In every group, there is an organiser. If you’re lucky, there’s sometimes a couple, but usually, all the duties of getting your friends or family together lands on the same person each time and seeing as you’re here I’m going to go ahead and guess that person is always you. So you already know that without fail, even though you’re meant to be sharing the money, you’re always the one who ends up paying more. If you’re lucky it’s only a fraction more, but if it gets really out of control you’re basically footing the bill.
Not this year! This year you’re going to plan ahead and use sweet, sweet technology to make everyone pull their weight in a timely manner.
Make The Costs Clear
Whether it’s a group gift, a dinner or a weekend away, when a bunch of people are involved it means planning ahead and knowing the exact costs including any shipping fees, end of rental cleaning costs etc etc. You already know no-one else is going to work this out for you, so make sure you do a thorough job before you tell people what they owe you or you’ll end up footing the extra bits and pieces again.
Set A Payment Deadline
It’s a truly beautiful thing when someone in the groups says they’ll pay you straight away and they actually manage to do it, but it’s so bloody rare you really can’t count on it. So set a deadline for everyone to pay by and take the incredible stress out of the situation for yourself. If they’re too late, too bad.
Don’t Pay Until Everyone Else Has
On that note, don’t pay for anything until you’ve received everyone’s portion of the total cost. You don’t want to be in the position of chasing and chasing because you paid for someone else and now you’re broke af until they finally pay you back. Even if it’s only a deposit for the moment, collect everyone’s part of the deposit now and the full amount later.
Ban IOUs
Sorry, but, no. Even when you’re all really close, there are about a million ways for IOUs to go wrong, even if everyone enters the agreement with the best of intentions. But just because you’ve got your stuff together enough to organise the thing doesn’t mean you have to play bank. If you make it a blanket rule it won’t get awkward.
Make A Group Refund Policy
It’s absolutely the worst when someone cancels last minute and expects all their money back. How are you meant to swing that? Before you start collecting, work out your own group refund policy and set a date at which point there is no return. If you set everyone straight from the beginning it’ll help avoid awkward arguments and avoidable stress later on.
For The Love Of God, Use Technology
There are so many apps and websites now that help everyone see exactly what they owe. Websites like GroupTogether.com and apps like Splitwise are free and such bliss. There’s no way anyone can claim they’ve paid if it’s right there on the screen!
