Nothing like going to dinner with acquaintances (people you don't know well) and when the check arrives have them announce "Let's split the check 10 ways, it's just easier." No, you steak-eating, appetizer-inhaling, cocktail-guzzling jerkwad, it's not "easier." It's me subsidizing your meal.

@Wally East: ha last week i went out with some friends and the bill ended up being $450. Naturally someone said lets just split it its easier! Awesome said I, now i just spent $140 for steamed clams and 3 beers!! (there was four of us and i second the term jerkwad)

What happens when your friend, who has a lower spending limit, is the one always suggesting to do things that will cost money?

"Let's go drive to that pub I heard about in Calgary. It's only an hours drive. Hey...you want to drive?"

Next thing I know I'm paying for all the fuel. Never again.

Splitting checks has got to be one of the most frustrating things about eating out with friends. I now simply tell people at the beginning of the meal that I, or I and my wife, will have a separate check. Some places won't let you split a check, and in those instances, I will total our bill up if there's an obvious discrepancy in how much our portion would be compared to the total bill. (My wife is a vegetarian, so we often have a much lower total than two people eating meat entrees). Sometimes this can be awkward, but frankly, I'll take a little awkwardness to save sometimes as much as $50-$100.

When I started working downtown I was buying lunch every day. That came out to about $50 a week, or $200 a month. With my wife doing the same thing, it got expensive real quick. I've switched to canned foods and ramen and cut that down to a fraction of the cost. Sandwiches from home would be similar in cost, but I'm to lazy to make one every day. I still get to eat out occasionally and get it paid for, because my company pays for lunch about twice a month.

I don't know how well this works with men, but when I get that vibe I usually set my cash for my beer & spring rolls on the table & excuse myself to the bathroom. When I come back, even if they announced that everyone's splitting the bill evenly I can just go "well I already paid". Not part of the decision, therefore, not a part of it. AND I paid my fair share. Volia!

I recently went out to dinner with an old friend in Miami that I hadn't seen in years. I let him select the restaurant, he lives there. The bill for 4 of us, with tip, was $800. Since he selected the restaurant I let him pay. If he had chosen somewhere more reasonable I would have offered to pay or at least split the bill with him. Great meal!

@Sudonum: 800 dollars? Jesus Christ.

I've never split the check with friends. The closest I've come is when I'm eating with extended family (my parents, wife's family) and the parents split the check that way. If I'm out with my friends we all assume everyone's poor and will order what they can afford. I've footed the bill for an appetizer for everyone, but that's about it.

@Drowner:
Yeah, that's what I said. I had estimated around $500 when I saw the cost of items on the menu. I was shocked when the bill came. He grabbed it, like he always does. I said "what, about $500?, he said "no, $800, but that includes tip".

I once had dinner with friends who later wanted to split the bill. I flatly refused. I'd had a hip-friendly salad. They'd had crab cakes and lobster. Hell no, I'm not paying for your $40 meal when I ate a $5 salad. My friens have since learned not to ask me to join in on splitting the bill. It's each man for himself.

This is why I don't hang out with the people from my work. I am on a very tight budget and so I don't like to go out to bars or anything, and that's what they do. It's hard when you don't know someone real well and want to do something very cheap.

Man, I guess I'm lucky to have broke friends, because on the off chance we do go out to eat together, it's usually someplace cheap. Everyone's smart enough to order only what they know they can afford and pay their own portion of the bill. There have been a few times where I've offered to pay for an appetizer or something, but the day I get stuck paying for someone else's meal (especially when the bill's close to $800) and we aren't dating is the day they leave the circle of friends.

When I was poorer, I relied on the kindness of friends when dining out. Now that I'm no longer poorer, I treat less fortunate friends when dining out. That leads to some expensive evenings, but I don't keep a ledger in my head when it comes to true friends.

