DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: Last fall, a friend who'd recently been to India learned I'd be going there in March, and gave me the 2,670 Indian rupees she'd returned with, including five 500-rupee notes. In doing so, she said: "Maybe you can use these. I can't." Although she didn't ask for anything in return, I gave her $40, which is what the rupees were worth at the time. However, a few weeks later, in a surprise move, the Indian government "demonetized" 500-rupee notes, meaning the currency I gave her $40 for will be worth about $2.50 when I get to India. I don't know if my friend knows about the demonetization. Should I mention it to her and suggest that we split the loss? Also, if she does know that the 500-rupee notes are now worthless, shouldn't she be offering to return what I paid her?
-- Alex
DEAR ALEX: Had you given your friend, say, $20 for the rupees -- had you expected to profit from the fact that she was stuck with them -- then you'd be on the hook for the subsequent demonetization. But you did your friend a favor when you paid her the then-full value of rupees she couldn't use. So if she is aware of what subsequently transpired, she should make you whole for your loss.
But as for informing her of the demonetization, what's the point? If you can afford to travel to India, you can't need the $18.75 you're thinking of asking for. Plus, it's not as if you were cheated. Your friend intended to do a good deed; you did do a good deed. Why not let it go at that?
DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: My wife and I frequently go out to dinner with another couple. We used to split the tab 50/50. But since they frequently eat and drink more than my wife and I do, we've agreed to have the server continue to split the check evenly (we pay with credit cards), then settle up with cash afterward. The problem is, my wife and I always get shortchanged. For example, if the dinner were to cost $150, with their share being $90 and ours $60, they'd give us $15, not $30 -- that is, they give us only half of the difference in the cost of the meals. I've pointed this out, but our friends insist I'm doing the math wrong. What's my next move, given that we don't want to stop going to dinner with these folks?
-- Ed
DEAR ED: Your next move is to do the math right. Because your friends are correct: You're not being shortchanged when you split the difference in the cost of your meals. Consider your example: Presumably, each couple puts half of the $150, or $75, on a credit card. When your friends then give you $15, the cost of their meal goes up to $90, yours drops to $60, and each couple has paid the correct amount. Were they to give you $30, they'd be paying $105, you'd be paying $45, and they'd be getting shortchanged.
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Family on 02/15/2017