You CAN still eat out!
Some times we have to eat out for various reasons, The dog got up on the table and ate your roast, you forgot to take the meat out of the freezer and you need to be at a function with the family by 6:00, or someone is going to go home in a body bag if you don’t eat NOW. Whatever it is, it just is. So here are some ideas on how to make your money stretch.
DOs
- Figure out where you are going to go and look online for coupons.
- When the coupons come in the mail, cut out some of those fast food coupons. Keep them in your purse for those nights that everything is going down hill fast and you all need to eat.
- Talk to your family before you go into the restaurant about the boundaries for staying on your budget. Remember you are all in this together. They would much rather know them up front and work as a team then feel like they have done something wrong.
- Make it a game to see who can get the best value for there meal.
- You can split meals. Lots of restaurants give what I call AMERICAN size meals which are three times what a healthy caloric intake should be for those meals. Splitting will help you on your wallet and your belt size.
DON’Ts
- Don’t ignore what your kids are ordering.
- Don’t order a bunch of value meals. You can order one value meal and two sandwiches for three children to share.
- Don’t order drinks. If you order drinks at a restaurant your bill can be 30-90 percent more expensive then it would have been if you would have just had water. And let’s face it we all need to drink more water.
It really isn’t that hard. It is just being conscious about your choices to get where you want to go. Your pocket book will thank you.
Image via DiscoverDuPage.
