Nothing. I’d take my friend out another time.

How close are you to the birthday person?

Generally speaking, I'd say zero. But if you are the bday person's bff, and would normally be planning this or something, and you have way more money than everyone else and want this to be your gift to the bday person, then maybe give something -- a few hundred? But otherwise, nothing.

If you aren't going on the trip, you don't need to contribute.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever I would spend on a regular gift. Maybe $30.

I'd probably spend close to $50 on a normal gift but the question is - why on earth are you subsidizing someone's trip, especially when you're not going on it?

Maybe I read the OP wrong, but I was thinking of it like a contribution to a trip the birthday person chose. Like a honeymoon fund for a wedding. If they said that's what they wanted, why couldn't my small contribution be my birthday gift to them?

OP, give me a break. You know we need much more information before we can give you useful advice. Did you agree to go, they booked it, and now you’re backing out? What timeline did any of that happen? Was there a conversation where the others all agreed to fund Birthday Person’s (BP) travel? Are there costs, like a rental car, that aren’t solely BP’s costs? What is the $2000 for exactly? What is your relationship to BP? To the others? How financially well off are you? What would you have spent, if anything, on a gift for BP absent the trip?

Zero.

If you are wealthy, then contribute what everyone is contributing.

We need more information before you'll get any helpful advice

If you’re going away on a girls trip, you take the number of people who said they would go and divide it by that number, or that number minus one if you agree you’re paying for the birthday girl. If you never said you’d go, you owe nothing. To be nice you could give a gift card to cover a round of drinks. If you said you’d go and then backed out after the arrangements were made, you owe your share of anything non-refundable. If this is a gift for someone where no one is going (like kids paying for a parents’ anniversary trip), then you generally split the cost between the presenters, with richer siblings kicking in more (they should know to volunteer that).

FWIW, since everyone is asking OP how old she is, as if this is a younger people thing...I'm in my early 30s and I've literally never heard of this.

I've heard of guests at a bday dinner splitting the cost of the birthday girl's drinks and dinner. But never a trip where someone isn't going chipping in.

Zero wth?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many folks are contributing ?

4

First time I’ve ever dealt with people contributing for a trip so I don’t have a norm per se for this situation.

I did consider the amount of dinner as a few mentioned too. I wasn’t sure if that worked but glad to hear it can in these situations.

"These situations" are not normal. How old are you? No is also a fine answer.

Anonymous wrote:Whatever I would spend on a regular gift. Maybe $30.

I'd probably spend close to $50 on a normal gift but the question is - why on earth are you subsidizing someone's trip, especially when you're not going on it?

What? Nothing. I'd be really unhappy if my friends planned a trip for me and expected people not coming along to subsidize it. Just buy her a separate gift.

0

Unless you had reserved a spot then backed out. Then you need to pay your share unless another guest can take your spot.

Zero. Are you young without kids or older and retired? This is so out of my idea of what friends do for each other’s birthdays. I’d stop the insanity now.

Zero. How is this even a question.