Saving Money While Eating Out

Question

Working in a city, many of my friends and I find ourselves going out to eat to spend and share time together. How can I keep up this habit without breaking the bank? Any tips for eating out on a budget?

ReneeCasteelCook · Answer

Breakfast meetings for the win!

dmcfall0507 · Answer

When my best friend and I used to go out (before kids when we actually had time) and still wanted to save money we would share an appetizer or combo meal. There are some restaurants that have deals at certain times or '2 for 1' pricing. Check into those. Also, look into couponing for places you go regularly. Verizon offers discounts to local business/restaurants. Doesn't hurt to look into it! 
I like Lady Fairygodboss's reply of picnics. You really can't go wrong with a nice picnic when the weather is nice enough to enjoy it! 
I hope you find a suitable solution!

Lindsey Joe · Answer

This is so hard! And I love some of the suggestions already offered here... but here are some other strategies you might could try to save $$$... 
(a) Choose a fast casual restaurant vs. 'fancy'. 
(b) Visit the restaurant during Happy Hour for lower-priced items. 
(c) Skip the drink! Alcohol is expensive & adds up. 
(d) Vegetarian entrees/items are sometimes cheaper than those with meat. 
(e) Don't forget to ask if they have a 'lunch portion' or smaller portion you can order that's cheaper.  
(f) Consider eating a healthy snack before you go so you don't end up wanting to order a lot at the restaurant.

Anonymous · Answer

I order an appetizer and a drink sometimes to save costs (though, this doesn't work if everyone wants to split the bill instead of individual checks). Try suggesting meeting up for a dessert instead, or, doing a picnic or potluck or meeting up for an activity instead!

Anonymous · Answer

Going out for food all of the time can definitely kill your budget! I recommend meal planning your lunches during the week at work and most dinners -- that way you have can fun on the weekends/build in when  you're actually going out!

VStyle · Answer

1. There are tons of amazing well priced happy hours everywhere, including 'fancy' places. Make a list of these places and be ready with suggestions when you guys go out.
2. If you don't want to be upfront about your budget, you can eat (cheap) beforehand, and say you are on a detox when you show up. 
3. Order the cheapest things on the menu, and be confident and graceful after you order with the comment of, 'Can we have separate checks, please?' Everyone will love your confidence, and as long as you are not eating off everyone else's plates or drinking from their bottles of wine, no one will have issue with separate checks.

Ella Molnar · Answer

Things that have worked for me and my husband:
1. Hosting ourselves at home. Ask everyone who comes to bring something, and we usually just supply the grill/smoker and fuel. Same for hosting at a park instead of your home.

2. Use the app OpenTable to choose a lower cost restaurant with something unique or interesting that will pique your group's interest. If the group are willing to try, call the restaurant to confirm participation in OpenTable, and then use the app to make a reservation for your group. Side note: We did this while in Niagara this past weekend. Using OpenTable, I made a reservation at an exclusive restaurant about an hour in advance of our arrival, and when we couldn't find parking, I bumped it by 15 minutes. When we arrived, the hostess had a stack of menus set aside for our table, there was zero wait, and they had the correct number of plates on our table already. Because they were filling a last-minute cancellation, our view was AMAZING, and our party had an amazing time at a restaurant that had been only so-so without the reservation two nights before. Plus, the ability to make reservations just makes you look so cool.

3. Suggest something like a bar with a pool table. Play pool, don't drink, and say it's because you have to drive. Or, offer to be Designated Driver, and most places in the US will give free Cola to the DD if you tell the bartender and order no alcohol at all for the evening.

4. Consider a charity event your group might join (Pelotonia is going on in my city right now, so that comes to mind), and organize a team. Arrange for planning sessions and practice sessions. With a focus such as 'improve our skills', *everyone* tends to spend less on meals/drinks/snacks.

5. Consider volunteer activities like the local homeless shelter, animal shelter, spay/neuter clinic, neighborhood beautification weekend, zoo, etc. These give your group excellent photo ops, can be great for breaking up cliques, get you all involved in your community, and are a way of giving to your community without giving money.

6. Pretend it's a challenge, and ask the waitress: 'I've made a bet with my SO/BFF that I can eat out the same number of times in a month as (s)he does, but at half the cost. (S)he's at $XXX right now, so to keep at the half price mark, I've got to keep this meal at $XX. Can you help me get an Insta-worthy meal that will make him/her jealous, but not make me lose the bet?' You are being totally upfront about your budget, without making anyone else uncomfortable. It also prevents 'let's split the bill' if everyone knows you'll lose a bet if they order too high and split the bill with you. Also, you could start the challenge with your group: 'All right y'all, some girls from FairyGodBoss, my women's work community, gave me some amazing tips for eating on the cheap, and I want to see if I can put them into practice. Anyone willing to bet they can spend less than I can this week/month?'

Kim Beasley · Answer

Eating out will kill your budget!! I am still trying not to eat out at lunch time and when I am succesfull, I save a lot of money. If the goal is to spend time together as friends, brainstorm some other options! My friends and I use to get together a lot at my apartment (I even put a full-size pool table in my den at one time!).  We let the ones who like to cook, cook for us...even letting them experiment with some new recipes.  It was at one of these gatherings that I experimented making Apple martinis and they were a huge HIT! LOL  We played cards, danced, talked, played pool, cooked, ate. There are so many ways to spend time together as a group of friends that isn't expensive. Try brainstorming some creative ideas together and do something different! :)

Cassy Lombardi · Answer

I try to not go out to eat during the week, and only splurge on weekends! If I meet friends during the week I like to go for happy hour drinks and then just eat food at home to save money!

Anonymous · Answer

If I want to save money and my friends and I are doing dinner and drinks, I try to suggest if one of the two activities can be done at someone's apt.

I don't know if it bothers my friends, but I also try to make sure the check is split up evenly, so if someone only ordered one appetizer vs someone's entree plus drink, I make sure that that's reflected when we use something like Venmo to pay each other back.

I'm not sure what city you're in, but for NY there are a a lot of free events and they usually have little noms and drinks at those, so I have some friends where we will start a hangout at a free event and then go somewhere else to eat after!

Hope this helps!

Saving Money While Eating Out

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