I don’t know about you, but I love going out to eat! I love having good food prepared by a real chef and tasting new combinations of foods that I would have never thought of! For Bob and I, this is a luxury that we allow into our budget because it’s something we both really enjoy. Not to mention the wonderful benefits we get from going on dates!
But, eating out regularly can get really expensive. Because we don’t really want to spend all our money on food and because we’ve made it a priority to pay off debt, we are very conscious how much money we spend on this. Here’s how you can do it.
Split meals.
We rarely each get an appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert and coffee. It works out that we pretty much like the same foods. So, what we’ll do is one of us will order a salad and the other will order a main course and we’ll split both of them. It usually works out to be just the right amount for us and really saves money.- Be mindful of what you’re ordering.
Ok, two funny stories. First, one time we went to a restaurant who served family style. The portions were huge. A couple next to us, who obviously had not been warned of this, each ordered the usual four courses. I think the waiter tried to warn them, but they didn’t really understand. Bob and I sat next to them and just laughed because each course was bigger than the last and they barely got through their salad and had to take the rest home! It was so funny! All that to say, sometimes you just don’t need as much food as you think you do. Pay attention and order the appropriate amount.
Second, Bob and I went to a nice restaurant and spent about $25 and both left full. I think we even had leftovers! A while later, we went back. This time we had a gift card, so we decided to splurge and get whatever we wanted. We ended up spending more than twice what we had ordered before and didn’t have any leftovers. It really is amazing how a little effort is much wiser than no effort. - Use Groupon or get an Entertainment Book.
There are some really good deals in those books! Most of the coupons are buy-one-get-one-free and they have a very wide variety of options. - If you’ve got children go somewhere your kids can eat for free!
I know chains have this, but local places offer free kids meals too. Do a little research and keep your eyes peeled for these offers. - Visit Restaurant.com.
You can find lots of good deals here and I’m sure there are many other places online that will lead you to deals. They have a ton of $25 gift certificates being sold for $10. There are normally some simple restrictions, but $25 for $10 is still a pretty good deal – don’t you think?
What are some other ways to eat out while maintaining your budget?
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Check out the websites of national restaurants. They may have BOGO coupons or other discounts. This applies to family restaurants and well as mid-range. (We don’t have any truly upscale national restaurants in our community.) With some, you can give them your email and get a regular delivery of coupons.
I think most importantly here is your second tip, be mindful what you’re ordering. Every restaurant has different definitions for a meal even if the menu describes it as the same thing as a different restaurant. Portion size varies, so ask your server! They know how big the dishes are and, the better you order, the more you get for your money.
Concerning Restaurant.com:
1) Be mindful of the gift certificates you buy. The $25 certificates require you to spend $35, the $50 ones typically require you to spend $100.
2) Wait for their 80% off deals (with promo code). These can typically be found on websites that post deals such as SlickDeals.net or TechBargains.net. You can get $25 gift certificates for $2.
3) Don’t get carried away buying gift certificates you think you’ll use. The gift certificates do expire, but the 80% off sale comes and goes pretty regularly (I’d say almost monthly), so there’s no real need to stock up.
P.S. Groupon.com is another great site for area coupons, which sometimes includes restaurants (they feature a different area business each day).
This doesn’t save a ton of money, but I find it to be a good policy to only drink water when going out to eat. For two people, this saves a good $4 or $5 per meal, and besides that, it’s much healthier.
We don’t eat out too much, but when we do we try to use coupons. That way we can celebrate anniversaries or go to friend’s birthday parties and not have to be concerned with what we’re spending!
My wife always jokes with others that we don’t go out to eat anywhere, unless it’s in the Entertainment Book!
Check out opentable.com to make reservations, look at menus first and websites. Each completed reservation gives you $1 towards a $20 gc. Some restaurants have times where you’ll earn $10.
Great tips Linda! And when you don’t make going out to eat a habit it’s just so much more fun and special! Like you said…a date night
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I agree with Matthew about Restaurant.com. Sign up for their e-newsletter. Once a month the price goes down to $2 per coupon, for a $25-off coupon.
You tell them how many certificates you want, put in a code for the discount, and then pay online. After you pay, you can send individual emails to your friends/family with a personal message (a maximum of 275 characters, including spaces). That takes some time, because you have to do it one at a time.
You and your friends get an email from Restaurant.com. You look through a list of participating restaurants and choose one. Then print the certificate, which is good for one year, and take it to that restaurant. You must spend $35 for the $25 gift certificate, so your total cost is $10 plus tip.
If you give gifts to people, the Restaurant.com procedure is a bit confusing. I have written up a sheet showing how to do all this and would be glad to forward a PDF file to anyone. Boyd Griffith: boydgriff@gmail.com.
I just sent out 17 certificates for donors to a recent mission trip. It cost me just $34! My donors are enjoying some nice dinners.
This is a neat deal for independent missionaries to give gifts, charities wanting to honor donors, etc.
I belong to MyPoints. They give points for doing surveys and purchasing things through their website. These can be redeemed for restaurant gift cards. But the biggest point earner for us is using their search engine. You don’t spend a dime to get points that way.
Another thing someone suggested is buying the Entertainment book later in the year when it’s drastically reduced. We don’t eat out enough to warrant that, but for those who do it’s a great bargain.
A third is to do lunch instead of supper.
A fourth is to go to a Chinese buffet (during lunch, drinking water or free hot tea, of course). With two boys in sports this ends up being a huge boon.
We are guilty of indulging in eating out…we found a handful of restaurants that have a great ‘happy hour’ special where you get a 1/2 priced appetizer per drink you order. So, we’ll spend $3 on drinks & then get $3-$4 appetizers. It’s fun & the combinations are endless!
Great suggestions!!!! I’m sharing/linking to this on my “This & That Thursday” post …
http://www.myreasonstoblog.com/2010/04/this-n-that-thursday_22.html
Hope you’re having a really good day.
~ Joy:)
Metro Dining Club cards are great if you want to save money. I’ve been a Metro Dining Club member for 10 years now and IMHO they are much better than Groupons, Living Social, and the Entertainment Book for a few reasons. The main reason is that you get to use the discount once every month as opposed to just the one time. For $27 you get discounts at 166 different places. Can you imagine how much it would cost to buy 166 Groupons or Living Social deals?
The Metro Dining Club cards are also better for the restaurants that participate than something like Groupons. For example, if I used a $40 Groupons deal (I pay $20 to get $40 at the restaurant), Groupons gets $10 and the restaurant gets $10. The restaurant only gets 25% of what they give away. That doesn’t even cover their food costs (usually 33%). Now if I used a “Buy one entree, get one free” Metro Dining Club card it is a 50/50 split between the customer and the restaurant. Win-Win for both parties.