Splitting the bill...

blackcateddie

I used to go out with a guy who works in the City and I once made the mistake of commenting on how unfair splitting the bill was. Have been made fun of for ten minutes I suggested that if they wanted to split the bill without me then that was fine, otherwise i'd be happy to pay for my share but couldn't bring myself to fork over the equivalent of the downpayment on my new flat for a bunch of overpaid layabouts who could have bought my dinner ten times over without batting an eyelid.

The bf paid from then on!


Since then when I've been on my own i've usually tried to be the first to throw my share into the middle of the table, sayng 'right , that pays for mine what about the rest of you'.........

Anniek1969

This is something that always annoys me. If we go out with a certain family member he always has something more expensive than the rest of us and he always has extras, 2 soups sometimes and he usually orders extra chips with his meal and then coffee as well as at least one soft drink. When the bill comes he always says that we should split it 50/50. I wonder if he would be so keen to split it 50/50 if we were the ones ordering the extras. It usually means that our bill is about £5/£6 more than it would have been if we'd been by ourselves.

This wouldn't normally bother me but he does it every time, even if we order take-away he sometimes orders 2 different main courses as well as extra chips, curry sauce, barbecue ribs and that type of thing and will eat half of each and take the rest home and of course he expects us to split it 50/50.

When we go out in company the bill normally gets split between us all and it normally works out ok but it does put you off going out with others when you're expected to pay for their extras.

inkie

Pay for what you've had i'd say.

roversbabe

If its a work thing, I tend to say that I'm on a budget so I'll pay for my own and keep my drinks seperate - that way I don't look as tight as I am

With friends, we'll just split the bill as we all tend to have around the same.

saver6

With me it all depends on where I go and with whom. WIth close friends it's usually a split between the couples (and boyfriends usually pick up us girls' share!). If it's slightly less close friends, I pay for what I eat/drink and a share of a tip and that's it.

If it's just a night out we do rounds, but if one person is driving they don't buy rounds, and if they are giving lifts then they get a free night out on the rest of us. I tend not to do rounds myself as the boyfriend is far too generous for his own good, however I always make up the difference by paying the taxi fare home.

pinkfluffybabe

Mostly split the bill evenly in groups that I eat out with. I think sometimes you win and sometimes to lose depending on what you have ordered. Those who consistantly order more should pay more, I think, particularly where drink is concerned.

tawnyowls

Whichever way you choose, you need to be upfront at the beginning about how you're going to pay, and if you're going to pay separately, ask for separate bills right at the start. There's nothing worse at the end of a night than someone going 'No, I only had the vegetarian and I didn't have the dessert, and I only had one glass of wine' and then someone else arguing that they actually had two glasses of wine and they had a very expensive liqueur coffee, and so on and so on. It's embarassing and spoils the whole evening. In the end, you can guarantee that the poor twit who got dumped with organising it in the first place will also be the one handling the money and stumping up the missing cash (and there will be cash missing!).

Obviously, if one person won't be paying, then it's only fair to split it, although personally, I'd never dream of not paying if it was my birthday - I might accept a special drink or something, but not to have the full bill paid. If it's a Christmas meal, which, as said above, is often a set menu, then it's usually best to have the cost of a bottle of wine per table included, then if anyone wants anything else, they order it and pay for it themselves.

Mrs_pbradley936

I am in my 50s and been married for nearly 30 years but when I was in my teens and twenties women never paid for anything! If a man took you out, he took you out. But women did not earn the same as men then and when you bought a flat/house what the woman earned did not count.

LydiaSophia

A year or so ago my sister had this problem. Her fiend had a meal out to celebrate her birthday. My sister was driving so didn't drink. Her friends bf and his mates managed to down about 8 pints each and then went on to shorts/ There was only 6 of them at this meal and they insisted on splitting the bill. My sister ended up paying about £70 for a £15 meal she had eaten. She was so upset. I do think that people need to take into consideration that not everyone drinks and it is normally the alcohol that boosts the cost.

I say if you want a bottle of wine to yourself and steak then pay your own cost. I do think that some people are really mean and know taht the bill will be split and take full advantage of this fact!

Crazychik

O MY goodness - Lydia - that was terrible -
Ive only ever been in a situation like this once before. It was a night out with people from work, I'd not been there long. And really didn't know people all that well.
It was a chinese buffet meal all you can eat for £12.
People was ordering extra's of the menu (items which wasn't included in the buffet offer), plus wine by the bottles (i dont drink wine) and then it came to the puddings - people was quite happily ordering away -
All I had was the buffet meal and tap water (which was free). When the bill came, the "So called" supervisor suggested to divide the amount between us all. Without asking if this was ok, I immediately got out my £12 and put that on the table and said - "thats my money for my meal, dont expect me to pay for others with out askin" It killed the atmosphere with a few comments made,I wasn't bothered. I wasn't goin to allow them to treat me or others like that. Think they knew from then on - Im not to be messed with, but Like I said - nothing was mentioned prior ref splitting the cost. I presumed it was a buffet for £12 + your drinks, and thats what I was expecting to pay. If they asked prior the meal ref sharing the cost - I wouldn't have gone.
Things like this need to be dis-cussed so you know what will happen on the night and the time of paying for the meal. People cant presume that you can afford to 'pay for a steak when you only had a burger' scenario
We went to London not long ago, and had a meal out with my cousin and her husband. We offered to pay half, but they refused and paid the lot - which now When I see them again, the treat will be repaid. (providing they dont have the lobster - and I will tell them so - lol)