Etiquette Tuesday: How to Divide??

As we get older, dining out with groups is somewhat of a different experience than when we were in college. In college, you ordered what you could pay for and that was that. Now it seems you order what you want to eat and the bill is just evenly divided at the end of the meal. It's funny because a few years ago, we would immediately reach across the table and tally up what we ordered down to the very last dime. Now, not so much. We feel a bit awkward going tick for tack (*Translation: this for that) on the bill now especially when we did take a bite of the other persons crab artichoke dip...shouldn't we contribute something towards that??

Today times are financially tougher and everyone is super frugal in the new decade but here are a few tips on how to stay recession free without being too much of a prick in the butt about the $2.00 sparkling water you didn't order:

-It's safe to assume if the group is larger than 5 or 6 than things will be split evenly (*that is unless somebody orders the lobster and everyone else gets the chicken...make them pay for that expensive excursion...)

-If you know you are going to split the check in the beginning, tell the waiter in the beginning

-Of course be courteous of noticeable discrepancies: Non-drinkers shouldn't have to pay the evenly divided bill if everyone else is drinking cocktails or in cases where a person orders only a salad while everybody else orders full entrees.

This etiquette tip is for working, able individuals of course. Remember JKGF did not always have a working budget and had to go tick for tact on every bill...

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