27-year-old man abruptly leaves friend’s birthday party when they ask him how much money he makes: ‘I wasnt enjoying myself anymore. Told the person next to me I was heading out, paid for my food at the front and left’

Author image for Olivia Arocena
Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Aug 16, 2026 4:00 PM EDT

Apparently, asking how much someone makes is the worst thing you can ask

Honestly, I've never heard anything like this, and I was really surprised to see the comments under the post siding with the offended party.  I would never in a million years think that asking someone how much money they make is an impolite question. To me, it's just a number, and it doesn't say anything bad about the person, regardless of whether the number is big or small.

If the number is big, it would be a thing to celebrate and congratulate the person, and if the number is too small, it might even be an opportunity to help the person so they can reach a better financial status.

Of course, I'm not an alien; I've lived on Earth long enough to realize that some people behave around money like it was this big, dark secret that nobody should bring up; but I'm confused as to what they think they're protecting.

The people around me who are liberated around the topic have helped me plenty of times, because to resolve an issue or to find strategies around money, one has to first be able to speak about it without a related taboo.

So if I were the one answering this guy who posted his story on r/AmIOverreacting, I would say: Definitely, you are; plus, it might suit you to work through your issues with money so you and the community can benefit from transparent discussions that impact all of us.

I don't know; I'm honestly very curious and would like to know why so many people consider this topic so intimate. Isn't it a bit strange considering it's a very fruitful topic of conversation?

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  • An example of a fun party

    dinner party
    via OurWhisky Foundation

    The dinner before the money conversation started

    Stock photography for depiction only

  • AIO for leaving my friend’s birthday dinner after she told everyone how much money I make?

    I'm 27M and this happened last weekend. I still cant tell if I made it into a bigger thing than it needed to be.
    via Present_Surround_89
  • One of my friends had a birthday dinner at a nicer restaurant. There was 8 of us and I knew most of the group, but a couple were her coworkers who I'd never met before.
    via Present_Surround_89
  • Everything was normal until we started talking about apartments and how insane rent has gotten. One of her coworkers asked what I did for work and I gave a pretty vague answer cause
    via Present_Surround_89
  • I honestly hate talking about work outside of work. My friend suddenly goes "oh please, you can tell them, you make stupid money."
    via Present_Surround_89
  • I laughed cause I thought she was joking and tried to move on. Then she actually said roughly what I make. Like an actual number lol.
    via Present_Surround_89
  • It got awkward pretty quick. One guy made a joke about me paying for dinner and someone else asked how I could afford my apartment. I was getting pretty annoyed but didnt wanna cause a
    via Present_Surround_89

  • Counting money

    man holding money
    via Travis Essinger

    The man hiding his big money

    Image for illustrative purposes

  • scene at her birthday so I just said something like "can we not do this?" She rolled her eyes and was like "why are you being weird about it? nobody cares"
    via Present_Surround_89
  • That honestly ped me off more than the original comment. If nobody cares then why announce it?? I went to the bathroom, came back and sat there for maybe another 10 mins and realized I wasnt
    via Present_Surround_89
  • enjoying myself anymore. Told the person next to me I was heading out, paid for my food at the front and left. My friend texted me later saying I embarrassed her by just disappearing from
    via Present_Surround_89
  • her birthday dinner and that I could of pulled her aside instead of "making a statement." Like girl tf?? I told her I specifically DIDNT make a statement. I didnt argue with her, didnt announce I was leaving or
    via Present_Surround_89
  • ask anyone to take sides. I literally just left. Now two people from the dinner have messaged me saying she was drink and im taking it way too seriously. I agree leaving was maybe a little dramatic but idk,
    via Present_Surround_89
  • telling a table full of people. what someone earns is just such a weird thing to do. Especially when they clearly tried changing the subject. AIO?
    via Present_Surround_89

  • Leaving early

    man walking out of building
    via Haberdoedas

    The man leaving the dinner party

    Model portrayal

  • TigerBabyM How much do you make?
    via TigerBabyM
  • Outside-Signature600 Sounds like the birthday girl is jealous of your income. May have been a friend at one time, but definitely no longer a friend worth having.
    via Outside-Signature600
  • whateveryoudohereyou In my opinion, yes you're overreacting, cause in my enviroment what someone makes as income is not a big deal. You kinda made it bigger in my opinion. And again, this is just my opinion.
    via whateveryoudohereyou

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Tags

friendship relationship advice friends relationships toxic relationship relationship drama
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