Comments on: Save money while eating out

By: New Covenant Bible Institute

New Covenant Bible Institute — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:27:06 +0000

Eating is fast food chains is really expensive and it is one of the things that I am trying to avoid because I know that it is not good. I am trying my best not to go to places that can let me be tempted of their offers. I spends many dollars in just one stop and I hate it.. I pray that God give me the control in doing it and also the discipline, it is what I need.

By: Luke

Luke — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:26:16 +0000

We used to eat out a lot, it was more of a convenience than anything else. It was easy to pick something up to eat when we had a busy day, until we noticed how much we were really spending each month on fast food.

Now we limit how often we go out and as a result it is more enjoyable when we do and we save money for fun things to do with the family rather than just food that we don’t really need.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:45:22 +0000

I am a college student and I spend lots of money eating out each year, because the cafeteria food SUCKS. Unfortunately, most college students usually don’t have that much money to spend so freely.

I know that this is definitely true in my case. I am really trying to save the little bit of money that I do have. I started buying groceries that I could stretch for a couple weeks that beats spending $10 every other day eating out. I have heard a lot about restaurant.com I am going check the site out.

By: Terry

Terry — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:13:06 +0000

Good article. We went to Hawaii several years ago. Food can be very expensive and could play a significant role in the cost of such a vacation. We soon learned if we went to eat between 3:oo PM and 4:30 pm we could get the same meal for much less, many times half price. There are a lot of deals out there we just need to learn to take advantage. By the way, our three week vacation, we came home with $1,200.00 left over, most was savings on food. Another added feature, I lost about 12 pounds. I call that a miracle.

By: Craig B

Craig B — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 01:42:47 +0000

One thing we have been fortunate enough to be able to do is trade our services for meals. We have a rental business that restaurants use from time to time and I will trade out our services for gift cards. It has allowed us to enjoy “fancy” meals like at Ruth’s Chris. I know this is not an option for everyone, but if you are creative enough, it might work for a meal here or there. Working with local restaurants where you can get to know the owners helps alot.

Some other things we do that are more pratical is to order just water and to share meals. Also we love Mexican food and after eating baskets of chips and salsa, you really don’t need a lot for the main course.

By: Norman

Norman — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:38:23 +0000

Almost everywhere we go anymore, they literally bring a PLATTER of food to the table, so we have starting sharing a meal when we go out. We’ve never had any problem with the waiter bringing us an extra plate. Its saves us money and calories.

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:22:43 +0000

I have a great way to save money while eating out, and lose weight at the same time. My wife and I typically split a meal. If you add a salad or soup for each of us, you will be full and satisifed when you are finished. By splitting an entree, you reduce the number of calories consumed and keep money ($10 – $20) in your pocket. It works for us.

By: Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:30:04 +0000

@Nate: Maybe bring along some of those water-bottle-sized packets of drink mix and stir them into the water? They make them in lemonade, fruit tea and even Hawaiian Punch flavors.
And yes, I know that some people think that’s incurably cheapskate. So be it. If you weren’t flavoring the water you’d still be ordering it and not a soda or a beer, right?
Or you can cop out by saying, “I flavor water all the time; I think our city water has a funny taste. At home we filter it.”

By: Nate Hall

Nate Hall — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:51:50 +0000

We definitely like to eat out too. The Entertainment Book is something we use quite a bit and it can cut down on costs for sure, especially when going to sit down restaurants.

We’ve found with our kids that a lot of times, they’d rather have stuff from value menus at fast food places so that saves. Our kids are young enough right now that when we go to restaurants, depending on the size of plate, we may have them share a plate and they end up full. Another little thing to do is order water to drink, instead of the more expensive drinks. It’s not the most exciting thing to drink, but it does a body good and drinks can add up on the bill.

By: Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:28:11 +0000

If you eat at chain restaurants such as Outback or Olive Garden, buy discounted gift cards and use them like cash. These cards are available for fancy-pants restaurants, too, such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House and McCormick & Schmick’s.
The discounts can range upward of 12%, a noticeable saving. Use the discounted gift-card aggregator GiftCardGranny.com to find the best deal.
Two more ways to pare down the cost:
1. Pay for the discounted gift card with a rewards credit card
2. If the best deal happens to be offered through Cardpool.com, buy it through the cash-back shopping site MrRebates.com (it’s only another 1% off but hey, I’ll take it)
I wrote an MSN Money column on how to buy discounted gift cards:
http://money.msn.com/saving-money/useless-groupon-cash-it-in-freedman.aspx
Incidentally, if you missed a Groupon or Living Social or whatever restaurant deal you may be able to buy it through one of the the secondary-market sites. (The price is usually the same as the initial deal and as a buyer you don’t pay fees.) At one such site you can even post a “wanted” ad. I did a column for MSN Money about this:
http://money.msn.com/saving-money/useless-groupon-cash-it-in-freedman.aspx
Bon appetit!