Our group chat cannot agree on how to handle the shared streaming service password.
By @gusyk · Internet
I'm the one who pays for the family plan on a major streaming service, and my friends just Venmo me their share. The problem is, people are 'forgetting' to pay, or paying super late, and it's become a whole thing to track them down.
The full story
Okay, I need a logical solution here because this is getting annoying. A couple years ago, I got the 4K 'family & friends' plan for a streaming service (think Netflix/Max) which allows 5 simultaneous screens. The cost is about $25/month. I use one screen, and four friends from college use the others. They're each supposed to Venmo me $5 on the first of the month. For the first year, it was fine. But now, it's a mess. I have one friend who is consistently two or three months behind. I have another who will just randomly forget and then I have to send an awkward reminder text. A third friend recently gave the password to his new girlfriend, so now there's a sixth person on the account and I'm getting the 'too many screens are in use' error sometimes. I brought it up in the group chat and proposed a few solutions. My preferred option was that we all switch to using an app like Splitwise, so it's all tracked automatically and sends reminders. That got shot down as 'too much work'. My second proposal was that everyone has to pay for 6 months upfront ($30) twice a year. That way, I'm not chasing small amounts every 30 days. Two of them said that was fair, but the other two said they 'don't want to commit that far in advance'. I feel like I'm being treated like a utility company. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but it's my credit card on the line and I'm tired of being the bill collector. My last resort is to just change the password on the billing date and text everyone 'new password is up when you send your $5'. That feels really passive-aggressive, but what other option is there if they won't agree to a system? I don't want to kick them off, but I also don't want to be in this position anymore.
How people voted
- Valid Take — 27% (13 votes)
- I’m Torn — 35% (17 votes)
- Bad Take — 39% (19 votes)
Readers are split: “Bad Take” leads with 39% — 49 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@laneish — You are being way more patient than I would be. It sounds like they're taking advantage of your kindness.
@sophiee — Never mix friends and money, it always ends badly.
@sageish — bruh
@didntaskbut — change the password and see what happens lmao
@xenaish — Why are they against Splitwise? It literally does all the work for you.