Splitting the restaurant bill with many people?

[Cindy's Mom]

I once went out with a group of friends and my 12.95 chicken dinner ended up costing me 75.00!! After that night I said I would never again go out with a group and split the bill! I don't drink wine or alcohol or eat red meat or lobster, all things they all ordered...and it was wine by the bottle, not even just a glass, there were plenty of bottles ordered. Sure it was a great deal for them to split the bill but me and another person that also didn't drink got the shaft!

that's insane. shame on you for paying $75.00 and shame on your friends for accepting $75.00. Never in a million years would that occur in my group of friends.

 

[frndshpcptn]

we generally split the bill evenly among the whole group.

 

[LuvTigger]

These are my 3 suggestions, since this obviously isn't an easy answer!:

(1) Ask the server if it would be a pain to ask for separate checks, and if he/she is fine with it, go for it. If they say it's a problem, then see #2 or #3.

(2) Designate one person as the "money person" for the entire trip. There's usually at least one in every group who is good at figuring out the money stuff. For my group, that's me (I went on a group trip with 6-8 people, and it was my job to figure out anything relating to money).

This money person should be armed with a pen, calculator, and a piece of paper. When the bill comes, write down everyone's names on the paper (you could even pre-print these at home with the names and spaces to put amounts), and all the items that belong to them. While you're doing this, check them off the tab so you know which ones you counted already. Deteremine with everyone ahead of time how much tip you're willing to pay. Let's just say it's 20% and tax is 7%. You would multiply each person's tab by 1.27 or 27% if your calculator has that feature. You can write down what each person gave if they don't have exact change, and work the change out later.

(3) If you determine ahead of time that a lot of people in your group don't want to bring so much cash for meals, you can rotate who pays for what with credit cards. Again, designate one person to keep track of all of this. Create a simliar chart to #2, so you know how much each person is eating each meal. On day 1, person A can charge lunch and person B can charge dinner, and rotate. Every night, have a running tally of each person's meal total, and subtract out what they charged. So if person A ate $40 of food but charged $120 for one of the meals, they have an $80 "credit." At the end of the trip, you would need to do some calculating. The "debits" and "credits" should be almost the same amount (they should be exactly the same, but no one's perfect!), and the people who have debits owe the people who have credits.

I agree that splitting things evenly can cause problems in the long run -- I'm not even thinking about me losing out, I would be afraid that my friends would lose out!

Anyway, whoever said there is no easy solution is right, but with proper planning, and at least one person who is willing to be the "money person," I think you can do it.

Oh, and I'll throw in a 4th option: again, a designated money person, can collect say, $200 per person, in advance, and will be in charge of keeping track of everyone's meals. Periodically, see how much of the $200 they've used, and they can "recharge" their credit by giving you more money. Make sure you've always got more, rather than them having to owe you money. At the end of the trip, give back whatever "credit" they have left. Then there's no fussing at the table with money going back and forth. The person with the money envelope pays, and if you get a copy of the tab, you can do the calculations later.

 

[EthansMom]

(2) Designate one person as the "money person" for the entire trip. There's usually at least one in every group who is good at figuring out the money stuff. For my group, that's me (I went on a group trip with 6-8 people, and it was my job to figure out anything relating to money).

This money person should be armed with a pen, calculator, and a piece of paper. When the bill comes, write down everyone's names on the paper (you could even pre-print these at home with the names and spaces to put amounts), and all the items that belong to them. While you're doing this, check them off the tab so you know which ones you counted already. Deteremine with everyone ahead of time how much tip you're willing to pay. Let's just say it's 20% and tax is 7%. You would multiply each person's tab by 1.27 or 27% if your calculator has that feature. You can write down what each person gave if they don't have exact change, and work the change out later.

On our trip to WDW last Dec. with my Mom and Stepdad, we did #2 for many dinners. We had a DDE card, so it made sense to just put all of our meals on one bill and then split it later. It worked well for us, but honestly, my Mom is the only family member I'd trust to pay her full share.

 

[SpecialK]

I grew up in the city and I can verify that a lot of your nicer restaurants will not write separate checks. I go out for dinner with a group of friends (8 to 12 of us depending on schedules) and we always just divide the total by the number of people. All that calculating at the end of the meal would ruin the evening for us. If somebody knows they've had a more expensive meal or a couple more drinks than the rest of us, she'll throw in extra money. If somebody isn't drinking, they throw in less.

A friend of mine travels with a group each summer and they use a kitty system. Everbody throws in a couple hundred at the beginning of the trip and they use it for all their meals. At the end of the trip, they divide what's left evenly.

 

[arminnie]

we did #2 for many dinners.

Sorry - I couldn't resist laughing at that line. (no offense)

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My DH and I go out once a year with dinner group and we split the bill evenly. The problem is, we usually order the least expensive entrees (we're vegetarian, which usually puts a cap on it right there) and we're trying to watch our portions. This last year I was on medication which decreased my appetite, but we had 2 get-togethers for that night and we went with the other plans. We drink, but not much--an alcoholic drink or maybe 2, but some of the other people drink a lot. The bottom line is that for the two of us we end up paying close to what we'd normally pay if our whole family goes out, not to mention much more than our split of the bill. But that's how it's always been done and it's awkward suggesting a change. It would be difficult to do separate checks since sometimes bottles of wine are shared.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

When we go out with large groups of friends--someone will "host" a bottle of wine (i.e. noone splits the bill on that).

I don't understand the logic of overpaying for your meal just to hang out with friends. If you don't mind-that is find, but cost wise--you are getting jipped. Usually the ones spending less than they would with their own tab and don't wish to pay in full would mind.

I am just aghast at how this is appropriate in any respect.

I liked some of the workarounds (girls vacation with the accountant was funny!), but to consistently overpay just to have dinner with friends, just doesn't make sense to me. It may be easier, but it seems illogical.

Reminds me of the fair when I was a kid--my step-sister talked me into giving her money so we could win a bigger prize in a game--and then she kept the prize and I let her. Fool me once--shame on you, fool me twice--shame on me.

 

[Arielle22]

The group I go out with is my siblings and spouses. I have 1 vegan sister so she adds what she owes and we split the rest of the bill among the rest of us. However we all eat at the same level. If we are not getting steak it is usually another item which is just as expensive. We all eat the appetizers and dessert so it doesn't bother us. I do have 1 bil who is a little cheap with the tip. By splitting evenly he doesn't embarass my sister with a small tip. (they have had discussions on this many times but he will not change his ways)

When my sisters and I go out for the day shopping we keep mental track of what we are spending. I might pick up breakfast on the way to get them so one gets the lunch and another puts gas in the tank. When we are in a store if 1 of us is getting just 1 item and another has several, they get lumped together and the 1 with more items pays. At the next store it will probably be the other sister paying for an item.

Our motto is that it all evens out in the end.