Whether your credit card has declined or if you had difficulty splitting a bill at an outing, those awkward financial moments can get the best of us. Bobbi Robell, founder of Financial Wellness Strategies and author of "Launching Financial Grownups," joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to handle those tense situations.

<div class="block">Whether your credit card has declined or if you had difficulty splitting a bill at an outing, those awkward financial moments can get the best of us. Bobbi Robell, founder of Financial Wellness Strategies and author of &quot;Launching Financial Grownups,&quot; joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to handle those tense situations.</div>

Stretching Your Dollar

Stretching Your Dollar: Financial Etiquette & Tackling Awkward Money Moments

News. I'm Baker for chat and now time for stretching your dollar. Yes, indeed. So, have you ever had your credit card declined in one of maybe your friends or coworkers? Yeah. It's kind of awkward. Or maybe you had difficulty trying to split that bill. Well, today we're gonna explore the awkwardness surrounding money from group travel to bridesmaids responsibilities. So joining us now is our friend Bobby Rebel Ceo of Financial Wellness Strategies, also author of the book launching Financial Grown Ups. Bobby. Good to see you. There's the copy of the book. So how do you sort of handle a situation when your card is declined? It's awkward, so embarrassing, so awkward. And as we know, it can literally happen to any of us. So the most important thing is to stay calm and polite and don't assume it's you, sometimes it's the technology, sometimes it's just a fluke. Sometimes you take out a card that's the expired version and the new ones in your wallet too. So just chill. Don't get so worried about it. First and foremost, if you're, for example, at a restaurant and you're with other people and it's not resolved immediately, like you're not just taking out the different card. Take a step away from the table so that everyone else can continue the conversation. They'll forget about it in a minute and go figure out another payment method with the waiter or the manager, whether it's a digital payment or whether you have to work something out afterwards. Sometimes you can call the credit card company and find out what it was. Maybe you're in a different city and they think it's fraud or maybe the restaurant system is down and you just have to use a different payment like a Venmo or a cash app or, or something else, but figure it out privately and just return to the table and get back to whatever you're doing. And this happens to a lot of us. What happens when you're planning to split costs with someone, but their spending habits are very different from yours. They might drink, you might not, you know, whatever it is, more money than you. Right. All right. All the things and this happens a lot in restaurants as well. So back to that idea, first of all, plan in advance. So control the restaurant. So that in and of itself is going to put a dapper on what the bill might be. Also, be mindful. It may not just be you, there might be other people that you want to look out for. So don't be afraid to point out. Well, you know, our other friend ordered so little. You know, maybe we should adjust for them. Don't be afraid to privately go to the waiter and ask for separate checks. Also get there first and order first because then you, you can kind of control the tone. People are natural copycats. So if you maybe order the $25 drink, right, they're all gonna do that. So don't do that if you're watching your money also, maybe say I love this appetizer. Let's share it as a group. And that way you don't have everyone ordering an appetizer and tell the waiter you don't want that dessert menu and you know what else you can do for that big spender is say, you know what you had a lot. Do you mind taking care of the tip? Oh, yeah. So it's sort of an easy way to compartmentalize it if they're insisting on sharing the bill. Um We have a little bit over a minute left, but let's talk about when you're asked to be a bride, a bridesmaid or a groomsman. We've all, there is a very expensive process as well. What happens if you can't afford the expenses for that? Well, first of all, make sure that you can't, so actually run the numbers and see what the cost is. And then if you really can't consider how you're going to present it to the bride or groom and really be intentional in how you handle it, make sure that they understand that you do care about them very much and you want to find other ways to support them maybe with time versus money. So maybe there's things that you can take off their plate that you can plan, that you can be active in their celebration. You can still attend it, but you just can't be the lead and, and just be gentle with it and really think about how they're gonna receive it when you're planning that conversation because it's really about maintaining the relationship. Right. So, so interesting. All right. Well, thank you so much. Great advice. Right. CEO of Financial Wellness Strategies, which provides virtual and in person financial wellness programs for employees and author of the book launching Financial Grown Ups. She also hosts the Wellness for Financial Grown Ups podcast.