How do you offer to pay when invited?

This is a common occurrence: you would like to go out to do something fun and share it with a friend, but you cannot afford to treat the other person. There are two things to keep in mind at the start:

• You cannot do this with someone you are dating or want to date.
• You cannot ask the other person to pay for both of you.

If you are already at work, for instance, you can simply say, "I'm going to (name the place) for lunch. Would you care to go along?" Or something equally casual.

If you are going to call them on the phone, it's perfectly acceptable to say "I'm going to the (the movies or out to eat). Would you like to go with me? I'd love to treat you, but I can't just now. However, I will (buy my own ticket or pay for my meal)."

Just keep it light and fun, and don't dwell on the fact that you can't pick up the whole bill, this is what friends do. And just a tip: if you are ordering a meal and yours costs close to what your friend's cost, just offer to split the check and the tip. It's much nicer than spending time trying to figure out who pays what for each item. Either that, or when the waiter comes to take your order, say "Separate checks, please." Then you will get a bill for only what you ate.