Comments on: Save on Dining: Eat Out and Spend Less

By: matt76allen

matt76allen — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Found this post featured in a carnival. Ironically, the post I featured in that same carnival is about not being a cheapskate while dining out! I actually don’t disagree with most of your advice here. The only thing I can never bring myself to do is order water. Even if I would prefer to drink water, I still get soda (or beer) for fear of being labeled as a cheapskate.

By: Azra ReadyForZero

Azra ReadyForZero — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Really good list of tips, PT! We’re featuring this article on our blog today Sometimes, especially when eating a nice steak, I can’t help but really want a red wine to pair with the meal. One trick I’ve learned to make sure that I limit myself to just one drink: Have then bring it in with the meal, and not before it!

By: Long Pham

Long Pham — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Like you, my wife and I like to spend money on food. We were especially hit hard this past week as it was Restaurant Week in our area. To save money, I set a budget for eating out in addition to groceries that we use for cooking at home. We try to cook as often as we can to save money.

We recently got a crockpot too. We haven’t used it much yet, but I anticipate that we will much more when we have our baby. I bet it will be a huge time saver.

For dining out, I like to use Opentable to make restaurant reservations. It’s a great way to get a table and they reward you with points that you can use towards the check.

By: Philip Taylor

Philip Taylor — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

@Jackie Walters Great advice, Jackie. Thanks for sharing.

By: Jackie Walters

Jackie Walters — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

PT – Two things our family loves to do is eat out and travel. I have found that using a Dining Out envelope is crucial when enjoying this type of pleasure in life. However, I do find myself wanting to beef up this envelope more and more.

I just signed up for Foursquare myself. Can’t wait to start using it. Groupon and Living Social are other ways to get great discounts at local restaurants. Our local paper always have 2 for 1 coupons as well.

I also find that using coupons on groceries and other household items allows me to have more money to use dining out. It also helps that my husband either takes his lunch to work or comes home for lunch.

Freezer cooking and crockpot meals are great as well.

I’m the baby of 7 so I have always been use to making tons of food. Great for leftovers! I often cook in large quantities so that I can freeze half of it for later consumption.

By: Stephanie Coviak

Stephanie Coviak — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Lots of places have a variety of appetizers – you can add a small dinner salad – and viola!

By: JeffreyCrews

JeffreyCrews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

@Adaptu I am trying it out from now on!

By: Adaptu

Adaptu — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

I love using Foursquare to find deals. Between the “Specials” and the American Express $5 off – it’s pretty easy to eat cheap.

By: Kyle Kam

Kyle Kam — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Today, it’s not really practical to spend for expensive dining. Not all people can afford dining such as “middle class” dining. I suggest to just dine at home and make something special for the family. You may use cook books to find dishes that you don’t usually cook, if needed. Being practical may save you a lot of spending.

By: MoneyInfant

MoneyInfant — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

When we were in the States we only ate out once a week or so, it was just to expensive. Now that we are living in Thailand we eat out probably 5 times a week. The difference is that here as long as we stick with Thai food eating out only costs us $6 for a family of 3. The downside is that anything other than Thai costs around $30 which is still cheap compared to U.S. prices.