|
|
| |
Dining Out & Restaurant $$ Saving Tips
1. Did you know that breakfast is usually the least
expensive meal at restaurants, followed by lunch or
brunch? Dinner is the most expensive meal to eat
out.
2. If dining out for dinner, eat in the early evening.
Early bird specials between 4:00 and 6:00 can save
you 20% or more.
3. If you can decide the day of the week to eat out,
choose a weekday over the weekend. Restaurants
are much busier on weekends and the prices can
reflect this, especially with the restaurant specials.
Monday through Thursday are usually the best
times to save on the daily specials since restaurants
are not as crowded on these days.
4. When dining out, always consider the special of
the day since it usually provides a good value for the
money.
5. Inquire about children and seniors menus that
will provide smaller portions at a smaller price.
6. If you are dining out with a friend, consider splitting
a meal. Simply tell the waitress that you can't
eat entire restaurant meals by yourself and ask for
an extra plate to split the meal. While some restaurants
may charge a small fee for splitting meals,
most places won't. Even if you leave an extra generous
tip to the wait staff, you'll still save money.
7. When ordering, choose set menus instead of picking
dishes a la carte. In most cases, set combination
meals are less expensive.
8. Pass on the cake and coffee at the restaurant.
Dessert is one of the biggest marked-up items on
the menu.
9. Skip the alcoholic drinks. This is another area
where restaurants make a lot of money.
10. Order water with a twist of lemon instead of a
soft drink. Water is still free in most restaurants.
11. Choose a less expensive restaurant. There is a
huge price range depending on which type of restaurant
you decide to dine at. A chain family restaurant
is likely to be more expensive than a fast food establishment,
but less expensive than a fancier specialty
restaurant.
12. Search for newly opened restaurants. Since the
restaurant business is extremely competitive, newly
opened restaurants usually offer meals at a discount
to try their food in hopes that you will become a
repeat customer.
13. Check your mail for restaurant coupon discounts.
Some restaurants advertise through bulk
mailings and newspaper inserts.
14. Get restaurant discounts on the Internet.
Restaurant sites such as www.restaurant.com offer
coupons at various restaurants that you can purchase
at a 50% discount or more.
15. Look for restaurant discounts at your local
tourist bureau or in free magazines aimed at
tourists. These are often overlooked by locals, but
usually contain a large number of discounts for
local eating establishments.
16. Check the yellow pages of your local phone book
for restaurant discounts. More and more restaurants
offer discounts inside the yellow pages to
attract new customers. Some phone books even
have an entire coupon section.
17. Get a large number of a 2 for 1 meal coupons
through your local city Entertainment Book. These
coupon books are also an excellent way to save
money when traveling to other cities since you know
you will have to dine out. These books will usually
more than pay for themselves, just remember to
keep it with you.
18. Make and take your own lunch to work instead
of eating lunch at a local restaurant. Brown bagging
your lunch one more day a week instead of eating
out can add up to $300 or more in savings over the
course of a year.
19. Ask about birthday or anniversary offers. Many
restaurants offer free desert or other specials for
such special occasions.
|
|
