Eating out a few times a week may not seem like a big expense, but it can kill your budget quickly if you aren’t careful. Use these tips to save money while eating out alone, or with your family.
Avoid appetizers. Honestly, after you order and eat an appetizer, you’ve already spent $10-$15 and you’re almost full. Then you spend more on your actual entree, and have food to take home. But you never actually eat the food you take home, so it gets wasted. It’s a vicious cycle. Okay, so I’m kind of joking – but I bet you know what I’m talking about. 
Drink water. Soda can cost you $2-$3. Save yourself $15 for a family of 5!
Coupons! Use voucher codes for restaurants.
Limit alcohol. The most expensive part of a meal can be the alcohol. $5 – $8 a drink? That adds up, fast!
Share a meal. Two for $20 is becoming a popular trend for some chains like Applebee’s. If a deal like that isn’t available, order an entree and split it.
Save by using gift cards. Buy gift cards at Sam’s Club, or Costco. You save 20 percent, and they can be used with another coupon.
Visit on the cheaper days or nights. Some restaurants have deals like “Kids eat free Tuesdays after 4PM”. Find out which restaurants offer deals on each night, and you could easily have a few meals a week on the cheap. Also, consider Happy Hour for free or cheap drinks, or brunch or lunch for cheaper meals than you’d get at dinner time.
Get a little creative and your dining out experience can be fabulous, without breaking the bank!
What are you favorite ways to save while eating out?
This post brought to you by Net Voucher Codes.
I love using restaurant vouchers! I’ve saved so much money that way.
Order a couple of appetizers and split them instead of ordering and entree.
I wish water at restaurants didn’t usually taste so bad,because it’s definitely cheaper drinking it than the tea or lemonade that I usually order. I always check out restaurants.com for vouchers before eating out anywhere. A while back I had a coupon code to use on restaurant.com,so I was able to get $35 vouchers for $2!!
Good advice. I agree with Jessica about the water tasting bad. I usually order a soda because I’m afraid of the water! It does add up though when everyone in the family orders a drink… any kind of drink at all will kill your budget over time.
We also have just done the appetizer as a meal and shared it. The kids and I learned this trick a long time ago!
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I order water & see what the hubby’s gonna order then choose my dish… Sometimes I go with an appetizer or house salad. Keeps me from eating as much & is always cheaper.
I like to order an entree that’s easy to make into 2 or 3 meals…U.S. portions are generous! I make it a point to eat the leftovers then!
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Thanks for the advice….I always take my bottled water with me
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Good tips. We save by eating at happy hour, using coupons and limiting the number of times we eat out.
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I get text messages once or twice a month from some of our favorite restaurants with deals. If we go out that’s usually why. We end up eating out about every other month. The last time we ate out it was 1/2 price appetizers and salads so we got one of each and split them both. We got the kids their own meals, though. The kids both got chocolate milk, and my husband and I got pop. We ended up paying about $25 including the tip (and we aren’t stingy) for a family of 4. Not bad at all!
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I go out to places with discounts, like dennys. And we will doggy bag the rest….. My tip is to buy cheap lol….
These are some really great tips. I always regret ordering appetizers.. usually when I’m super full and looking at the check haha. Alcohol can get expensive too you’re right, especially in tourist areas! I live in Honolulu and while my dad was visiting last I took him to Jimmy Buffett’s, the drink I ordered was a big girly one that included a back scratcher (lol) and it cost $16!!!! Don’t get me wrong, it got the job done, but wowza I was not expecting that!
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We always drink water if we eat out. It really does save a lot of money. We only drink soft drinks/tea at home when we can buy it for a lot cheaper!
Sign up for daily deal sites, such as Groupon. They often have restaurant deals at 50% off or even more. Sign up for newsletters from your favorite restaurants. They often email you a coupon for a discount or something like a free appetizer for signing up.
I also love to buy vouchers at Restaurant.com. You can get a $25 certificate to a restaurant for $2 on sale!
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Good ideas on here!! We love eating out but love saving money more!! LOL If we can do both, it’s a win-win and we still feel like we are getting out and about in the world. I can NEVER finish my plate so I always get a doggie bag and have the leftovers for lunch the next day so it saves us there, too.