities are innate so its hard to change. sad face.

  • John Kimble on 18/05/2017 - 08:43
    +4

    Pretty confident everyone on this forum will side with you. You don't really join if you like paying more for stuff. Or paying for other people in your case.

    • ham12 on 18/05/2017 - 08:51
      +1

      This. It seems like a lot of ozbargainers are more concerned about money and value they get with the cost than going out and having fun with friends.

      • John Kimble on 18/05/2017 - 09:31
        +12

        Are you saying you would be happy to constantly pay 100%+ more for your dinner and put the extra cost down to the premium you must part with to spend time with "friends"?

        Hand in your ozbargain login immediately!

      • CheapskateQueen on 18/05/2017 - 11:03
        +3

        Nah not true.

        Think the consensus here is that if in general it balances out over time, it's fine to be down sometimes and up sometimes and cater your behaviour to different group dynamics.

        We're not the stingy ones. What we're saying is be careful of the actual stingy ones, or the selfishly oblivious ones "who don't realise" they're constantly getting a free ride.

        It also goes hand in hand with being mindful of different budgets that ppl have when deciding where to go/what to do. Some ppl I'll spend $100 on an event, and another we tend to just catch up for a walk and coffee cos we wanna catch up and it's better for her that it's on the cheap. I think it's a matter of being an adult and respecting people.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 13:26
        +3

        It seems like a lot of ozbargainers are more concerned about money and value they get with the cost than going out and having fun with friends.

        Why would you want to go out when you can spend every night on your computer browsing deals with all your cool friends on OzBargain??

      • brendyboomboom on 19/05/2017 - 17:25

        get off your high horse

      • callum9999 on 20/05/2017 - 05:34
        +2

        Or we don't have to pay people to be our friends…

  • grabngo on 18/05/2017 - 08:45
    +7

    Don't go out with them.
    I have faced this issue with mates where I don't drink alcohol and they would order 4 rounds each costing approx. $40 each person.
    Gave up with them.

  • Archi on 18/05/2017 - 09:24
    +5

    offer to pay the entire bill on your credit card and earn points… and only put in the amount that you ordered and ask everyone else for their share.

    take control

  • Archi on 18/05/2017 - 09:29
    +1

    I have on occasion,

    asked the restaurant to run a separate drink tab at the bar,

    once dinner is over the drink bill will be split amongst those that drank. it's easy to say you didn't drink in that respect and not contribute.

    as most have said. it's not really the about the process of splitting bills but rather the friends you are splitting the bills with.

  • jellykingdom on 18/05/2017 - 09:50
    +6

    I find it sorta depends who I'm with and the event.

    Some groups of friends, we just pay for what we ordered. Usually i find this is dependent on a) closeness to the people in the entire group and b) their occupations…

    …Because with the other friends, who all have essentially the same jobs (i.e income), we literally just split the cost evenly

    Feel you pain though - i've been stung by this once. We all went out for a birthday dinner, I had simple/thirfty dinner (i used to order a 2-person share plate for myself as it was the most cost effective item on the menu but delicious) and 1 drink because the drinks were unnecessarily expensive and I knew we would also go for beers afterwards. Whereas other people ordered starters, cocktails, etc and then these same others agreed to split the bill evenly and also pay for the birthday boy. I was extremely unimpressed (with the 1st part), as I ended up paying >2x what I'd actually ordered. I couldn't even voice my complaint because I was the odd one out in not having ordered heaps. Hence my comment that you need to judge the event

    • jellykingdom on 18/05/2017 - 09:51
      +2

      Also got stung (I'm not a sucker haha) when we had a HUGE group of people and then people paid separately. I went to the bathroom and ended up being the last person to pay, and got lumped with an extra $40 I hadn't ordered because we had outstanding drinks on the tab. You can't even track down who they belonged to because we were in a group of 20 people.

      So the opposite pay-for-what-you-order can also be dangerous!

      • Love a bargain on 18/05/2017 - 12:15

        Feel your pain. It's happened to me before (& I didn't even take a bathroom break).

  • bobbified on 18/05/2017 - 10:02
    +5

    So, are they your "mates" or your mates?

    I guess you choose to continue to hang around with them for a reason. If that reason doesn't outweigh the extra cost for your dinner, then stop hanging out with them.

    I say to myself that with a group of close mates, everything evens out in the end - plus or minus a few bucks here and there which doesn't really bother me or any of them at all. And it may or may not simply be that I do have a close group of great friends, because I can honestly say that it does even out.

  • John Kimble on 18/05/2017 - 10:57

    We had a friend who was weird at gatherings or dinners. At bring-a-plate events he would bring a bag of kettle chips or a roast chicken, be reluctant to share it, but still eat other foods.

    At dinner there was one time we decided beforehand we would split the bill evenly, so he got a $70+ sushi boat for 2, he did share some, but at the majority of it.

    At a wedding, he gave $50 to the wishing well, when it would have cost at least $150 a head (but perhaps he didn't realise).

    I think he's changed a bit now because he has a good job, back then he was a povo uni student.

    • Love a bargain on 18/05/2017 - 12:17
      +8

      Being on a tight budget is not a reason to deliberately rip other people off.

    • John Kimble on 18/05/2017 - 13:13

      Weird neg. I wasn't condoning the behaviour, just explaining why I think he did it.

      We don't even go out with him anymore (partly) because of it.

      • jellykingdom on 18/05/2017 - 13:35
        +2

        Yeah that guy sounds like a bit of a d-bag!

