Managing Shared Expenses Fairly in Group Travel
The article No, you don’t need a shared bank account to travel with friends (Postelnyak, 2025) discusses a group of friends who created a shared bank account for their trip. While this method of dealing with money was successful for this group of friends, it is not a practical solution for many people.
There’s no shortage of horror stories of friendship-ending travel. A recent PayPal survey found U.S. adults were owed an average of $926 for group expenses such as dining and travel. A third of the respondents admitted they struggled to collect, often feeling judged.
Conveniently, my social media algorithm served me a carousel declaring, “This is your sign to open a shared bank account with your friends.” The aspirational pitch: if you’re travelling with friends, pool money by autodepositing a small amount every week into a shared account in the lead-up to the trip.
The concept went viral after Australian event planner Kim Brindell shared how she and five friends each chipped in about $18 a week for their group travel. By the time their girls’ trip rolled around, they had more than $3,596 set aside to cover expenses such as hotels and groceries.
My skepticism was confirmed over a phone call with Francine Dick, a Toronto-based certified financial planner.
“It’s an idea that is fraught with danger,” she said. “If you set up a joint bank account, what joint means is that everyone usually has equal access to it – it can create a lot of problems.”
With a joint bank account, she said, there’s paperwork to set it up and nothing preventing someone from going in and taking out money.
In reality, the groundwork for effective bill-splitting should start long before boarding a plane. One trick is sharing an anonymous Google form or poll where everyone selects their comfort level for various costs – from hotels to excursions to dining options – choosing from a few different price ranges for each category.
“[It’s] a great idea to better understand people’s budgets and expectations,” said Jessica Moorhouse, a financial counsellor and author of Everything but Money. It’s also a chance for people to opt out of expenses they aren’t comfortable with.
Another tip: Select one leader to designate spending categories and to give gentle reminders when someone’s money is overdue. It can take away some of the awkwardness when it’s someone’s job to keep people accountable. (Postelnyak, 2025)
While the friend group was able to pool thousands of dollars together before their trip, financial experts warn that this approach is very risky. Because shared accounts grant equal access to funds, there must be a high level of trust among all group members, which is not practical for many groups.
Sharing and splitting costs are a common source of conflict within groups traveling together. The large issue at hand, supported by the PayPal survey, is that managing shared costs can create conflict in group travel that can directly influence not only the trip but also friendships. The alternative strategies suggested, such as anonymous budgeting polls and appointing one person to manage money, highlight the importance of communication, transparency, and accountability before a trip.
These findings suggest that while pooling money can be effective for saving, systems for group travel need to address trust and control. How might travel systems be designed to better support groups in managing shared expenses fairly, helping groups preserve their budgets and their relationships?
References.
Postelnyak, M. (2025, September 9). No, you don’t need a shared bank account to travel with friends. Here’s how to avoid conflict. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-you-dont-need-a-shared-bank-account-to-travel-with-friends-2/
A.I. was not used for this article.
