# Birthdays; a rip off. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2018, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873 "2018-09-25T07:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/21 "2018-09-26T14:53:55Z")
I get the feeling the OP gets suckered by his friends frequently. “AK84, your turn to treat.” “But I treated last night!” “And we treated each other before you got here, so pay up!” ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/22 "2018-09-26T15:52:46Z")
Thank goodies for this thread. I forgot all about my son’s 20th. TODAY. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/23 "2018-09-26T16:20:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Then I must assume that, when their birthdays come around, you’re supposed to do the same thing and they’ll pay for you? Yup. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/24 "2018-09-26T19:02:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Then I must assume that, when their birthdays come around, you’re supposed to do the same thing and they’ll pay for you? > [@AK84](#): > > Yup. Sheesh. Even in the Shire, the host is usually given the courtesy of having the right to extend the invitations. Not to mention selecting the venue. I don’t wish to make unwarranted assumptions, but from reading your posting history I have come to think you may be a transplant to the British Isles, possibly from the subcontinent. If this is the case, might you not be the victim of an elaborate scam being perpetrated upon you by people in your social circle? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/25 "2018-09-26T21:13:21Z")
It sounds to me like his wife threw him a birthday lunch, and as they share expenses, he feels like he paid for it. My ex was like that. So, Happy Birthday! And be careful what you pray for. You may some day find yourself with no one who gives a crap about your birthday. You may not enjoy that as much as you think you will. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/26 "2018-09-26T21:47:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Sheesh. Even in the Shire, the host is usually given the courtesy of having the right to extend the invitations. Not to mention selecting the venue. > > I don’t wish to make unwarranted assumptions, but from reading your posting history I have come to think you may be a transplant to the British Isles, possibly from the subcontinent. If this is the case, might you not be the victim of an elaborate scam being perpetrated upon you by people in your social circle? In America it’s traditional for the foreign kid to give presents to his American friends on Thanksgiving. Cite: _That '70s Show_ ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/27 "2018-09-26T21:52:22Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > As I type this I have also gotten message from the Bank. WTF, you have to buy their lunch too? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/28 "2018-09-26T23:52:57Z")
When did “Birthday Spankings” stop being a thing? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/29 "2018-09-27T05:16:14Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > ‘That’s the way it’s done here.’ > > It would be helpful to know where ‘here’ is. > > Are you in an Asian country perhaps? Where such is the custom, and where you may have already enjoyed being an attendee once or twice, but now it’s your turn to be the celebrant (and payer, as a result.)? **AK84** posts from Pakistan. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/30 "2018-09-28T16:00:58Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > You may some day find yourself with no one who gives a crap about your birthday. Would that be a birthday wish coming true? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/31 "2018-09-28T18:02:14Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Yup. Well, then I’m torn between you doing the same exact thing, picking an expensive meal, or going the opposite direction and showing them how to do it properly, keeping things reasonable since it’s not your money. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873/32 "2018-09-28T19:05:08Z")
Or responding to unwelcome suggestions that you had already set your sights on a place that was a better fit for your budget. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birthdays-a-rip-off/821873.md?page=1)