Not going halves with friend on lunch

Me and my friends always split the bill because we don't mind paying for one another sometimes and it's swings and roundabouts.

I'm almost certain the £7 is an overestimation.

Even then, split between two people is negligible.

I think YABU. Your friend is also BU for being offended.

It's fine to split it if you're skint and you had already used a discount for you both.

Let her stew, this is her problem. She's probably skint herself but didn't want to compromise on her meal to reflect it. Hopefully she'll learn from it.

Read my post again. For the OP to get a discount she had to get a discount off the total bill, not just her half or I am sure she would have done that. She was not doing her friend a favour, she was using a card she had to get even more money off her own bill. The amount she was quibbling over was £3.50. Let that sink in. She also only said she was broke when it came to paying the bill, not before which would have changed things. At the end of the pay she was pissed because her friend's main was SLIGHTLY more than hers and the friend got a small dessert to the grand old tune of £3.50 which she refused to pay.

She added hers up and paid it, didn't leave a tip and whatever was left was the friend's bill.

I'm baffled as to why you would think somebody who pays their bills is a skinflint - and somebody who expects other people to pay their bills is not! Would you happily stick another £10 or £20 on your water bill direct debit each month and ask the water company to assign it to your friend's bill, so that they can pay less for their bill? If not, you sound like a real skinflint to me!!!

We are no longer friends! 😅
The example I gave was part of a growing habit of parsimony. In the end we had a major falling out. I abide by the rule "Never rip off your friends."

Whatever the cost if people want to pay their own you support that choice - you don’t expect freebies

She sounds like the kind of person who never likes being told no about anything. To still be sulking about it is ridiculous. Let her.

She shows a lack of empathy and more than a little manipulation.

This is how you learn what a good friend is - she is no loss to you.

The op said discount for both?

Not a friend. Focus on your actual friends. This person's just a tight ass lunch buddy.

I never understand 'splitting' a bill.

The only people ever in favor of it are pisstaking CF who benefit. If your not benefiting then there literally no reason to do it but if you are benefiting you're basically stealing from your friends which says everything about your character.

She could moan until she was blue in the face, I would simply tell her 'its not my job to subsidize you lifestyle, you should have got what you could afford like I did'.

YANBU. Pay for what you have, that’s completely fair.

Wouldn't you make a compromise for a friend? Surely having empathy to someone's situation is being a good friend. There are cheaper restaurants to visit. Like a chain who do deals.

I think if it's a few pounds difference, I would just split it. Difference if they are swigging cocktails and you've had a coffee.

However, when I've been skint in the past, I've let my friends know up front I'll be paying my own as I'm a bit short at the time. They were all completely fine with it as they are really good friends and would never make me feel bad about being skint.
I would however have chosen somewhere not too expensive as well.

I'm on more money now so am able to do more things and eat out better if I wish.

Your friend is completely overreacting and isn't much of a friend. Just make sure you're upfront about paying your own when you're arranging to meet up. If they are a good friends, they will understand.

If you’re struggling financially, don’t have lunch - just meet for a drink. People nitpicking over restaurants bills is one of my pet hates…

So it's OPs fault not cheeky fucker friend? Why shouldn't she go out for lunch if she can pay her own?

But for some people it is a consideration! Op knew her limits . Why is she supposed to feel shamed because she didn’t want to split this time . It’s ridiculous. What should’ve been a lovely meal out turned sour because her friend complained about not splitting. Why wasn’t her friend considerate .

Why are some people being so arsey in their responses.
A good 18 or so years ago I was SKINT, just moved into my own place with my now husband and discovered what bills were! I still wanted to see my friends though so I would budget and sometimes it meant I’d only have £10 to spend on a meal (mains and water). It meant I could eat out and see my friend but if then I had “oh let’s split, £15 each) then I wouldn’t have had that extra £5 plus it meant I was paying for some of my friends food.
Some people don’t want to split and thats ok, because let’s be honest unless you order the same, when splitting you are generally paying for a part of someone’s meal. Some people don’t want to do that and some people are happy to.
Im happy to split now, because none of my mates are piss takers and I’m in a different financial situation than I was, but some people do budget, have a set amount to spend, and don’t want to pay for someone else’s drink/dessert!

Well that's a luxury not everyone can afford and most people can add up 3 or 4 numbers within a few pence without a calculator.

Main 12.95 call it 13,
Drink 4.95 call it 5
Coffee 3.50 makes it 21.50 then you decide how much to round up for a tip. No calculator required.

What do you normally do when you go out with her?

Not your friend OP.
Yes I would normally split bill with mates, even if they have had more BUT if you specifically said beforehand you were broke and you asked to pay for your own then absolutely I would do that without question and certainly without having a hissy fit about it. It doesn't matter the amount.
I would also add that had my mates had more than me, they would generally offer to pay their share, not split it, and it would be me suggesting that no its fine we can split. unless it was excessive.
Friends don't do this.

She got HERSELF a discount. The discount would have had to come off the whole bill, I am sure she would have tried to get the discount off just her half if she could. This is about £3.50, not a huge amount. Maybe the friend is fed up of her skinflint ways. I can't imagine looking at someone's main and thinking...Oh yours was £1.50 more than mine AND you had a small dessert. I am going to dissect the bill, use my small discount, not pay a tip and pay for EXACTLY what passed my lips. It's mortifying.
That said, I don't agree with the friend falling out with her over it but then again, if she has form for being tight, maybe the friend just had enough.
The fact she mentioned that she bought her a bracelet "once"...means she is keeping score.

People don’t ask to split a bill because of money. In fact it’s for the opposite reason - they don’t want money to be a consideration. They just want a continued shared experience and no necessity for a calculator.

I guess this is the root of people feeling differently about this matter - differing mindsets and intents.

You spent within your means, which meant picking one of the cheapest courses, no starters/puddings and paying for what you consumed. Nothing wrong with that and I find it pretty disgusting that people are trying to shame you. I am sorry but your friend doesn't sound like a real friend if she has fallen out with you over this.