SubscribeWed 16 Jul 2008
A friend of me pointed to this article on NPR on the benefits of taking turns paying the tab. I’ve always been a fan taking turns. My friends and I almost always do it with drinks, and sometimes with smaller meals, but hardly with more expensive meals. Maybe we should start.
The basic premise is that whenever we have to spend money, we feel a little bit of pain regardless of how much that is. As a result it’s better to take turns paying the bill because only one person feels that pain. In addition that person who picks up the tab gets the opportunity to feel good about him or herself. It’s good feelings all around.
This is all great, but from purely financial perspective there can be pitfalls. There of course is the free loader problem, something I feel fortunate in not suffering from amongst my group of friends. However, usually there will be at least one person if not a few individuals who will take advantage of the generosity of others, purposely or by thoughtlessness. This problem can be avoided by not associating with these individuals which is generally advisable anyways.
The bigger problem is overspending. Because taking turns is really quite effective in minimizing the pain of spending money, we often spend too much. I know this is the case, and there is no place more obvious than at a bar when taking turns buying rounds of drinks…
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July 17th, 2008 at 8:57 am
I think behavioral economics is very interesting, but I heard that same story and thought it was quite silly what was proposed. I get greater pleasure paying my share of the check and avoiding freeloaders as dining companions. In a now trite use of the word, that’s priceless.
The point of a shared meal is not to minimize pain. It’s to maximize gastronomic pleasure. How about making the goal all dining pleasure and no pain whatsoever?
July 17th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Another problem is the anti-freeloader. There must be others, like me, who, knowing that someone else is picking up the tab, purposely get cheaper stuff than if they were paying themselves. Thus the premise that “only one person has to suffer” is incorrect. One person may suffer financially but others may suffer emotionally/gastronomically.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
mapgirl, I agree but I actually enjoy picking up the tab and vice versa. Maybe, it’s because I’m old now, but there’s a lot to be said about acts of generosity.
Jon, I know when I pick up the tab or my friends pick up the tab, they only do it after everything has been ordered. As a result there usually isn’t that issue about ordering something you don’t want to order.
The key in all of this doing what works best with your group of friends. Some ways work great amongst a certain set of people, and not so much with others.