Two Good Money Saving Tips on How to Save While Eating Out

On my recent post titled Money Saving Tip: Save on Eating Out, two readers added their own comments on how to save while eating out. Here's the first:

My favorite way to save when we eat out is to split an order. My wife do this all the time and we often get more than we need (the other night we split an order at our favorite Chinese restaurant and still had enough for one lunch the next day). You'll find some places will split the order for you, and some places you'll have to ask for an extra plate, so we try to go places that are accommodating.

It's healthier too, because we get full, but aren't tempted to eat more than we would if we each ordered our own.

I often tip a little more knowing that our order will be less, but the service is essentially the same.

Not sure this would work for me. Seems like I can always eat my portion and part of my wife's too. ;-)

But for many people, this is a great suggestion -- especially for two women going out to eat.

Here's the second comment:

Definitely use coupons and go for early dinners toward the end of the lunch period and split the meal. Triple bonus!

Three great ways to save on eating out in one sentence! Good stuff, huh?

Comments

[J Martin]

Another trick I do is split my dinner in half and save the rest for lunch the next day. For instance, I love to eat at Outback. I always get the 9 oz. Outback Special. Well, the recommended serving size of meat for a dinner is about 3-4 oz. (we really do overdo it in the U.S. with our portion sizes). Cut the steak in half and there you go.

[Jeff H]

Order water (free) instead of tea or pop. It's better for you, you'll receive unlimited refills, and you'll save $2-$3/person.

[Loni]

Order water w/ extra lemons. Squeeze the lemons into the H20, add 1 to 2 packets of Equal or Splenda, and you've got a healthy & thrifty 'lemonade'. Dee-lish and guilt-free, too.