When it's just acquaintances, I don't mind splitting a check either evenly or by what was ordered -- whatever the table decides. In either case, I make sure that it's not a bread-and-water evening for me and a steak-and-martini night for everyone else. If you're out, have a good time (within reason and budget).

If you feel that there's a good chance that you're going to get screwed at dinner, and you just don't feel like paying, you can 1) pick better friends to hang out with, or 2) decline to have dinner with them and meet them for drinks afterward.

$800 for food LOL

are you saying he gave a $300 tip. RETARDED.

@Necoras:
This.

Anyone who eats more than you and wants to split the bill knows exactly what he's doing. If money were no issue, he would pay the whole bill. Anyone poor enough to need to split will notice he's saving money.

@kable2:
I think the OP meant the $500 was just his own estimate based on the menu prices

If you have no dependents, why have any insurance (other than enough to bury you)? I figure I've got more than enough in my estate for a cremation and an urn and a reception after the toasting.

On spliting dinner -- I hate to go with large groups that don't know each other really well. You either end up way over (..a 42% tip?) or under. Seems that people can't do math in the presence of strangers. And someone always leaves early, throws a $20 on the table and really owed about $30 with tip. Restaurants would do really well if they could guarantee separate checks with no hassle.

"true friends should be willing to adjust their plans by, for example, choosing a less pricey restaurant."

My good friend does this to me all the time and it pisses me off. I have a substantially different budget than she and anytime we go out it's always to the most chi-chi place in town. I feel like a heel if I bring up that wherever we go is way out of my price range.

It's tough, sometimes, trying to balance being frugal without seeming like you're a wet blanket.

They recommend vacationers to stay with friends and family. Please don't do that in New York City. New Yorkers spend a lot of money for little space and get an average of 10 visits a year from friends and family, which gets really annoying after a while. If you can't afford $400 a night for a hotel, go somewhere else. Like Orlando.

@Drowner: My thoughts EXACTLY! What did you eat? Sliced Koala braised in baby Seal sauce?

@kable2:
No, I'm saying that he left an appropriate 15% tip and the total of the bill with tip was approximately $800.
@mbz32190:
Exactly, and I was not the OP. I was merely commenting on a recent evening out at an expensive restaurant. If my friend had chosen a more reasonably priced venue, then I would have offered to pick up the check, or at least split it. Since he chose the place, and had been there before, he knew what the cost was going to be and had no reason to assume that I would be "fine" with paying that kind of money for dinner. One other thing that played into my decision NOT to offer to assist with the bill was that the other 2 diners were members of his family.

My best friend and I take turns, one time she pays the bill, the next time I pay. And if we go to an expensive place one time, and a cheap place the next, we will usually pay again till it evens out, as with Seinfeld, it always seems to even out.

F*ck all that. I will never ever just split a bill X ways unless everyone pretty much owes the same amount within a buck or two. I won't pay for anyone else's meal and I don't expect anyone to pay for mine, unless they are treating of course. If you're splitting an intended 6 person meal or you're at a sushi place and you all order rolls and share then ok but if everyone orders their own drinks and entrees then just pay what you owe.

My gf went to a girls night once and this one b!tch was ordered multiple grey goose and tonics and extra dessert. The main course was a 10-person prix fix tapas meal. The bill comes and all my gf had was the food for the prix fix and water. The grey goose b!tch says, let's split the bill. It would've cost my gf an extra $30 for nothing but she flat out refused.

@Drowner: I understand where you're coming from but why not just say, I didn't order $50 worth of food so I'm not paying for it. If they are your friends they'll respect your decision and if they're just acquaintances then they're not worth keeping around.

@Jim (The Canuck One):
The food was well prepared with generous portions, and we had 2 bottles of wine that ran about $125 each, but no, we weren't eating anything exotic. I think the price mainly had to do with the location, some tony place on a private island on the south side of downtown Miami.

