As a former bartender, I am very aware of good service. It brings in the bucks if you are the waiter. If I get poor service, I make it clear with my tip and my attitude. I never reward bad behavior. Once a month we may go out and you can be certain, I will have a coupon for our meal. Additionally, I go to restaurant.com and buy cheap coupons. It's great; I use it all the time. For $4 I can buy a $25 coupon. I may have to spend 35.00 in all but that is the only way I get the ocassional steak! So, we have a $35. or $40 dollar bill, minus the $25 (I paid $4)= a damn good deal!
I've eaten a lot of Mc Chicken sandwiches myself. It has actually become a treat, we are so broke. I have a teen so I have to buy for two and then I cannot leave out my husband! $3 is not to be sneezed at! If we are feeling flushed, we get a fry as well! Fortunately, the teen is not a complainer, at least about that. Actually we have a lot of luck with Wendy's Dollar menu too. The kids love it and its as cheap (not on drinks) as Mickey D's.
I always try to save when eating out. I always order water wherever I go and it helps if you drink a full cup or bottle before you leave the house. That helps you from feeling so hungry when you first get there because you might order extra stuff you don't need. Even though it may not be healthy, if you have a big family then it helps to go somewhere that offers bottomless fries, chips and salsa or bread. You can eat more and not add to your bill if you're not full from eating your plate. If I'm going for dinner, I like to go right before lunch time is over so that I can get the lunch prices. LOVE & DEALS DH
I play a lot of the instant win games with the lottery replays, and sometimes they give you coupons off of local restaurants or takeout places so that really helps a lot. I also try to choose places that are close to us so we aren't paying like ten bucks on top of our meal for gas. We're tight on money right now, so every little thing to save really helps.
I usually have to buy more than 1 person a meal when going to any restaurant. What our family does is buy a package deal and share the package. For example, at Taco Bell they have a deal with 10 or 12 tacos however you want them for a set price. I order the 1 box to-go as we have plenty of drinks at home to go with it. It usually saves us an additional $10 compared to what we would normally spend if everyone ordered their own meal. I do try to avoid restaurants for several reasons. I feel like the food is not exceptional or even edible I will weigh my options of whether I want to return there again. I also like to give a restaurant a few chances before I completely stop going there. The service at a restaurant needs to be pleasant and very helpful, but not so distracting that I cannot enjoy my meal. My Fiance likes to have seafood a certain way and if it is served to him different from the way he was expecting he will not eat and when offered a meal of his choosing he will take it home and eat it later. It is almost like he looses his appetite when he takes 1 bite and the food is not right.
Seeing how rare it is for me to eat out, when i do eat out, i don't think that much of savings. Maybe you are with some friends, so you guys should share the bill or something.
I hardly ever eat out. When I do I tend to go for the cheapest items or the moderately priced ones. I just don't think that eating out is worth the money. I never order drinks. I always get ice water. I'll eat a lot of bread/breadsticks and crackers so that I won't have the appetite for dessert after the main entree. That's how I save money when eating out.
I think drinks are the most expesive part for what you get. Some offer free refills and others do not. Often things like ice tea will be refilled free and soda will not. I always take home the leftovers and do take portion size into account when choosing the restaurant. I never skimp on the tip though...it's hard work for servers and they do not get much in money or appreciation.
My husband and I definitely only ever order tap water to drink. We almost never eat dessert on top of a meal when out, and our bills usually come to right around $20. One of the best ways we've been able to save money is by asking for and receiving restaurant gift cards for holidays and birthdays. It's an easy, but also thoughtful, gift for relatives and friends to hand to you, and we get to decide when to spend it.
