Chandler was planning a surprise for Ross's birthday. He was thinking of giving Ross a special gift, a birthday cake, and tickets to a rock concert. But there was a small problem when Chandler asked everyone to chip in $62 each to cover the costs. Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey were unsure about paying this much because they didn't have as much money as their friends Ross, Monica, and Chandler.

Monica didn't know how the other three felt about this money issue, and suggested going to a fancy restaurant to celebrate her recent job promotion. Reluctantly, everyone agreed and went to the restaurant. When they looked at the menu, Ross, Monica, and Chandler picked expensive dishes, while Phoebe chose a simple soup, Joey went for a small pizza, and Rachel just had a side salad. When the bill came, Ross wanted everyone to split the bill evenly, but Phoebe strenuously objected. She thought it was completely unfair for her to pay so much money for a soup of cucumber mush. Eventually, they agreed to pay for their own meals and started talking about their personal money differences in the group.

During the discussion, Joey accidentally revealed Chandler's surprise plans for Ross's birthday. Excited at first, Ross realized it wouldn't be right to have a big celebration with the current tension over money issues.

The next day, Monica brought home five steaks and an eggplant to treat everyone. She got the steaks from her job. Ross, Monica, and Chandler also got tickets for the concert and invited everyone. Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey refused the food and tickets, saying that they are not a charity case. There was a bit of an argument, then Ross, Monica, and Chandler decided to the concert without them, and the others had a boring evening trying to guess how many fingers Joey was hiding behind his back.

Later, at the coffee place, Monica, Ross, and Chandler let it slip that they partied with the band backstage after the concert. The money issue came up again, and they began to argue. Right at this time, Monica got a call from her boss saying that, according to company policy, the steaks were considered a “kickback.” Since kickbacks are against company policy, Monica was fired so she lost her job. Everyone forgot about the money issue and tried to console Monica. Joey offered to pay for her coffee, but then he turned and asked Chandler for five dollars.