Ask the Readers: How Do You Save Money When Dining Out?
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Holly, David, and Merlene Ence for winning this week's contest!
If you are like most people, chances are you find yourself dining out with family or friends at least a couple times each month. While it's fun to head to a restaurant to catch up with loved ones, somtimes dining out can be a bit costly. Luckily, there are ways to save when you grab a bite to eat with family or friends!
How do you save money when dining out? Do you share a meal with someone? Only go to Happy Hours? Drink water?
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My money-saving strategies for dining out are pretty standard:
* happy hour
* early bird (as long as you can be 32 and partake!)
* day-of-the-week specials (i.e. 1/2 price burger Monday)
* splitting 1 each of appetizer, entree, and glass of wine/beer with my husband
* Groupons! (and other deals of that ilk)
* regular coupons
We go out for pizza at our favorite place on Monday s...with a half price coupon in hand! Its my favorite night of the week and costs about $25, including a generous tip!!
We use coupons, drink water, eat an appetizer as a meal, and/or get food as take-out, rather than eating in, to save on the bill.
My husband and I do many things to save money when eating out -- coupons, specials, and day-of-the week specials and early-bird specials are some examples. The best things we do now are: 1) Drink water with lemon instead of hugely over-priced tea or soda; 2) order one appetizer and one entree and split them -- restaurant portions are enormous anyway, and this works well for us, even if the place charges a fee to share; and 3) have appetizers only -- this is our current favorite!
I earn gift cards by doing surveys and also buy them on restaurant.com
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I use coupons when possible, split meals, and not ordering soda!
I try not to order a beverage, just water with lemon. that or I try to share a meal, since most portions are more than I can handle :)
I have several ways I save when eating out. One of the ways I save money on fast food is to use coupons or answer the surveys on the back of receipts. Burger King has a coupon on the back of the receipt for a free chicken sandwich or whopper with a drink and fry purchase. My particular restaurant is happy to substitute a side salad for the fries. So for $2.24 I can have a small drink, salad and sandwich. Arbys has a free sandwich on the back of its receipts. Wendy's has a $2 off a large salad or sandwich. All of these discounts help.
I also utilize discount cards like the Subway sub club. I save up my points and treat my family to a subway meal while on vacation. Red Robin also has a club and sign up gives you a free app. I happen to love their fried zuchinni and mushrooms. My husband loves their chili con queso dip. Usually when we hit restaurants my husband and I will purchase appetizers. We also go on days where they have specials. On Thursdays we will go enjoy Bull and Bones 50 cent wings. On Mondays Macados has half off Hindenburgs(they feed 4 people so we have leftovers.)
A third way we save is to order from the a la carte menu. Our favorite mexican restaurant has a salsa bar. We enjoy chips and salsa and then I will order 2 mexican tacos for $5.50 off the ala cart. If I do order an entree I usually end up getting two meals out of the entrees because the portions are generous. I almost always order water and save my calories for my food. I save money and it is healthier.
The only place I do not choose to save is on the tip. If I spulge on a restaurant and my husband and I sit down I expect to tip at least $5 and up to $10 depending on the service we receive. It ensures that if and when we come back we will have attentive servers that are happy to see us.
We go out for lunch instead of dinner.
I never pay for soda, only buy groupons for restaurants that have been on my list of places to try or that I go to regularly, and I often take home part of my meal for lunch the next day. If I know that I'll be ordering beer or wine or want to have dessert, I'll often order an appetizer portion for my meal - not only does this save money, but it saves calories so that I can enjoy splurges like a good, dark beer or chocolate cake!
We use coupons whenever possible (but always tip on the total before the coupon!), drink water, and- the big one...if you're craving any type of meat entree, at lots of restaurants the same type of meat is available as a sandwich somewhere else on the menu. The sandwich is usually $3-5 cheaper than the entree and usually still includes a side. When I've wanted grilled chicken, I've often opted for the grilled chicken sandwich instead since it's the same chicken only cheaper. Another thing we end up doing is ordering salads or soup and then splitting an entree (we aren't big on leftovers so this allows us to not waste the huge entree portions!)
we havent eaten out in years - and we honestly dont miss it! but getting water instead of soda was one way we used to save $$
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We drink water, and only go to places that we have coupons or gift cards for. :)
When I go out with my girlfriend, I will first look and see if there are any specials that we like. And if there's nothing else that we'd prefer, we usually end up getting those.
Plus getting water instead of drinks is frugal AND healthy.
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I've tweeted my answer.
https://twitter.com/#!/jjin082693/status/190925402762526721
Here is what I do:
1. Order water. It's healthier and it'll save you $1-3 per person, depending on how nice the place is.
2. If it's me and one of my lady friends, and we're at a place like Chili's that has huge portions, we'll split a meal.
3. Always look for coupons. We get the moneysaver/valpack/midweek stuff in the mail and restaurants, especially new places in town always have good coupons in those.
That being said, if I use a coupon or split a meal I leave a tip based on what we would've spent. Not fair to cheat the waiter just b/c I had a coupon. Coupons don't count toward their tips.
The best way to save money when dining out is to NOT go out after you've skipped a meal or two. Drink lots of water before you go, and you will be sure to spend less!
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Groupons!
Oh, I like Wisebread on Facebook (under the name Fourth Date).
Before I decided to get healthy, I used to like going to buffets, especially the lunch buffets at Indian restaurants. Really good value for the money.
We skip desserts and drinks, and sometimes even split a meal. Or alternatively, we will sometimes order an appetizer and one meal and share (as some places have extra-tasty appetizers!). I always take home leftovers, as often that will feed us for one or two more meals.
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Avoid eating out on a regular basis, so when we do go out, it is a special occasion and we are not as concerned about every penny spent. Also, we are both water drinkers. Last year we had 3 meals at restaurants, excluding travel, and this year we have yet to dine out.
We eat out at noon and usually still take home half of the meal. Never order dessert and usually drink water.
Remember that most restaurant portions are at least double what most of us should eat!!! One of the best deals in most sit-down restaurants is the typical appetizer sampler - usually more than enough for a full meal for two and averaging $12 - $20. Drinks are, by FAR, the most expensive item on every menu. We often get the Grande Fajita Nachos at On The Border and it is plenty for dinner for both of us, plus lunch for one of us the next day. If you forgo the drink and just enjoy the food and the company, you'll save a lot, often HALF the bill. Look for the places in your area that have coupons, specials, happy hour prices and take advantage of them. Again, these can often save you half of what you would otherwise spend for the exact same menu items.