How to handle differences of income among friends
What do you do when dealing with a wealthier friend who's quick to reach for his wallet in social situations? Sure, it's a nice problem to have, but everyone wants to feel some sense of control when it comes to money.
Say, you've just bought Raptors tickets and want to bring him along.
If you tell him the tickets are your treat, he’ll still insist on paying. But if you tell him the tickets were free (likely the only way he won't pony up), you'll miss out on some of the charge that comes from giving an expensive gift.
Here's what to do, suggests Dan Ariely, a professor of behavior economics at Duke University whose latest book, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, explains how creativity makes us better liars, particularly to ourselves.
Take your income per month (for simplicity, say $10,000) and divide it by the cost of the two tickets (again for simplicity, say $200), Ariely suggests.
Now multiply this number by the number of hours you work per month (let’s say 160), and you get the numbers of hours that you need to work to pay for the tickets (3.2 hours in this case).
Now, tell your friend “it took me more than 3 hours of hard labor to get these tickets,” which allows you to create a benchmark without necessarily revealing your precise income.
With this kind of framing, not only will your friend not be able to pay for the tickets, but he'll also appreciate your investment in him and your friendship to a higher degree.
How do you handle issues like income disparity? Where do you draw the line?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Dave Brown | Mar 18, 2022 9:54:07 AM
A quick proof read to make sure that no words have been erroneously edited out from the final post would go further in maintaining journalistic credibility:
"If you tell him the tickets are your treat, he’ll still insist on paying. But if you tell him the tickets were free (likely the only way he won't pony up), you'll some of the charge that comes from giving an expensive gift."
Posted by: Really !! | Mar 18, 2022 8:09:11 PM
What a completely inane and useless article. Who gives a rat's azz !! And even moreso, who cares about the Raptors. Pay for the tickets, tell him he can cover the booze tab and you get yourself completely tanked.
Posted by: Let's Get Serious | Mar 18, 2022 8:14:58 PM
This is something I'd expect from Jason Buckland... wherever he's been since December... or his replacement, the ditzy money queen, Donna Donaldson. Gordon... please don't stoop down to their levels. We expect better from you.
Posted by: MissClarify | Mar 19, 2022 10:05:15 AM
formula: (B) / (A) = hours of labour towards cost of tickets
A = (montly earnings) / (total hours worked in a month)
eg. 10 000 / 160 = 62.5
A = 62.5
B = (cost of tickets) / (A)
eg. (200) / (62.5)
B = 3.2 hours of labour towards cost of tickets