The five decisions that make or break a party budget

Most party budgets go sideways for the same reason: the target gets set after people have already started buying things. By the time anyone adds it up, three people have bought chips and nobody has bought ice.

Set an expected total before anyone suggests a line item. It doesn't need to be exact — a range is fine. What matters is that everyone is voting on options against the same ceiling, not in a vacuum.

Assign an owner to every category, not just every item. "Drinks" needs one person keeping an eye on the whole category, even if three different people are buying pieces of it.

Decide your split mode before the bill arrives. Equal, by couple, host-pays-food — any of these work, but deciding after the fact is where arguments start.