The fight over the bill

Who pays when you go out to eat? Do you do separate checks? Do you make it complicated? Do you try to keep it simple? Do you fight over paying the bill?

In my opinion, if it's a family thing, in general, one person should just pick up the tab. When I say a family thing... I mean you're all sitting at the same table and ordering food together. But if it's you and say one other person, you make the call ahead of time if you're doing separate checks or together. I'd say also in general you can never go wrong in picking up the tab, especially if you're the client or you're taking someone younger than you out to a meal.

But, what if someone else is insistent on paying, but you'd really like to take care of the meal? Sometimes you just have to feel it out. Don't make a big deal over it, but see if you can get them to back down or not. If it starts to seem like a verbal argument back down and let them pay. It almost feels like a little bit of an awkward dance where you're trying to figure out your dance partner.

In the end, you can never go wrong with being generous when going out for a meal. You don't always want to be the cheapskate. So look for opportunities to pay and don't fight over the bill.