Split by who did what, not one big pot

Somewhere on a real trip, an organizer built a table by hand. Not because spreadsheets are fun, but because no expense app could hold the actual shape of the trip: some people went to some things, at different prices, and three people skipped it entirely.

The apps all assume one pot. Everyone in, split evenly, settle at the end. A real group trip is a menu of priced yes-or-nos, and the money follows attendance.

What the matrix actually held

nine of twelve people, at three price tiers. no expense app can represent this.

Nine of twelve people, three price tiers, one line item. Multiply that by every excursion, every dinner, every transfer on a ten-day trip, and the hand-built table stops looking eccentric and starts looking like the only tool that could do the job.

The fix is not a smarter split calculator. It is tying every cost to the thing it paid for, and to the people who said yes to it, where the whole crew can see it.