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10 Ways to Cut the Expense of Eating Out – Part 1 of 5

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If your family is like ours, then spring is a busy season. With sports games, school plays, and other activities falling on school nights, I am faced with time constraints for feeding my family. Sometimes the best option is eating out. Having someone else prepare, serve, and clean up can be a huge blessing on busy days. The cost of taking a family to a restaurant can quickly eat up the food budget. With a little planning and knowledge, the restaurant option can be worth your time and money.

In this series of 5 posts, I will share 10 ways to cut the expense of eating out. I will share 2 options each week. You may not be able to use all 10 of these options at once, but incorporating even one idea can save you money as you feed your family.

OPTION 1:     Use Coupons.

Many companies provide coupons for buy one entrée, get one free, $5 off a food purchase of $25 or more, etc. If you know which restaurants you plan to visit in advance, then spending a little time searching for coupons could pay off for your family. Here are some places to look for coupons:

  • Check the advertisement section in the phone book for local coupons.
  • Signup for free publications that contain local restaurant coupons (i.e. Clipper magazine).
  • Consult your local newspaper.
  • Subscribe to online newsletters, mobile/text, or e-mail notifications to your favorite restaurants.
  • Visit the website of restaurants for specials and coupons.
  • Purchase discount coupon books (i.e. the Entertainment book).
  • Browse a search engine (Swagbucks, Google, etc.) for “the restaurant name” coupons.

OPTION 2:     Skip the beverage selection and drink water.

When our family chooses to drink water instead of taking advantage of the carbonated beverages or tea options, our total bill can be 10-15% less than when we drink the Coke and tea. Our family does splurge on drinks occasionally. But when we need to shave the excess off our total bill, we will opt for water.

Not every option will work in every situation. Our family uses coupons regularly, but some of our favorite restaurants do not offer coupons. When we visit establishments without using coupons, we use some of the other ways to save money. Sometimes we choose to drink water and save on the cost of a beverage. Before making that choice, we check to see if a drink is included with our meal.

During your busy spring season, I wish you lots of time with your family. I hope eating out is a solution to your time constraints, and that these options help you save money as you use your time wisely.

Money Saving Tips

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Saving money in the long run may require spending money at the onset. For example, I took my car to the mechanic for routine maintenance. The car needed an oil change and tire rotation. Since I get free tire rotation where I bought the tires, I paid for the oil change and drove to Discount Tire.

When the tires were rotated, the Discount Tire technician found my new front tires were worn down. The recommendation was to apply the credits from our warranty on the existing tires to purchase two new tires.  With the credits, I would owe $130 for two new tires, which is about the price of one.

Though I could have driven with the existing tires, I would have worn them out in about a year and had to purchase two new tires at full price, costing around $260. My husband and I chose to pay the $130 now to save $230 in the long run. My husband then took the car for a front-end alignment which should correct the wear on the tires.

I love to save my family money. Whether it is finding deals on items, events, memberships, or insurance policies, I desire to get the most out of each dollar spent.

Did you know you could get free toothpaste at CVS this week? Yes, in the CVS sales flyer (Feb. 13-19), All Colgate Sensitive 6 oz. or Total Advanced 5.8 oz. tubes are on sale for $3.79. After purchasing the toothpaste with your CVS card, your receipt will print with a $3.79 Extra Bucks (which is store credit) at the end. You could then use the $3.79 Extra Bucks for anything you need at CVS.

The scenario above would be getting the toothpaste minus tax for free. Since I currently have two coupons for Colgate Total in the amounts of $1.00 and $.75, I would use the coupons and get two tubes (limit of 2 per the advertisement). I would checkout with $3.79 (one tube) + $3.79 (2nd tube) = subtotal: $7.58. Then I would use my two coupons: subtotal $7.58 -$1.00 (coupon)-$.75 (coupon) = total $5.83 + tax. I would pay around $6.20 and receive a store coupon on the end of my receipt for $7.58 ($3.79 for each tube). I would have made $1.38 in store credit and have 2 tubes of toothpaste.

The cabinet under our bathroom sink houses the 30+ tubes of Colgate toothpaste I have acquired by playing the drugstore game. Stay tuned each Saturday as I share more  money saving tips.