Ideas for Saving Money on Eating Out

Tracie

great..I will follow the tips .Personally i feel Abundance is a natural state.Save for large purchases rather than buying them on credit. MONEY HABITS

Julie Caudill

At restaurants, order water with two lemons. Then, use splenda (dissolves easily in cold water) and you have fresh lemonade. Lemon in water is also a good liver cleanser.

Warren Mauschenger

When dining out, I usually say we need a little more time and just have some water whenever I spot a nearby table getting ready to leave. Then I go over it with a fine tooth comb and collect whats left. Often its a meal in itself for the kids and when it comes time to order we dont need to order as much..

Ellen S.

I think most people would agree that saving money is something “easier said than done”. Personally, I believe it’s a mind-set that needs to be developed by creating good money-saving habits.

Here are some things I’ve done to help change my spending habits:

- Cook more at home  Eating out is very expensive especially if you do it a couple times a week
- Try shopping online  You can find better deals than in the store and you save on gas
- Pay the full balance on credit cards each month  Interest charge is like giving away free money
- Don’t forget to pay yourself  Set up an online savings account (they pay higher interest than a normal savings account)
- Set a budget and goals  It’s good to have your goals written down so you see them everyday and don’t lose focus on your ultimate objectives

Again, saving money requires a lot of patience and hard work. However, you’ll thank yourself later on in life. Good luck everyone!! =)

Lovely

I think most people would agree that saving money is something “easier said than done”. Personally, I believe it’s a mind-set that needs to be developed by creating good money-saving habits.

Here are some things I’ve done to help change my spending habits:

- Cooking more at home ? Eating out is very expensive especially if you do it a couple times a week
- Shopping online ? You can find better deals than in the store and you save on gas
- Paying the full balance on credit cards each month ? Interest charge is like giving away free money
- Don’t forget to pay yourself ? Set up an online savings account (they pay higher interest than a normal savings account)
- Setting a budget and goals ? It’s good to have your goals written down so you see them everyday and don’t lose focus on your ultimate objectives

Again, saving money requires a lot of patience and hard work. However, you’ll thank yourself later on in life. Good luck everyone!! =)

no namer

warren seriousley that is disgusting i am cheap but not disgusting !! Your kids could get sick or worse contract something bad!!!!

Ash

Warren's idea is disgusting. I wonder what the restaurant staff think of this.
Ash

joe baker

If you're eating other people's table scraps and you're still hungry, then head over to the trash to see what came from other people's tables. Yum yum..

wertip

Yeah, seriously, eating table scraps? The most I'd take from another table is the ketchup bottle or some salt packets. Who knows why they didn't eat what is left.

Omaha

You know what, I believe Warren is just fooling around. Nobody does that nowadays. It's embarrassing!

Kyle

Don't forget to stiff the waiter!

Hannah

@ Warrens comment: IDK but maybe his point is most people are wasting enough to feed all the rest of us... its disgusting to think of actually eating someone elses leftovers... but seriously there seems to be too much waste at resturants!! All great tips BTW

susan palmer

I hope I can make some money doing this

Matt

@Kyle seriously?? Stiff your server? I'm a server and I rely heavily on my tips just in order to pay my bills. Servers make less than minimum wage.

Helena

@Matt--minimum wage isn't enough to live on and is a joke. Employers need to stop taking advantage of their employees and take pay cuts themselves. People need to realize this and demand that they be treated more fairly. But about saving money on eating out, its good to just do it on special occasions, that way you appreciate it more & make it a habit to cook at home which is usually healthier anyways.

Louisa

Sometimes people don't finish their meals because they're sick. It could be something communicable like a common cold or even tuberculosis or hepatitis. Sometimes they found grissle or a bone in their food and put it back on their plates from their mouths.

Gael

Seriously, people, get a sense of humor! Can you not smell the sarcasm eminating from the table scrap suggestion and the "stiff your waiter"?

Stace

Table scraps...lol. I've actually had to stop my toddler from doing that a couple times when at Shoneys because he was too impatient to wait for me to prepare his plate from the buffet. I've seen whole plates of food left on tables. Really? Fill the plate before deciding if you like it? Would help if more people just made more trips to the buffet, or simply asked for half the meal to be boxed when ordering the meal.

I hope stiffing the waiter was a jest. The tips paid many college fees while we were earning our bachelor degrees. The restaurant where we were had our earnings solely tips after 6 months. If you weren't making minimum wage on tips within 6 months, you were let go. No sense getting a teen/college kid fired because you don't want to tip. If you don't like tipping, go somewhere less formal.

As far as the article...lots of very good ideas. I quite often order just an appetizer for my lunch. I get to eat in a nice setting that's a break from the chaos of work while keeping the cost low enough to treat myself to a couple lunches a week. I will look into having sides for lunch break (I hadn't considered this idea)...will expand my dining options :)

Elle

Keep in mind that when you get a discount at a restaurant to please tip your waiter on the pre discount total. They make less than minimum wage...