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Diner's Dilemma

No, it's not deciding whether to order a burrito or a burrito bowl. It's much more insidious and not solvable via Yelp.

You've certainly experienced the diner's dilemma scenario. Say you're going out to dinner with four friends. You decide before even going to the restaurant to split the check five ways. Each person figures that this is an awesome way to order a more expensive meal than they normally would. After all, the cost will be evenly distributed among the other diners, right?

However, because each person "orders up," everyone gets hoisted by his own petard, so to speak, and ends up paying more than usual anyway. It's human nature.

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)