When you go out to dinner with a group of friends, how do you divide the bill when it comes time to pay, and how do you handle it if some people drank and others didn't?

First, before the drinkers jump all over me, I don’t mind dividing the bill up evenly among all diners. I am not a big drinker but may, depending on the occasion, have a glass or two of wine. 9 times out of 10, however, I am drinking Diet Coke.

Usually, when I go out with friends or family, either nobody drinks or if there are drinkers, they’re paying the whole bill (for example, my parents or it’s a work dinner), so it’s never an issue.

I went out recently with a group and one who was going to join us cancelled. She asked me later if anybody drank and she told me she has a friend who will avoid going out with a group because she doesn’t drink and doesn’t want to pay for other people’s alcohol, which can add a good amount to the bill. When I went with the group, nobody drank except one person, and she only ate an appetizer, so she actually probably paid more than her share when the bill was divided up (everyone else ate dinner, dessert, coffee, soda).

A way to rectify not drinking but having the bill divided with drinkers might be to order something more extravagant. Another way to rectify it is to have the bar bill be separate from the dining bill.

To me, whatever I pay is chalked up to the price of going out with friends. I am fine with the bill being divided up evenly.

How do you handle going out with a group when it comes to dividing the bill, and what do you do if some drank and others didn’t?