Notes on splitting, spending, and not losing friends over $40

Practical writing for people who'd rather not spreadsheet their friendships. Frameworks, scripts, and the occasional uncomfortable truth — no fluff, no gurus.

Splitting

Who owes whom: why "I'll Venmo you" is a debt black hole

Tracking debts in chats and memory
A single ledger you both can see
6 min read
Splitting

5 ways to split a bill — and why "equal" isn't always fair

Defaulting to "equal" because it's faster
Pick the split that matches who ate what
5 min read
Budgeting

50/30/20, envelopes, zero-based — which budget actually fits you

Picking the trendy method, not the one for your brain
Match the method to the failure mode you can tolerate
7 min read
Money & people

A friend borrowed money and disappeared. How to ask for it back without nuking the friendship

Waiting until you're frustrated, then writing the angry version
Three escalating scripts: nudge, direct, final
8 min read
Budgeting

The 15-minute subscription audit that almost always pays for itself

Trusting your memory of what you signed up for
Three sources, four-quadrant decision, twice a year
5 min read
Strategy

Cut expenses or earn more — when each one actually works

Cutting forever instead of fixing the income side
Pick the lever with real headroom
7 min read
Strategy

Which debt to pay off first when you can't pay them all

Paying the loudest debt instead of the costliest
Triage by tier, then by APR
8 min read
Money & people

Money stress is health: protecting body and mind while you fix your finances

Optimizing the budget while wrecking sleep
Protect the instrument, then play the long song
7 min read
Money & people

When to ask family or friends for money — and how to do it without breaking the relationship

Vague amount, vague timeline, then disappearing
Specific amount, real date, easy no
8 min read
Splitting

7 trip-splitting mistakes that turn vacations into invoices

"I'll get this one" + nobody tracking + currency drift
90 seconds of pre-trip rules + a shared ledger
6 min read