I used to always get a kick out of reading advice from these financial experts that basically boiled down to cutting back on latte's at Starbucks. So this DOES represent some progress. That said, be careful on the switching insurance companies every couple of years (especially for car insurance). The big spending advertisers (GEICO,Progressive etc...) are in the business of making money,not paying claims or making your life better. When you have a claim, you become an unprofitable customer and they dump you pretty quick. This also sets the clock back to zero for any good driver discounts or other longevity based incentives when you have to shop around to replace their coverage. A friend of mine that is in the insurance business also says that the biggies are much snarkier about finding ways to deny,delay or "shave" claims. They have all of the power and their relationship with you is transactional,so they don't care if you stay or leave.Also, if you get dumped and don't replace your insurance in time, some states impose a penalty fee for your registration or suspend it altogether. There goes those "savings" . Just my two cents...

@postnocomments: Or, if you're visiting friends who have the good taste to live someplace worth visiting, scope out a rough approximation of what the hotel costs would have been. Then take that amount and make sure to spend about that much taking your hosts out, buying them thank you gifts, etc. And, obviously, become their temporary maids so they don't have to lift a finger your entire visit.

> You'll be heartily invited back, and they'll sleep w/ the damned DJ if they have to if it means getting you into the best clubs the next time around.

To do otherwise is to advertise that you were raised by wolves.

With my friends I am known as the check divider. I always pick it up and give everyone a number that they owe based on what they ate plus tax and tip. Everyone pays for what they got, but tip is per person.

Hmm...I've never been to a place that didn't allow checks to be split up. I never, however, go anywhere if I feel someone is operating under the assumption that I'll pay for them -.- If I decide to foot the bill, it will be out of generosity, not some undue obligation.

If there's ever any question that I feel the person is going to get me to pay, I simply say, "Well, yeah, we can go, but I only have like 10/15/20 dollars (approximate value to feed ONLY myself) to spend until my next paycheck." It will either lead to a silence where they say "nevermind" or they'll fish out their own wallet.

@Sudonum: That's awesome! Great to splurge from time to time, when you can afford it. Also nice to be able to share that time with friends.

But I had no idea you could eat gold!

I had friends who always did the split check thing. Twice we went and I ended up loosing about 40 bucks by doing so and they wouldn't listen to me. After that I did 2 times of racking up 8 dollar drinks and got my way.

@Snarkysnake: I've never heard of anyone being dumped by the larger insurance companies if they have a good driving record. Most of the people in my family never get tickets, and have only been in 1-2 accidents (that weren't their fault) in 40+ years of driving.

One good idea that I've heard (that doesn't annoy servers as much as separate checks for each person) is one check for food and one for drinks. This makes it much easier on the people who are too broke to drink fancy-expensive cocktails all night and spent the dinner drinking water when it comes time to pay.

And I've also become more assertive in speaking up when someone says "oh, lets just split the check X ways". Also - having small bills with you helps so you can leave exactly what you owe.

@anatak:
Sure you can [en.wikipedia.org]

I hate splitting the check evenly. I'm a vegetarian and one of my boyfriend's best friends loves fancy steakhouses. We go, I get a salad and a glass of wine, everyone else gets apps, steak, sides, and the best friend orders a bottle of wine he read about in one of his pretentious wine snob magazines (frequently in the $100 range). My meal $70.

@stephdmonkey: Should say My meal $70. And we split evenly.

If you have no dependents, you don't need life insurance. Young children don't need life insurance, either, unless they're making money and supporting YOU. I wonder how much Gerber makes on that racket.

The purpose of life insurance is to provide your dependents with financial support in the event of your passing. The amount should be selected based on what costs they would have and how long they would need the financial coverage.

I don't think I've ever been out with people who've suggested splitting the bill, and I wouldn't accept the suggestion anyway.

As for "laying down the law with your friends"...too f'in' right! My husband thinks its tacky to tell our friends we can't afford something, but I'm usually the one who ends up paying his share of the bill, so screw him. :)

@Ragman: Life insurance for children is usually used to cover the cost of funerals. Parents don't need MUCH, but a little can help when its too hard to face the loss AND going broke because the funereal industry is so evil.

