[Josh Johnson – Ambassador]

I’ve been on the road with a few friends quite a bit lately and being the planner that I am I like to handle the majority of reservations, whether that be for a rental car or a restaurant. Because of that I’m more often than not the one also that ends up putting it on his credit card. Which I don’t mind to do at all (hello rewards credit cards!), but at the same time.. it can be a bit of a hassle to get my friends to follow through with paying me.

Do any of you guys find yourselves in this situation? If so, how do you handle it without being that annoying bill collector friend? Cause I’ll fully admit that I can be a tad forgetful and often times don’t remember who has/hasn’t paid me until it’s too late to come calling for a few bucks.

[Cara Reynolds – SUM180 Community Manager]

Hi Josh! I’ve been in your position, and I admit I’m usually too embarrassed to remind my friends to repay me. This is NOT a sustainable situation, on my budget!

Carla Dearing wrote a post about our predicament, here:
How to split the bill with grace: Cost-sharing etiquette for casual, professional, and romantic situations

Carla offers great tips overall but my favorite is “Pay up on the spot.” Taking care of business immediately eliminates the awkwardness (for me) of having to ask for repayment days or even weeks later!

[Lisa Talley]

This is an important topic for the holidays, with so many social occasions and so much pressure to spend more than we probably should. Not everyone in the family has the same budget, but you want to do special things together. The holidays are a huge minefield of potential money mishaps if you ask me!

[Antoinette Minor – Ambassador]

I totally understand what you’re going through. I tend to be the one making the reservation because I want a good deal and to make sure we don’t wait until the last minute. The problem is my friends would pay me day of the event or ask if they could pay later. It’s not a problem but that means more interest I have to pay in the long run. Here’s what I do now and it may help. I no longer book until I have everyone’s payment. They can all PayPal it and then it sits until everyone’s money is there. If someone doesn’t come through then the money goes back. It keeps everyone accountable instead of just you.

[Kayla Buell – Ambassador]

Oh heck no! LOL 🙂 I have zero problem asking my friends for their share of whatever it is we agree to do. I think it’s just important to communicate all of the details up front. Before you make that reservation, say, “hey…I’m gunna put this on my card, but I need you guys to pay be back within x amount of days or I’ll be hounding you.” But I also like Antoinette’s advice above. If you’re not comfortable going after the money that’s due to you, it would be better to just wait until you have it upfront.