    • callum9999 on 20/05/2017 - 05:41
      +2

      Are people really expected to cover their costs at a wedding? Given I consider most of the cost to be a complete waste of money, I kinda agree with them on this (not the rest of their behaviour though!).

  • btech on 18/05/2017 - 11:07
    +8

    Personally, I don't see why you wouldn't say something. I get it that some people are uncomfortable "causing a scene" but seriously, if they are your friends it shouldn't be a problem. Don't make a big deal of it, just say "hey, I ordered a $13 dish so here is $15 for my share". This is assuming you didn't actually share in all the dishes and just ate your own. And especially when it comes to drinkers/non-drinkers it's a no-brainer. "Guys, I didn't have any drinks so here is $15 for my share of the food." You need to be matter-of-fact about it like it's obvious that this is the way to do it (which it is IMO).

  • activ8newbs on 18/05/2017 - 11:19
    +1

    It might also be worth a shot, mixing things up. Next time you're with a group, maybe try not eating with them. Just say, yeah nah I'm fine. Not hungry today. They'll likely notice the difference in price. And soon realize, that they've overlooked something (That something, being you and your meal.)

    It's just a passive aggressive way to get their attention tbh.

    Try it !

    • poppit88 on 19/05/2017 - 01:30
      +2

      Trust me. People are dense.

      Someone did that I'd think exactly what they've said - they aren't hungry.

      I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday let alone a bill that was split with friends 6+ months ago.

      It's better to be up front and say exactly what you mean and provide a solution.

      Hey guys, I'll just get my own drinks from the bar. I'm on a fitness kick, driving, have an early start and don't want to get into shouts. Do you guys mind if I just order my main separately to you guys tonight. On a diet, not that hungry. On a budget. Basically - name your phrase.

  • Halo375 on 18/05/2017 - 11:21
    +5

    Best thing to do is ask for the cheque yourself - have a quick look and see what you ordered ($13) add your $2 for the tip and put it on the plate, pass the bill on to the next person to do the same. Basically from the start, set the expectation to the table that everyone is paying for what they consumed. Don't let someone else take charge and do their own math. If they question it, speak up and say "sorry guys - I just don't eat and drink as much as the rest of you! Trying to watch my weight, you know!" (or some other sort of joke to lighten the mood, you're doing the right thing).

  • ronnknee on 18/05/2017 - 12:25
    +1

    It really depends. Best to decide and make it clear at the beginning of the meal if you're having your own thing or sharing.

  • Baghern on 18/05/2017 - 14:10
    +1

    No its rude of your friends not to notice and adjust for the ones eating/ordering less.

    Where the values are close, yeah just do it. But when its vastly different, adjustments need to be made.

    There are drinkers out there who go out to team/friends dinners/meals while everyone else does not drink or drink a bit… don't speak up at the end and offer to pay more. Those guys are highly ignorant or just selfish

  • petitejam on 18/05/2017 - 14:33
    +2

    Yeah this definitely pisses me off because I don't drink at all and when I go out if its a big group some people might order 2 alcholic drinks ($30) and then their meal plus dessert ($30) and if all I ordered was a single dish ($15) (profanity) off if I pay for your drink. If it's shared meals all round then I'd be like we'll split the food (because it was shared) but if you ordered drinks pay for your own drink. Majority of the time this works out fine. Its not fair for you to pay that much and you should just be upfront about it. If they're really your friends they won't begrudge you.

    • Findo on 18/05/2017 - 19:17

      I don't drink, but if the cost of drinks are split I'll order expensive mineral water to level the playing field

      • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 13:37

        So you punish everyone including yourself? Smart! 🙄

        • Findo on 19/05/2017 - 14:20
          +1

          Negligible cost to me, but I get to sample mineral water I wouldn't otherwise buy. I have to say a $35 bottle I once tried tasted like water from a dirty bubbler, albeit with some fizz. The 75c colesworth mineral water tastes best.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 14:25

          @niggard:

          Sydney water tastes fine to me, and has added fluoride to strengthen my teeth and bones!

        • algy on 20/05/2017 - 00:38

          @niggard: Woolies just changed theirs and it's pretty average now, Aldi's is good though.

        • Findo on 20/05/2017 - 22:13

          @algy: oh no! I buy my mineral water by the carton and just bought two of the new ones. How do you rate the Coles mineral water?

        • algy on 22/05/2017 - 00:20

          @niggard: It's comparable to the old Woolies - but Aldi still has it beat in my books.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/05/2017 - 16:27
    +1

    Order two lobsters and a bottle of dom

    • try2bhelpful on 18/05/2017 - 17:18

      If you do that a couple of times they will probably stop inviting you out.

      • WhyAmICommenting on 19/05/2017 - 13:18

        And?

        • try2bhelpful on 19/05/2017 - 14:34
          +1

          that is a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on how you want to view it. I was leaving it up to the OP :)

    • tomsco on 18/05/2017 - 19:34
      +2

      No caviar?

  • Findo on 18/05/2017 - 19:15
    +19

    If your friends are Asian and are really good friends, you'll all be fighting to pay the whole amount.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 13:38
      +7

      Where can I find some really good Asian friends?

      • [Deactivated] on 19/05/2017 - 14:13

        Colombia.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 19/05/2017 - 14:15
          +1

          I said Asian friends not China white!

        • Findo on 19/05/2017 - 18:15
          +1

          Perhaps they'll be such good friends they'll buy you a ticket in Hong Kong for a holiday in Colombia

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