Even if you like to cook, it is nice to be able to go to a restaurant, order food, eat, not have to clean the dishes, and to try out some new restaurants and food. But there are trade-offs. A lot of meals in restaurants have larger portions and are higher calorie meals than what we would normally eat at home, and eating out is almost always more expensive than preparing your own meals at home. So how do we save money? Some of you are probably not going to like the simple answers to saving money when eating out, but here are a few ways:
- Skip the appetizers
Appetizers usually run in the $5-$12 range, so depending on which appetizer you get and how many, appetizers can be a big portion of your bill. It is okay to splurge once in a while, but getting appetizers (and all the extra calories that come along with them) is something you shouldn’t need every time you eat out. - Drink water
Do you get a soda or tea or alcoholic beverage every time you go out to eat? At $2-$3 (or more) for a tea or soft drink and at least $5 in most places for a beer or glass of wine, what if you skipped the beverage every other time you went out to eat? - Desserts
Aside from being calorie bombs on top of what might be a high calorie meal of appetizers, soft drinks or alcohol, and an entree, you could probably (maybe should) pass on getting that dessert after a big meal out. On top of saving you a bunch of empty calories, this will probably save you $5 or more every time you decide to pass, but this can become an extra treat every few times you go out to eat. - Will it be memorable?
I’m sure you’re scratching your head and thinking: “What is he talking about?” If you eat out a lot, do you remember all the times you went to fancy restaurants or expensive dinner (without looking at pictures you took of your food)? I know I don’t usually remember the meals I eat at restaurants. If I remember a specific dinner out, its usually because the people I was with helped create a memory of the event, not the food. I rarely, if ever, remember the exact meal I ate. My memorable meals usually involve eating big meals during family gatherings, whether it’s when my mom makes a table full of homemade Chinese food or when my mother-in-law makes venison backstrap that our 4-year-old son devours for Christmas dinner. So, for me, I usually stick with the middle and lower price entrées, which are usually $10-$15 per entrée. Occasionally, I may splurge on a more expensive entrée, but even then, I rarely remember what I ordered. - Rewards Programs
Our kids have two favorite restaurants now: Red Robin and Chick-fil-A. So I use rewards programs at each of those restaurants. Red Robin offers a free ‘gourmet’ burger level meal after you buy nine regular meals with them. And Chick-fil-A has a points system to earn towards menu items. I know it sounds like a lot, but I usually eat lunch out every Monday with my daughter after her gymnastics class at one of those two restaurants. I don’t use any other restaurant rewards, since keeping track of more would probably not be worth the effort for me. - Discounts
Military, Senior, First Responder, and other discounts are all over the place at restaurants. You just have to ask. They may not advertise the discount, but they may have one. We will occasionally use coupons that come in the mail when we go out to eat. You can also use coupons that you get in the mail or online. CAVEAT: Your should be tipping based off the bill before you receive the discount.
So how much do you spend eating out every month? And how much could you save if you made some of these small adjustments when eating out? If you and your significant other eat out once a week, that’s four times per month on average. Even if you only make adjustments half the time you eat out, you could probably save $50 or more per month ($600 per year), assuming $4 each for alcoholic beverages, $8 for an appetizer, and $4 less on each entrée. This would come to $48 per month before taxes and tip. If you usually get two appetizers or more than one drink or one of the most expensive entrees on the menu, you could easily be looking at near $100 per month in savings. Do you think it’s worth a try?
Do you do anything to save when dining out?
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