Man sparks debate after asking girlfriend to split expensive birthday meal

What’s your stance on splitting the bill when out on a date? What about a birthday meal?!

Well, one man has sparked a hefty debate online after asking his girlfriend to contribute to her own birthday meal.

Posting on Reddit, the boyfriend – who had lived with his partner for seven years – explained that he’d set himself a price limit for his girlfriend’s birthday and made that clear ahead of time.

“At the start of the night, I told her that I had budgeted $500 (£393) for her birthday and that I wouldn’t be able to spend more than that,” he explained. “She was super understanding and said she was totally happy with that.”

The girlfriend was asked to chip in for her birthday meal (Credit: Pexels)

The couple started the night at an adult arcade, did some arts and crafts at a painting event and then headed to a “fancy dinner.”

“Before the restaurant, I told her I only had $200 (£157) left for the evening. She said that was totally fine,” he explained. “She ends up getting a smaller appetiser and ordering a fancy bottle of wine with dinner, because she said she wanted the bubbly more than the food when it came down to it for budgeting.

“At the end, our bill was $223 (£175) and change. When I asked her if she would split the bill with the $23 and tip as her portion [whilst he paid the bulk of the costs] she just looked at me a little dumbfounded and said she only brought her small purse and it didn’t fit her wallet.

“I told her that was totally okay and to just PayPal me the money later. I wasn’t upset or anything and said we could square up at home.”

The boyfriend was on a budget (Credit: Pexels)

However, then the girlfriend apparently “went a little quiet” and didn’t speak to him before bed.

“The next day she gave me the $23 in cash but left it on a note that says ‘since I guess we nickel and dime each other now, here’s your 23 bucks. Happy Birthday, me.'” Yikes.

The duo had lived together for seven years and usually split everything 50/50, but after the frosty response, he took to the forum to question whether asking her to pay was uncalled for…

Reacting to the post, opinions were divided over whether the boyfriend should have paid or not.

Some were on the boyfriend’s side…

“I think you clearly communicated your expectations. $500 isn’t a small amount to spend on someone in one day so it’s not like you were being cheap,” said one person in the comments.

Whilst another agreed: “She ordered [an expensive] bottle of wine despite you saying you only had $200 left over. You told her your budget. It was extremely generous.

“Her sarcastic note, and behaviour after she went over budget after agreeing to pay anything over is disgusting…how childish and entitled.”

The couple chose an expensive restaurant (Credit: Unsplash)

“She is hella selfish for spending 80 percent of their dinner budget on a bottle of wine. Why is this thread not talking more about that?,” a third chimed in.

As a fourth noted: “Your budget was really generous. She knew your limits before and chose to overspend. Yes it’s her birthday but no she doesn’t get to put you in into debt.”

Meanwhile, others were of the opinion that he should have forked out the extra cash.

“Budgets are just a ballpark amount. Usually you account for being under or over budget because it’s hard to estimate expenses. You should have just ate the $23.00 plus tip, since it was a Birthday dinner and not that much over your initial budget,” advised one person.

Whilst another said: “NAH her birthday wasn’t the day to make a point.”

“If you are treating someone on their birthday, YOU plan and budget the evening. That way you know you won’t go over. It shouldn’t be someone else’s problem to calculate how much they have spent on their birthday,” said a third.

What do you think? Who is in the wrong here?

Featured image: Pexels