How to save when Dining Out

Restaurants – Our budget-buster!

We all love to eat out, for convenience, for great taste, or for any other reason, but the only thing that makes all of us worry is our huge expenditure on dining out. If you are having your meal out, it is always good to save some money. Here are some useful tips that might help you save some money from spending much on eating out:

• Look for a place offering “trial meal”

When a new restaurant opens up, it offers meal for free for a day or two to give its staff a chance to do a practice run. There might be a possibility of offering limited food but the food can be great.

• Try out buffet meals

Yes, they might sound you much but prove less-costlier especially when you are only two or three members. This type of offerings include a variety of food with cuisines and drinks at a specific amount.

• Try family style restaurants

Since all the dishes are served to each member, you can order for less in one or two numbers  than the number of people. With a plenty of options available and there is plenty to go around, you can save the cost of one meal.

• Skip appetizers

Ordering for main course and skipping appetizers is better idea in saving money. Appetizers are usually over-priced.

• Have dessert somewhere else

If you want to have dessert after having dinner, stopping by a local ice-cream vendor on the way home can make your wallet happy.

• Start going to restaurant clubs

Signing for such clubs get you free meals on special occassions such as birthdays or anniversaries. You will be offering coupons, discounts and dining card frequently.

• Ask for a half portion

Asking for half size meal will help cut out the extra calories as well as your expenditure, as it is offered for half the price of the menu.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 03rd, 2009 and is filed under money management, personal finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.