Eating Out (Being Treated)

I can’t wait to hear everyone’s opinions on this topic. When you want to go out to eat with your friends, how do you go about inviting the other person? My best friend and I use to eat out on a regular basis. We would say “let’s do lunch” and we both always paid for our own meals. I had a neighbor who would invite me out and when I would decline because I was running low on funds, she always told me that if she did the inviting then she was paying. Is this actually a thing? I certainly can not afford to pay every single time I ask my friends to go out and eat.

It is all about the communication. Sometimes I am going out to eat and treating my friend on a budget but other times I wanna spoil us both. Alot of times, I don’t even tell the other person that I am paying. The reason I do this is because the person orders what they would normally order if they were paying for their own meal. I have had friends ask me if they get a larger portion, two meats or can they add extras. If it is what you want or would normally purchase for yourself, then I have no problem with it.

It is not acceptable to order extra food, larger portions when someone else is paying so that you will have food for later or a meal the next day. When being treated to a meal, it is for the food infront of you. I enjoy the atmosphere, food, being served and the company I am with. I have gone out to eat before and been on a strict budget or not extremely hungry. I have bought a meal to share before and I feel that comes with fetiquette rules. It is important to agree on a meal both of you will enjoy, pick sides together and split the meal evenly.

I have some really great friends that I love to go out and eat with. We try to equally treat each other when we can or when the other person needs a special day. Most of the time though, we pay our own way. It is important to never take advantage of someone’s generosity or ever feel like you are being taken advantage of. Be generous, be fair and enjoy your friends.