Split the bill or pay for your own order?

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

I don't think it's that complicated, people round up the cost of a couple of dishes and drinks add a tip and say charge £x to this card.

If you're going out for dinner with people you argue with I'd not want to meet them anyway! We all have lean times, and knowing someone can meet up and not spend much means they can come out and I'd rather that.

This is why I don’t go out with people who do that. Because once is enough. Cannot abide people who are tight and don’t tip. You know you are going for a meal so you can put aside a few pennies for the waiter.
And if you are skint you say I can only afford x-amount. Nobody is mind readers

 

[Kimbo92]

That's all anyone ever needs to pay. If you went to Tesco with a friend, you wouldn't expect them to pay for a bit of your shopping.

Buying groceries at the supermarket is not the same thing though as being with a group of friends on a social occasion. Of course people can choose to pay for their own meal/drinks if they wish, it’s just something that I don’t do when out with friends. When I have a weekend away with friends we usually have a kitty that plays for all drinks and meals rather than split the bill each time.

 

[lizziew92]

Always split the bill and the tip as generally have the same number of courses and even if I was driving or my drink was cheaper life’s too short to argue over a few quid.

I have family members who will come for a meal e.g. for my birthday, sit there being miserable, share a starter and drink tap water so they can only pay for theirs. I’m like just don’t bother coming

 

[Sp20191]

One of my absolute hates is splitting the bill!

I don’t drink alcohol so no way do I get anything when splitting the bill. I like to pay for what I’ve eaten not everyone else! X

I also don’t actually tip if we’re out on our own or a small group (if it’s a big group we do but only if the service was good!)

 

[coconochanel]

Split the bill unless someone had a lot more then the rest then I'd say pay for what you ordered individually or its not fair on the others. Give a tip if the service was good I don't just give a tip for the sake of it.

 

[SavvyBee]

I’m happy to split the bill but would notice if someone had much less than others or hadn’t been drinking and would make a point that they should pay for what they’ve had (assuming they round it up and include service) and the rest gets split, sometimes you have a couple of drinks more or less than others but over time it evens out.
If it’s close friends I would expect people to say ahead of ordering listen I’m a bit skint so I’m just going pay for my own / I’ll get my own drinks and not do rounds etc. We’ve all been there, nothing to be ashamed of and I would rather someone paid for what they could afford than not come. It’s when people can afford it and are open about their disposable income but still quibble over pennies that it irritates me or insist on splitting the bill when they’ve had far more. I know a couple like this and think it’s a really unpleasant trait. If you’re wanting to pay for what you had then I expect people would make a note of prices when ordering and round up a bit to cover service, it’s not hard, but please please don’t ask for the receipt and add up to the penny each single item. It’s awkward and always makes me cringe a bit. Or people who insist they’re fine splitting the bill but then make awkward comments about the cost of what some others have ordered.
I would always know if I’d ordered the most expensive thing / had much more than others and would make a point of paying more first.
Everyone pays by card these days, I think as long as you know what you’re paying when the staff come to take it rather than make them wait whilst you figure out the sums, they usually don’t mind.

 

[Very traditional]

One of my best friends is paid significantly less than the rest of us, doesn't drink much and is a very fussy eater so usually has whatever chicken is on the menu which is usually also the cheapest option - I wouldn't dream of saying to split the bill and expecting her to pay towards my wine or cocktails or fish dish, why should she? If with other friends and we've eaten similar and drank round for round then yes we would split so like a pot of you it depends on the situation. I certainly wouldn't judge someone for wanting to pay for their own or think they're tight

 

[erin182]

I just pay for what I’ve ordered It’s so easy just to ask the staff to pay x amount on card! I won’t usually tip because I don’t carry cash.

 

[WilmaHun]

I don't drink alcohol and tend to eat very small portions so I would rather always pay for my own. Whenever I have split the bill previously I've always felt like I've just paid for everyone else to have a good time, when they've all had multiple courses and cocktails or multiple alcoholic drinks whilst I've just had a main and a coke.

 

[Lynseyp]

I rarely go out with my work colleagues but on this occasion i did as one of them got sacked and I wanted to know what happened as im such a nosy cow . We arranged to meet at a Cafe for drinks, no food. After an hour there was no gossip to be told so decided to leave and so did everyone else. One person said to the other "oh i'll pay for you" and my colleague said that she will pay for me. I couldn't be arsed with that and working out who owed what so the bill only came to £12 so i paid for it all and left.