Randomhookup:
A single person might want life insurance, depending on their plans. If you don't plan on having a family until your 30s or 40s, you still might want to lock in a policy early on. There's always the chance that you develop a chronic disease before you have dependents, making it impossible/costly to get life insurance when you need it.

I've seen it happen to someone who developed diabetes in his early 30s, got married and had kids a couple years later, and life insurance became prohibitively expensive.

I have absolutely NO SHAME about telling someone that I can't afford to dine at a certain place. And I am not ashamed to announce to a table that I have only budgeted a certain amount for the meal and that's all I can contribute and that I will order accordingly.

There is nothing wrong with that. And if people think I'm cheap, so what?

I second what Snarkysnake said. The savings on premiums is worthless if your insurance co. isn't going to take care of you or is going to drop you for making a claim.

I've heard horror stories about all of them, including mine (State Farm), but they've always stood by me. Once I bought a car and hadn't added comprehensive on it to my policy before it was struck by another driver (within five days of buying it). They backdated the policy. Then, the other driver's insurance co. refused to pay for new parts (on a brand-new car!) and my insurance company fought them and won. When a car hit my open car door and kept going, they agreed it was not my fault and covered the repair. My rates did not go up for any of this. When a neighbor's tree came down in my back yard, they backed me up against her insurance co. (who said it was my problem). They've earned my loyalty by being loyal to me.

Of course it probably helps that I pay my premiums in full and early.

A true friend will hang out with you at Denny's and not bat an eyelash when you pack half your $6 meal in Styrofoam for tomorrow's lunch.

Seriously, those who whine about a $10 difference amongst your friends when splitting a check should seriously consider staying home, or better yet, get different friends if you feel you are being taken advantage of.

Of course, we all know about those chronic underpayers, and I have no problem confronting someone about it after the fact. I just think it's very tacky to insist on paying for everything with seperate cards. At least bring some cash for goodness sake, so you can pay what you owe and be done with it.

I guess it tends to even out for me because my friends understand the concept of "I'll get this one, you can pick it up next time". If your regular dining companions can't get this basic concept of fairness, it's time for a change of dining companions.

It's like giving a friend a ride to the grocery store and presenting an invoice for estimated fuel usage. I don't want to rant here, but I get so frustrated with people who say, I only got the XYZ and I refuse to pay a penny more, even if it takes an extra 20 minutes and tarnishes the whole dining experience. I'd rather just pay it all than be embarrased by this kind of behavior.

If you're too poor to pay for the check outright, you probably are eating at a restaurant out of your budget. If you only have $500 till payday, you shouldn't be eating out ANYWHERE.

@mrgenius: Of course, you have to acknowledge extraordinary circumstances, such as the time we split a 12-way bill at a steakhouse and my spinach-soup-broth and glass of milk (broken jaw = liquid diet) cost me $85 after subsidizing everyone else's porterhouses and filets.

@mrgenius: ...why would one need five hundred dollars to go out to eat?

@mrgenius: Of course, lots of these dinners probably happen with the sorta on-the-fringe friends we all have that we aren't that close with. I used to hate the birthday dinners with 18 people, 3 of whom I know, and we are trying to divide everything including the guest of honor's meal (which we didn't pay attention to the cost of). When it's people you only see a couple of times a year, the back-and-forth of really good friends doesn't work.

And no one likes to announce that they are on a budget and aren't willing to subsidize their friends' meals. If you ordered with that in mind and your friends didn't, it's like playing the 'credit cards in a hat' game without knowing you had opted in.

The other thing about buying life insurance early on, even if you don't have a family, is that some places will pay you back all your premiums after 30 years. You lock in a low rate, and get it paid back.

Tipping should be at least 20% on large groups or a large bill.

I've been lucky enough to have never been in a situation where anyone suggested splitting the check equally. It seems like everyone I know always knows to pay their own share.