Friend Drama Ensues After Woman Refuses To Split The Bill And Pay $45 For Soda And Appetizer
The rising cost of living remains a big concern across the US. As prices continue to soar virtually everywhere you turn, people are forced to reevaluate their budgets and be more aware of their spending habits.
So when a woman whose Reddit nickname is Moonstone_Magic felt like her friends were treating her unfairly, she spoke up.
It happened during their evening at a pub. Throughout the time the gang had spent there, she wasn’t particularly hungry or thirsty and had just a few snacks, while others enjoyed their meals. But when the bill arrived, one member of the group said they should all split it evenly.
Moonstone_Magic found it unfair so she refused to chip in the same as everyone else.
This woman went to a pub with her friends and one of them suggested they all split the bill evenly
Image credits:fauxels (not the actual photo)
However, she didn’t have much and this meant that she was asked to pay $45 just for some snacks
Her husband thought she was being cheap
Image credits: iMin Technology (not the actual photo)
Image credits: moonstone_magic
Young Americans often overspend because of their friends
Image credits: ELEVATE (not the actual photo)
A Credit Karma/Qualtrics study found that many young Americans find themselves in a similar position as the author of the Reddit post.
In fact, more than one-third of Gen Z and Millennials (36%) have a friend who drives them to overspend. This is leading many to take on debt or end those friendships in an attempt to protect their finances.
Among Millennials with a costly friend, 43% say they typically splash too much money on dining out, while 37% claim this happens when they go for drinks and nights out (37%). Others note more elaborate events, like trips and vacations (22%) or birthday celebrations (21%).
Similarly, Gen Z blame dining out (37%) as the main reason for their overspending, but some of them say they overspend with their friends on clothing (36%), drinks and nights out (32%), trips and vacations (24%), and even self care (20%), including things like massages and manicures.
The top reasons the respondents of the study spend money they don’t want to include not wanting to feel left out (this is true for 31% of Gen Z and 32% of Millennials who say they have a friend who drives them to overspend), wanting to keep up with their friend’s lifestyle (29% of Gen Z and 28% of Millennials) and wanting to please their friend (29% of Gen Z and 28% of Millennials). Another 28% of Millennials also confess they simply don’t know how to say “no” to this friend.
But there is nothing wrong with taking your personal budget responsibly
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
Regardless of how much you make, therapist and friendship expert Melanie Ross Mills thinks you should commit to advocating not only for others but yourself as well.
Those who make more should ask friends what they’re willing to spend before buying front-row concert tickets for their group, or consider how much it would cost a friend to take an Uber across town, and instead suggest meeting up closer to where they live. On the flip side, the lower-earning friends should clearly express their priorities and limits.
“They might not mind spending more for a better seat at a concert,” Ross Mills says, “but they don’t care for a 2015 French Bordeaux.”
However, higher earners shouldn’t assume what their friends can and cannot afford, either. While it may seem like you’re doing them a favor by not inviting them to an expensive spa procedure, don’t keep the event a secret. The person could view the exclusion as rejection. Instead, try to discuss it together.
If you have difficulty sticking to your own budget once you’re out, Ross Mills suggests taking out cash beforehand and spending only that amount.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is transparency. And it sounds like the Redditor handled the situation well.
People unanimously applauded the author of the now-viral story
Some shared their own similar experiences
It's always the people who spent more who accuse the ones who spent less of being "tacky" or "cheap" or whatever for not subsidizing their life choices. You ate it, you bought it. If husband feels like his wife showing common sense regarding their shared finances is such a blow to his tiny ego, he can sacrifice some of his personal funds to pay for other people to drink.
For real. It's all projection because these people are the ones trying to get their friends to pay for their food and use them to farm credit card rewards points. The guy who put the bill on his credit card is actually the cheap one.
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Throw down your card without discussing the bill first and I'll assume you're paying for everything:-)
Exactly, like my little sister does. She throws it down real fast because she knows I don't like my younger siblings to buy stuff for me. We are always arguing, her and her husband owns a couple of businesses I do childcare and I'm a single mother. I tries to cash app or venmo her money she either blocks me or send it back with extra.
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It happened to me more than once. Most often, with people who earned a good living, they don't think about those who earn less. "No, I won't pay for your steak and wine, even though I ate a small salad and drank tap water."
It's not that they don't think about those that earn less, they just don't care. My friends and I either go dutch treat, one person treats (if it's planned that way) or we do separate checks. If we don't do seperate checks we still only pay OUR own share. None of my friends ever want to split the check evenly. If they did I would refuse even if my share was larger.
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It's always the people who spent more who accuse the ones who spent less of being "tacky" or "cheap" or whatever for not subsidizing their life choices. You ate it, you bought it. If husband feels like his wife showing common sense regarding their shared finances is such a blow to his tiny ego, he can sacrifice some of his personal funds to pay for other people to drink.
For real. It's all projection because these people are the ones trying to get their friends to pay for their food and use them to farm credit card rewards points. The guy who put the bill on his credit card is actually the cheap one.
Load More Replies... Throw down your card without discussing the bill first and I'll assume you're paying for everything:-)
Exactly, like my little sister does. She throws it down real fast because she knows I don't like my younger siblings to buy stuff for me. We are always arguing, her and her husband owns a couple of businesses I do childcare and I'm a single mother. I tries to cash app or venmo her money she either blocks me or send it back with extra.
Load More Replies... It happened to me more than once. Most often, with people who earned a good living, they don't think about those who earn less. "No, I won't pay for your steak and wine, even though I ate a small salad and drank tap water."
It's not that they don't think about those that earn less, they just don't care. My friends and I either go dutch treat, one person treats (if it's planned that way) or we do separate checks. If we don't do seperate checks we still only pay OUR own share. None of my friends ever want to split the check evenly. If they did I would refuse even if my share was larger.
Load More Replies...
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