My Debt Roundup – October 2010

69 dollars! This month my debt decreased just by just $69 to $-13,002. It's sort of depressing that the money I make from work is just sustainable income - enough to pay my rent, eat, and buy minor knick knacks. This month, I didn't buy any new gadgets or had any major expense. Only difference these last few months was the lack of a roommate. Living by myself is nice but I realize that dividing my rent and utilities with someone will be helpful towards paying off my debt.

Image based on photo by fdecomite

How to split check at a restaurant?

Many restaurants in the United States wouldn't split check according to the chair/person but instead, bill the entire table. How to split the check then?

Easiest option is to do evenly. However, people ordering less would have to bear the cost of people ordering more. With this model, people also tend to over order because the cost is shared by everyone.

Another way is to make everyone responsible for their own share and pay what they owe voluntarily. However, this voluntary method needs a slight improvement. For example, I asked guests in my cousin's birthday party to pay the check voluntarily but still got stuck with one thirds of the bill when all I ordered was a drink. How?

People tend to underpay. It's not because they want to cheat but they simply "forget" to add that extra drink, something else they had, appetizer they shared and/or tax/tip they owe.

So here's my "cross-out method" for paying check in a restaurant. this should work well for a large group. Here's how.

1. Find the shared items and evenly divide the cost. Cross out shared items while doing so. Examples are shared appetizers, shared costs such as birthday boy/girl's dinner & drinks. Write down the "individual shared cost" with tax and tip and divide by number of people. Ask everyone to add the cost to their payment, even though they didn't have anything. Always highlight percentage of automatically added tip (gratuity). Often tips of 18%-20% are automatically added in check for a large group. This avoids paying the tip twice and importantly, people can't tip less than what's automatically added in the check.
2. Ask everyone to go over the check and cross out items they consumed and paying for. Ask them to pay "individual shared cost" plus their individual share with tax/tip.
3. If there are any remaining uncrossed items, ask people to see if they forget to add any items. If nobody ordered those items and you are certain that the extra items are error, go and talk to the server and get it removed. People make mistakes. The crossing out items is essential to isolate those extra items people forget or to isolate unintentional error (hopefully) by your server.
4. Splitting the cost after a wonderful meal is awkward. However, for your own financial health and to maintain a fair relationship, it's necessary.  Even after following these steps, if you are the organizer, be prepared to chip a few extra bucks.

Image based on Avlxyz

My Debt Roundup – September 2010

My debt is now $13, 071. This is reduction of just  $910. Like the last month, I had another big purchase, lens for the camera. The lens was desirable (can't say absolutely needed) for my new project. I am focused on the new project, but I have not earned a single penny from it. Hopefully soon, but realistically not for at least few months to a year. My additional big expenses is mainly due to lack of a roommate. Financially, it make sense for me to get a roommate, but I am not sure if I desire one right now. I am enjoying having the apartment to myself (most of the time).

PS. I know that I need to get back to updating this blog more often. Only because I see a big correlation between me being active in this blog and my expenditure. 


Image adapted from Alancleaver

My Debt Roundup – August 2010

The debt stands at $ 13, 991, which is reduction of just $810. This month, I had the big purchase. I bought the camera that I wanted for a long time . Even at 0% interest, I feel the burden of the debt. However, I thought about buying the camera for long and hard. I take it as investment and don’t regret buying it. My roommate also moved out this month increasing the financial burden. I am having difficulty in trusting someone else to be roommate as of now. So, I am doing what I normally do this in situation, which is procrastinate. Everything seems negative here, but I am focusing on a new project and hopefully it will get me some income soon in future.

Image adapted from Quazie

My Debt Roundup – July 2010

This is a late, a very late update indeed. My debt stands at $ 14, 801. I finally paid off my Amex credit card which at one point had more than 15K on it. Okay I have to admit that I balance transferred about 5K to another credit card with a lower interest. However, I still feel good seeing $0 balance on my Amex. I feel like I have achieved something when as the matter of fact I just put my finances to order. Now, I have 2 credit cards remaining with around 10K and 4K in balance. I am going to go payoff 10K first because it has higher interest than the other. If everything goes as planned, I should be debtfree by February/March of next year. Wish me luck.