Thrifty Thursday: 10 Tips on Saving Money While Dining Out

Pin It At the start of my Couponing 101 classes, I go around the room and have everyone tell me their family size and the amount they spend on groceries each month. Most start calculating the amount in their heads and come up with a number they seem mildly uncomfortable with. {They are, after all, at a coupon class trying to learn how to save money!} Then I add a condition that makes everyone groan and cringe...

Oh, and include any amount you spend eating out.

The mild discomfort turns into sheer panic and many don't want to even share the adjusted total with me!

My Thrifty Thursday tip for the week centers around saving money at restaurants. I'm not going to tell you to stop eating out altogether for a couple reasons. First, it's fun! I really enjoy eating out, both for the break from cooking and for the chance to try something new. Second, to tell you to stop eating out altogether would be completely unrealistic! We all eat out occasionally, whether it's at a local organic deli or the McDonald's drive through.

Instead, I'm going to pass on 10 tips that we've done over the years that have helped us to save money while dining out.

1. Include dining out in your grocery budget. Tracking it this way really opens your eyes to exactly how much you're spending at restaurants. Often times meals out aren't classified as "grocery' food, yet they're not budgeted as entertainment, so the amount you spend falls into a black hole that never gets tracked. Include it as part of your grocery budget {after all, it is food for your family!} and you suddenly become accountable for the amount you're spending.
2. Eat out less. This might require you to plan ahead for snacks & lunches on-the-go, but for a fraction of the cost, it's worth it. Dinners for my family of 5 cost an average of $4 each. When you go out to eat, one meal alone often costs well over $4! It just makes sense to eat out less often. My family used to eat out once a week. When my husband was unemployed we ate out twice during the entire three months he was without work. It was hard for the first 2 weeks or so, then it just became routine to eat all our meals at home. Now we eat out once every 2-3 weeks. Eating more at home is healthier, costs less and gives your family more of a chance to interact.
3. Going along with that is the idea to meal plan for busy nights. I don't feed my family pre-made frozen meals all the time, but I do try to keep a few of the better ones on hand for those nights where things are crazy! Skip the $20 call to Dominoes and instead spend $3-$5 on one of the better frozen meals (like the Wanchai Ferry or Bird's Eye Steam Fresh Meals) that usually take about 10 minutes or less to prepare!
4. Keep snacks and water in the car. I have a ziplock bag that I always keep well stocked with granola bars, fruit leather and other snacks for the kids to munch on so that we can steer clear of any drive thru's.
5. Don't order kid's meals. Instead, either bring some food from home, or share some of your adult portion with them. Kids rarely eat much of their meal anyhow and it's just painful to pay $2.99 for a quesadilla that costs .25 to make at home. I usually bring granola bars, some yogurt, string cheese or crackers, and then share some of my meal. If you just can't see yourself doing this, at least bring a drink for your child. A carton of milk at most fast food places costs $1.00. You can buy an entire gallon of milk for $1.50! Fill up a cup of milk before you leave the house and save yourself some money!
6. Minimize leftovers. I feel it's more important to do this when eating fast food because rarely will you save french fry leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. If you usually have too many fries leftover, then opt out of a meal and just purchase a sandwich. If you regularly can't finish your sandwich, order something off the $1 menu as they're usually smaller.
7. Skip the drinks. Soft drinks at restaurants are so overpriced. Ask for a cup of water instead. It's not only free, but much healthier for you.
8. Take advantage of Kids-Eat-Free nights. My husband loves Carl's Jr. I have to admit, their burgers are tasty! Luckily, every Wednesday night they offer a free kid's meal with each adult meal purchase. My husband gets a meal, I order a sandwich and we get a kid's meal for free. There's plenty of food for everyone and we spend about $9! Keep an eye out for "Kids Eat Free" deals as I find new ones all the time! Go here and here for a couple offers available right now!
9. If you must eat out, then figure out a way to not pay for it! There are a variety of ways to get free {or close to it!} gift cards to use for eating out. Cash in credit card reward points, Swag Bucks, or buy inexpensive gift cards from Restaurant.com. They're currently offering a 90% off discount! City Deals has the same idea, only their discounts aren't quite as deep. You can also purchase an Entertainment Book and the coupons don't expire until 9/2010! I get one of these books every year and they pay for themselves with just a few coupons. Remember to sign up for Birthday offers to get those free coupons! There are also coupons that come out in the Sunday coupon inserts! If you must eat out frequently, then try and use a coupon- the savings will add up fast.
10. Use coupons at the grocery store. You might be thinking- what on earth does this have to do with eating out? I found that once I started paying rock bottom prices for a variety of items at the grocery store, my perspective on what $2 could buy drastically changed. Before, spending $2-$3 on a few items from the Wendy's dollar menu seemed reasonable. Now I understand that the same $2-$3 could now buy an entire dinner {plus leftovers} for my family. Using coupons has increased the amount of self control I have with spending, especially in restaurants.

By incorporating these ideas my family has been able to enjoy eating out while maintaining our $200 or less a month grocery budget. Need some recipe ideas? check out my Frugral Recipes section here!

Have an idea on how to save money while dining out? Leave a comment!