Saving on Restaurants and Food
When you’re watching your dollars, the takeout dinner budget is typically the first thing to get slashed. But sometimes the allure of going out to eat is just too hard to resist. Plus, who wants to miss out all of the fun you could be having with co-workers and friends at your favorite casual-dining restaurant? If you do occasionally give into temptation, there are ways to keep your bills under control.
Drink Water: Liquor bills can sometimes add up to more than the cost of your actual meal, so if you must dine out, skip the booze. In fact, skip anything that isn’t water. Ordering sodas, ice tea, and lemonade may seem harmless, but the charges for refills can quickly add up.
Skip Dessert: I know. It’s tough to resist those delicate concoctions of sugar and chocolate with just a splash of heaven mixed in for good measure. But just like alcohol, the items on the dessert menu can send your bill through the roof. If you must have something sweet to finish off your meal, hit the grocery store on your way home and buy a big bag of cookies or a pint of ice cream. You can get your sweet fix for a fraction of the cost…and you’ll still have some left over for tomorrow night.
Pay Your Own Way: Going out with a group of friends can be so much fun, and so very expensive. Typically, when you order light (no alcohol, no dessert) splitting the check with a group of friends often means that you end up paying more than your share. Make life easier, and cheaper, on yourself and only pay for what you ate.
Dana Robinson
Dana Robinson is a couponing expert and regularly contributes money-saving articles to PromoCodes.com.
