Splitting the Bill: The Apps and Etiquette to Avoid Awkward Conversations
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Here's your money briefing for Wednesday, May 15th. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. A group dinner with friends often ends with the question, how are we splitting the bill? Settling up after a fun night out can often result in an awkward math session.
It doesn't have to be that complex. You can put down a couple credit cards or Venmo your friends. But when things get more complicated, like someone who doesn't drink or someone who drinks a lot or things that are really out of the norm for the rest of the group, that's where you need to think about different ways to divide the tab.
Wall Street Journal personal technology editor Shara Tibkin tested out a few apps to do that. She'll join us after the break.
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Going out to dinner or drinks with friends can be a fun way to unwind until it comes time to split the bill. Wall Street Journal personal technology editor Shara Tibkin joins me. Shara, why do group dinners or events give people jitters?
Why does splitting the bill make group dinners awkward?
It really comes down to the end of the night when you have to pay for whatever it is you did. A lot of people try to gauge what is everybody else going to order? Is it really okay for me to have a second drink? What if I just have water? How do you make sure everything is fair and you're not overpaying or underpaying or escaping paying entirely and have these fun nights with your friends without having kind of the tension that comes with money conversations?
That's a lot of pre-gaming going into just a dinner.
Yes. You know, it doesn't have to be that complex. If you're planning to split the bill, you can put down a couple credit cards or Venmo your friends. When things get more complicated, like someone who doesn't drink or someone who drinks a lot or things that are really out of the norm for the rest of the group, that's where you need to think about different ways to divide the tab.
And you spoke to etiquette experts who have actually weighed in on this. What kind of plan do they say people should have going into a night out?
Yeah, what they all said across the board is that you should manage expectations up front. In the past, it used to be that if you invited someone to do something, the understanding was that you were going to pay for everything. That is not the case now. Really, what you should do, though, is say at the start of a dinner, like, hey, we're going to split this evenly or, hey, who wants to pay for this? I'll Venmo you back or whatever it is that works for you and your friend dynamics. But it's really important to sort of have those conversations.
If after the fact you see that you ate or drank less than everybody else, is there a diplomatic way to make that known?
etiquette experts I talked to said it's totally fine to just say, hey, guys, I only had water and a salad. Do you mind if I pay a little bit less? Or, you know, on the opposite side, if you had a more expensive main course or you had a couple extra drinks, You can say, hey, I know I consumed more.
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