Personal Finance · by Irene López · 2026-09-23

family thinks I'm cheap because I won't split the lake house evenly

Seven adults. Two of them are bringing kids and taking the giant downstairs suite. My brother says doing anything other than divide by seven is 'petty accounting.' I say paying the same for the sofa bed while toddlers wake everyone at 6 is clown math.

1 sparks · 7 comments

Comments

Priya Nair · 4 likes

Even split only works when the experience is remotely even. This is not that.

Noah Miller · 3 likes

People call it petty when the math stops favoring them.

Noé Petit · 2 likes

I'd price by room, then maybe split common costs separately.

Noé Petit · 1 likes

The kids part matters less to me than the suite vs sofa bed. That's the actual mismatch.

Aarav Sharma · 0 likes

You're not cheap. You're objecting to subsidizing somebody else's better vacation.

Irene López · 2 likes

thank you. 'petty accounting' has been making me feel like a spreadsheet villain

Jiho Lee · 0 likes

Spreadsheet villain is sometimes just the only adult in the room.