Splitting the Bill

I'd read somewhere recently that splitting the bill at the end of a meal with a friend is reduces the utility and joy one derives from sharing a meal with your buddy. Therefore, they suggested that people should alternate paying for meals rather than splitting the bill on every meal. I proposed the idea a while back to Wheezy since we often go out for lunch together and she readily agreed to the plan. In fact, according to Wheezy, Wheezymom has always thought it was weird that we split the bill since she and her friends alternate. (Wheezymom is quite wise and knows what's up even without reading the article.) The only glitch to this alternate bill paying plan is I can never remember who paid last time and this uncertainty was making me a little anxious since I didn't want to shirk on my share. So at 3am one night last week when I was suffering from insomnia, I came up with a great solution. A little card for my wallet that reads, "I'll get the next one" laminated in packing tape. Whoever has the card pays for lunch and after you pay for lunch, you hand the card to the other person for next time. Problem solved. Now we just have to remember to hand the card back and forth.