 

[Chewingthefat]

I think it completely depends on people’s circumstances. I’ve been in a situation where I’ve gone out for a meal, expecting to pay for what we had, ordering very little because I was pretty skint and then someone in the group saying to the waiter “ let’s just split it 8 ways” without discussing with everyone else first. There’s me sitting thinking ‘ Fuck, that’s way more than I can afford but too embarrassed to say anything! I think it’s tricky when your group of mates are all on different pay grades. I’ve cancelled meals out with friends simply because I can’t afford to split the bill and too mortified to tell them.

 

[Kimbo92]

One of my best friends is paid significantly less than the rest of us, doesn't drink much and is a very fussy eater so usually has whatever chicken is on the menu which is usually also the cheapest option - I wouldn't dream of saying to split the bill and expecting her to pay towards my wine or cocktails or fish dish, why should she? If with other friends and we've eaten similar and drank round for round then yes we would split so like a pot of you it depends on the situation. I certainly wouldn't judge someone for wanting to pay for their own or think they're tight

Absolutely, I would not dream of it either.

 

[bunnyboo]

With with my friends in restaurants, everyone pays for what they ordered. We usually just round up though so whatever change we get can be left as a tip. For example, I know when we go to Wagamamas, my order is always €17ish. So, I bring a €20 note with me and the rest of the group do the same. We have one friend who won't do this, and will literally count out the coins (10c, 20c etc) and it kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Like if his order was €18.45... he'd count out the 45c. He refuses to leave a small tip out of principle. And before any of you give out to me and say well maybe he's broke... he's not lol, he works at an American tech firm and makes €80k a year. Leaving the wagamama waitress €1.50 isn't going to bankrupt him lol.

And then with my best friend, we have a 'it's my turn to pay' policy when get drive-thru McDonalds or go for a coffee etc. We alternate payment, easy system with no fuss.

When it comes to drinking in the pub with group of friends, it's usually "oh, this is my round" kind of deal haha.

 

[Causewaygal]

We tend to split it which was a bit difficult for me when I first started socializing with my work family (it’s a tight knit crowd) I eat a lot less than everyone else so I quickly learnt to drink more cocktails to get my money’s worth

 

[DinosaursLayEggs]

Depends on who I’m with. My boyfriend and I generally split 50/50 unless it’s a birthday or we’re celebrating a big achievement (new job, promotion, etc) then the other person pays. Works for us.

With friends, we generally split as we tend to eat and drink equal amounts.

Exception being my boyfriends parents, I will split food but not drinks as they drink way more than I do, and I’m generally the designated driver so it seems unfair to pay for multiple bottles of wine when I’ve only had a glass of lemonade. Similarly, one of my boyfriends friends, they are stingy as fuck (and I know they can definitely afford it as they are always buying new stuff they don’t necessarily need) and have taken advantage of us in the past, so I prefer now to just pay for myself. Funnily enough, when we did that, they stopped choosing the most expensive meals...

 

[Luna_]

My friends and I have always paid for what we had. As teenagers we'd work out the amounts on the back of the receipt and use our phones to add everything up! We've never had issue with it - everyone's affordability is different and this saves anyone the embarrassment of not being able to afford a share of a bill. We always throw a bit each in for a tip. If it's someone's birthday we will usually share that between everyone else but on top of our individual bills. If i'm having one course and drinking water, I don't want to subsidise someone else's steak and alcohol - and the friend who ordered that would agree with me!

 

[Lyds26]

My friends and I all pay for what we order and leave a collective tip. It works for us and none of us have to feel guilty about ordering something expensive.

I think that sounds a really fair way of doing it

 

[Itsallaboutmememe]

If I’m out with my partner one pays (we take it in turns) for both
If we’re out with my in laws they insist on paying for us all
Out with friends we pay for our own
(I have treated when I know they are skint-they pay next time and it all comes out in the wash-but only with good friends Ive known for years)

 

[TheScarletgirl]

How tight of you.

I'm northern £15 is about 5 drinks for us !

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

I agree with @Hinchhater1442 I’ve been on a tight budget before but been upfront with friends with what I could afford and bless them sometimes they’d treat me. Ofcourse now things are better I sometimes like to treat them and will pay the whole bill.
But for me the general rule is you split the bill and you leave a 10% tip, unless the service was shit then none