Manage Your Life
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
8 tips for stretching your dining-out dollars
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On any given day,
one-third of Americans will visit a restaurant,
according to the National Restaurant Association. In 2009 alone,
U.S. restaurants will serve up more than 70 billion meals
and snacks. That's a lot of food! Unfortunately for
restaurant patrons, it also adds up to a lot of money. In most
cases, a restaurant meal will cost significantly more than cooking
at home will. But what if you're just not
willing to sacrifice the convenience and luxury of dining out? The
good news is, you can still cut your expenses significantly. We
provide eight ways to slash your restaurant expenses.
(For more tips on cutting your food costs, see 22 Ways To Fight Rising Food Prices
.)
To See Full Article, Click
Here.
- Do
Lunch
Because
restaurants experience much lower volume at lunch, lunch offerings
are much cheaper than the dinner menu. And this doesn't
necessarily mean that you'll be stuck with sandwiches and
burgers – many restaurants offer an abbreviated version of dinner
menus for lunch, allowing you to enjoy your favorite dishes for as much as half the
dinner price. Also, if the restaurant is less busy, you are also
likely to get better and faster service.
- Skip the
Extras
Think
about why you go out to eat – it's not so you can have a
watered down iced tea or a $12 glass of wine, so if you can go
without these items, skip them. Drinks, appetizers and desserts
tend to have a much higher markup than entrée offerings, and can
easily double the price of your dinner. Plus, do you really need
all that food?
For More On Investopedia.com
Budget Without Blowing Off Your
Friends
- Get It To
Go
If
drinking water and skipping dessert isn't an option for you,
consider taking your meal home, so
that you can treat yourself
to these items from your own pantry. This way, you can have a great
bottle of wine, an ice-cold soda or even a tall glass of milk for
half the price. Taking your order to go will also help you reduce
the overall cost of your meal beyond those extras, because it's
generally acceptable to pay a smaller percentage to tip the staff,
as you are receiving considerably less service. (For more
money-saving saving tips
that don't feel like a
sacrifice, see Budget Without Blowing Off Your
Friends .)
- Scrutinize
"Specials"
Daily
specials can be a way for a chef to showcase a fresh local or
seasonal item, or to test a possible new addition to the menu.
These specials are sometimes invented at the last minute and
presented verbally to diners – often without any mention of the
dish's price. If you are considering a special item, make sure
you understand what you are getting and how much it costs. If the
price is in line with other menu items, it's a great
opportunity to try a fresh new dish. At larger chain restaurants,
"specials" may also be discounts of regular menu items used for
promotional purposes. If you come across one of these, view it as a
sale and order away!
- Kids Eat for
Free
If you
have children, chances are you'll have to feed them - often.
Fortunately, many chain restaurants offer free kids' meals with
the purchase of adult entrées. This can save a bundle for those with children under 12
years old. If the restaurant you choose doesn't offer such a
promotion, try to steer younger children to the kids' menu or
ask the server if you can order (and pay for) a half portion for
your child. Small children have smaller appetites, so this strategy
can help reduce food waste as well. You can search for Kids Eat
Free specials in your area at www.mykidseatfree.com. (Your kids
might learn from your budgeting habits. Read
5 Money Skills To Teach Your Kids for tips on how
to make a good impression.)
To See Full Article, Click
Here.
For More On Investopedia.com
Budget Without Blowing Off Your
Friends
Digging Out Of Debt In 8
Steps
How To Make Your First $1
Million
Related: take-out, savings, save, rishing food costs, restaurant, food, dinning-out, date, cooking
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Posted by heather c Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:05am PDT
Ok where are the other "3" tips? Does it not read "8 tips for stretching..."? And call me cheap but I do not tip for "to go" items. I am paying enough for the food to go and possibly even extra for packaging, no tips here. If that is the line of thought why don't we tip fast food workers????
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Posted by STRAWBERRY Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:23am PDT
You have to click the link to see the full article
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Posted by Mysterious Gryphon Tue Sep 15, 2009 11:37am PDT
My best money-saving trick is actually from Weight Watchers:
When you order your food, ask for a to-go box to come along with the meal, or simply ask the waiter to place half the food in a box and bring out the other half on a plate. Restaurant portions are usually so enormous that you can't really eat the whole thing and enjoy it. Personally, I usually end up picking at my leftovers until they are no longer fit to take home at all.
Boxing them immediately means I eat less and still have a prepackaged lunch for work tomorrow!
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Posted by Carly-Beth Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:07pm PDT
Ok but you may think that its like fast food but its not. They gather your food make sure everything is correct in your oder and where i work they take it to your car. Also PLEASE dont SKIMP on tipping your server while going out to eat 2.13 is what i make... and you money is occasionally insulting while leaving barely anything. Yes going out is a luxiory in this day and age but you need to take care of who takes care of you at the table. AND IF UR KID SLOPS, more tip should be given. SO a tip for saving?> DOnt go out if you dont have the money to spend on EVERYTHING including TIP
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Posted by Carly-Beth Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:09pm PDT
Also going out to eat... "hey you" is not the proper way to address your waiter. And dont wave your arms around while waiters are at ather tables. If you do want a good experience, be courteous. We are hear to provide a nice experience, but you arent always the only table we have at the time!!!
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Posted by r0sie Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:24pm PDT
I sign up for a lot of the restaurant email lists. Many of them will occasionally send out coupons (really good ones too!), and I try to wait around for them before dining at my favorite places.
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Posted by heather c Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:49pm PDT
My comment was if we are to tip at a restaurant for "to go" food should we be tipping at a fast food place, NO.Both have to cook the food, make sure it's all together, and serve it to you. And frankly if I order out from a restarant 9 out 10 times they did forget something. The same can't be said for fast food places. I have never order out from a restaurant where they bring it out to you. Then I may tip a few for the convience. But really I'm driving to the restaurant,waiting, checking my food and correcting the order, and serving myself at home. Tip me.
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Posted by Lupe Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:51am PDT
IT IS RIDICULOUS TO TIP FOR A "TO GO" ORDER. There is nothing that a restaurant would do differently then McDonald's and you don't tip fast food workers.
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Posted by Roger L Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:13am PDT
I hate pushing a website or business, but Restaurant.com can save you a lot of money on eating out. As far as "to go" orders, it is not the restuarant I am paying for service, it is the lady getting $2 and something an hour. I can promise you the service improvement shows when you tip, and I appreciate their hard work.
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Posted by Me Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:22am PDT
I do NOT tip to-go orders. In my state the wait staff is paid min. wage - they don't need extra for doing the same thing as McDonalds.
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