Gut shot, I'd say it reads as mooch behavior.

When I was a sophomore in high school, my friends liked to hang out in a place called Coffee Talk.

It was this home that was never demolished in an area that long before was redistricted as industrial.

I'd go along. I had no money.

It was a cool cozy place to be and I enjoyed chilling there with the company of my friends.

They had a little money.

None of us were inclined to caffeine (the thrust of the revenue of a business called Coffee Talk).

Regularly, the crew would file in and would buy a 5 dollar red bull each that usually wasn't even opened, and then chill for HOURS.

I went through similar conversations. Most stressing "I feel the need to buy an extra drink to make up for you being here, and I don't particularly like paying your way."

Coffee Talk wasn't a youth center. It wasn't a YMCA. It was a crew of about 7 working hard to host a cozy chill spot funded by coffee sales with an open mic stage to resist this landmark being demolished and turned into annex parking for one of the neighboring office buildings.

My ass dirtied the seats. I disheveled the board game room many times.

I hadn't yet learned to have the situational awareness to see the difference between hanging at home, or at school, or at Coffee Talk.

A big part of me getting my first job was so I could pick up an "antique" from Coffee Talk for 5 to 12 bucks since I had no desire to purchase a coffee from Coffee Talk, but i wanted to be at Coffee Talk with my friends, and it was a business, not a community center funded as charity by a mysterious benefactor.

So... you can be a mooch, but your group doesn't want to be told to fuck off because they are taking more than they are giving, so you risk getting dropped off the invites.

Fuck her. They aren’t going to throw you out when the rest are spending. And you’re putting nothing on the staff just sitting at a table in a group. Tell her to stfu and mind her own business.

Some of these comments are way too harsh!

I agree there is nothing wrong with your behavior. I think people are insensitive or just ignorant of others financial situation.

There are a lot of people who can't afford too many unnecessary expenses. Still there are those who never had to think to much about expenses like drinks in a bar or food in a restaurant. They might not even be conscious of the fact that the people around them might have it different.

Then there is the general stigma around money, especially not having any. Many people are actively afraid that others could think they don't have money. Feelings of shame and embarrassment around money are not uncommon. These are strong enough to lead to second hand embarrassment, seeing someone else showing signs of not having money. This can be very uncomfortable for them to experience, especially if they weren't aware of it or don't have much experience with it.

That is why it's nice not to assume that everybody in the group can afford to go to a bar. I know it's not easy to talk about money, but I think it's important to be upfront with your wealthier friends if you can't afford to go to the bar. They might reconsider going to somewhere else or someone's flat instead or just invite you. It shouldn't be upon the less wealthy to do this, but it's an unfortunate reality in most circles I know. The only exceptions are circles where it's common to have no money...

As for the bar and staff: they might talk and joke about it, because it's unusual, but they would be pretty short sighted to mind it. If you come with a group that pays, they make money. You could always leave and find some place that doesn't mind that one of you won't order anything.

You could try a sort of compromise and order a glass of tap water, assuming that it's free in your country of course. That way you order something, but make it clear that you won't spend any money. You are not sneaking in and instead being upfront with the staff.

In any case don't let yourself get bullied into spending money, when you can't or don't want to. I have myself been in the situation often enough that I couldn't really afford such expenses or rather wanted to save my limited money to spend it somewhere else. It's already an uncomfortable place, made harder by situations like that. However, there is nothing wrong with not having a lot of money and being open about it.

Name-calling isn't necessary at all, if that's what happening. That said, would you behave this way in a restaurant?

I organise a small group gathering at a local pub sometimes with people who aren't close friends. If it's just one person not buying in a decent sized group, then it doesn't cause a problem for the venue as far as I know. When we're huddled in a corner it's hard to tell who has what drink.

But you simply wouldn't get away with that if it wasn't for the others buying drinks and we do so to "pay the rent" so to speak. So when that happens there is a vibe of "I'm fine with you guys covering me here". Saying "I don't spend money in bars" isn't that different to saying "I let others spend their money at bars".

Now if this was a group of good friends, or someone I knew was struggling financially, I'd be fine with it.

tell them that you're the designated driver and you cant drink - and you want to talk to their manager.

they'll gtfo