WAYS TO EAT OUT FOR LESS
SHARE A MEAL
Restaurant portions are often huge, so consider splitting a dish with someone else. If you ask, many establishments will divide your order into two before bringing it out to you. The unexpected bonus for your frugal efforts?
Fewer calories and fat grams hitting your waistline.
DRINK FOR FREE
Drinks can add to your tab, particularly if you’re drinking something that is billed by the glass. To keep your check as lean as possible, order water (almost always free) or opt for a beverage that comes with free refills - soda, coffee, ice tea, etc. Can’t do without that alcoholic beverage? Order one glass and then stick to water for the rest of the meal.
CLIP AND SAVE
Coupons aren’t just for groceries. Flip through your local newspaper and junk mail, and you’re likely to find lots of restaurant coupons. Buy one get one free offers can reduce the price of eating out, so they are worth the search time.
GO KIDFRIENDLY
Lots of establishments have special nights where kids eat for free with the purchase of an adult entree. Do some research to find restaurants in your area that do this and you could slash your meal cost in half — that’s sure to make you and the kids happy.
SKIP DINNER
No, you shouldn’t skip dinner entirely, but you can consider skipping dinner out. Eating out fir dinner is often more expensive than eating out for lunch, even if the same food is on the menu. Make the switch to mid-day meals, and you’ll avoid the higher price tags and the crowd as well.
ORDER BY PHONE
If it’s the restaurant food that you crave and not the experience, you can cut cost by ordering your food to go. Many restaurant chains offer car-side service, making it easy for you to get your favourite meals to go. How does this save you money? By taking the sitdown experience out of the equation, you can skip the drink order entirely.