How a person handles money is as important as how they handle many other things. And knowing how people manage their income is a crucial part of getting to know them.
We all have that friend who is constantly in debt, despite making much more money than us. And in contrast, we all have that friend who manages to save money and travel every year on a minimum wage. It's two sides of the same coin.
Learning to manage money is a long process for some of us who weren't taught from a young age, or who had very bad examples of adults who didn't know how to do it.
I think taboo plays a big part in this story, because what do you mean you can't tell your friend you need to split a check on the spot and wait until the night is over so you can rant about it on the internet? When you are waiting for your friend to follow up on her offer to pay for the ride home, you should point that out to her.
I'm not saying her friend shouldn't have said something herself; she should have, but she didn't, so someone should point that out. Maybe she had her reasons; who knows? We can't guess. It was definitely her responsibility, but she didn't take it.
OP said her friend earned much less money, and that's fair, but they should've planned how to split the check before going out. If not, it's a scam.
Do you think the friend was actively trying to avoid paying, or was she just ashamed she didn't have enough money to keep up with the other woman's plans?
Situations like the one below should encourage all of us to talk a lot more about money!