How to Eat at a Restaurant On a Budget

November 30, 2008 By Debbie Dragon

Just because you are trying to keep close tabs on your spending doesn’t mean you can’t ever treat yourself by eating at a restaurant instead of cooking at home.  Here are some tips for keeping on the budget and still going out to eat:

Go Earlier in the Day:  Breakfast and Lunch are almost always less expensive meals in a restaurant than the dinner meal.  Call around to your favorite restaurants and ask what time the lunch menu is served through, and time your visit before the dinner menu starts to save some money.  The portions are usually smaller, but consider restaurants tend to give too much food for a single meal, anyway, this isn’t a bad thing!

Cuddle Up and Share: Unless the menu or sign on the door says “no meal sharing”, there is no rule that says you and your dining partner have to each order separate meals.  Order one meal and share it.  Ask the server if you’ll be charged for a second plate (Yes, some places do charge for this!) and if so - just eat off the same plate!  Most restaurants allow meal sharing and will bring you another plate and with the size of the dinner portions, you’ll have plenty to eat.

Go With Water: A glass of wine can cost $5 or $6 easily.  Mixed drinks can reach the double digits!  Even a bottle of beer or a glass of soda in a restaurant is fairly pricey.  Stick with a glass of water (specify a glass of water so they don’t bring you a bottled water and charge you $2.50 for it!).  We should all drink more water than we do, anyway, and you can easily save $5 to $10 off your next meal out with your dining partner just by ordering water to go with your meal.

Forget Supersize - Kiddie Size!  If the restaurant has a kid’s menu and no restrictions for the age limit to order from it, consider ordering your meal from the kid’s menu.  They’re typically about half the price of the adult portions, and surprisingly the amount of food you get isn’t that much less than what you get from the regular menu.  Some restaurants specify an age limit, so to avoid embarassment, look for the fine print first!

Watch for Coupons: Your local newspaper probably prints coupons regularly for local restaurants.  Clip them out and use them the next time you visit.  The best ones give you two meals for the price of one - but if you get a 10% off coupon, you can always use some of the other tips mentioned in this article combined with the coupon to get a meal that costs less than if you tried to make it at home!

Posted in budgeting, entertainment, family, food, frugality in motion, lifestyle, personal finance basics, recreation, saving money

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