C’mon, admit it. You don’t like to be the one who picks up the check when you’re out at lunch with your friends. You probably avoid going out to lunch with office pals just to avoid the potential hazard of getting stuck with the check.

And when you are dragged out of the office, you don’t want to be that guy who asks the waiter for separate checks. Luckily Money Saving Blog is here to help you get out of there having paid only your share. It even offers some suggestions to attain the best of all worlds — a lunch out that’s paid for by some other sap.

Tip No. 1 is ridding that foolish brain of yours of any guilt-driven need to reach for that foreboding black mini-folder:

One of the biggest problems that people have with picking up the bill is that they don’t even know exactly why they do it. The fact of the matter for a lot of people is that they do it because of emotional issues related to money. If you pick up the whole table’s bill at a restaurant then it may be because you want to impress people. If you started picking up the bill more often when you got laid off from work, it may be because you’re embarrassed about the layoff and you don’t want others to know. Deal with your underlying emotional issues about money. Address them head-on and you’ll be a lot less likely to pick up the bill.

The post also suggests using mobile banking to transfer money into the check-payer’s account to make things right immediately. If you become Credit Card Guy — the one who thinks you’re pulling one over on everyone else by putting the whole shebang on your card to reap the rewards as everyone else throws in their cash — expect to be shortchanged. It’s just human nature to chip in a little less than you really need to, hoping the next person will cover you.

10 tips to avoid picking up the bill [Money Saving Blog]
(Photo: tokyohanna)

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