March 2, 2026 at 8:35 am

Planner Budgeted For Her Own Travel Essentials On A Girls Trip, So When Her Friend Expected Free Handouts, Their Different Money Values Collided Hard

by Benjamin Cottrell

woman applying sunscreen

Pexels/Reddit

Money and friendships rarely mix smoothly, especially while traveling.

So when a group trip to Miami turned into an argument over sunscreen, one friend accused another of being stingy for not sharing the bottle she had already carefully budgeted for.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

AITA for being too stingy?

So me and a best friend had a fallout over our differences in stuff.

So we got to Miami, she asks whose sunscreen we’re going to be sharing.

Immediately, this question rubs her the wrong way.

I’m confused, because we each have our own (there’s 3 of us), but when I ask why she can’t just use hers, suddenly I’m selfish and stingy.

But I’m thinking, if you wanted to share, why not tell me before the trip? Then we could buy a big enough one for the both of us like I did with my other friend.

She doesn’t understand why her friend is acting so entitled to something that isn’t hers.

Because I don’t think it’s fair to want to use the one small bottle and then it runs out and you get to go home with a full sunscreen spray.

She says I’m being silly and that it’s called being generous. I would get it if she had none, but our differences stem mostly in sharing, and while I’ve been stingy with other things, I do feel as if my point made sense here.

Her rationale made even less sense.

She says she’s used to her friends doing stuff for her and being a giver regardless of how much money they have, and that she can just replace stuff and it’s no big deal. She shares her stuff.

Whereas with me and my friends, we always pay each other back or split fare when it comes to things like Ubers.

To me, it felt like you wanna be spoiled and greedy and inconsiderate of my money problems.

AITA?

Some serious boundaries are being crossed here.

What did Reddit think?

This friend really is being rather shady.

Screenshot 2026 01 30 at 3.53.56 PM Planner Budgeted For Her Own Travel Essentials On A Girls Trip, So When Her Friend Expected Free Handouts, Their Different Money Values Collided Hard

This user doesn’t understand the friend’s logic at all.

Screenshot 2026 01 30 at 3.54.15 PM Planner Budgeted For Her Own Travel Essentials On A Girls Trip, So When Her Friend Expected Free Handouts, Their Different Money Values Collided Hard

Having boundaries doesn’t automatically equal being selfish.

Screenshot 2026 01 30 at 4.08.38 PM Planner Budgeted For Her Own Travel Essentials On A Girls Trip, So When Her Friend Expected Free Handouts, Their Different Money Values Collided Hard

Entitlement really isn’t a good look.

Screenshot 2026 01 30 at 4.09.42 PM Planner Budgeted For Her Own Travel Essentials On A Girls Trip, So When Her Friend Expected Free Handouts, Their Different Money Values Collided Hard

You can’t keep taking and taking when you never give anything in return.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.