I can count on one hand the number of times we took our boys out to eat every year. Intense jubilation, combined with a mixture of amazement bordering on disbelief, would break out as we announced our intention to go out to eat.
For many years, while raising our boys, our eating out budget was under $300 a year! Nope! You did not misread that! We generally stayed away from all eating establishments, including fast food joints. So, how in the world did we do it?
Here's what we did!
1. Find restaurants which offer free kids meals.
There are on-line lists like this one. Generally free or reduced price kids' meals are offered on weeknights between certain hours. When we had 4 boys age 12 and under, we did really well with free children's meal offers. At one time there was a steak restaurant in our town, which offered free kids meals for those 12 and under every Tuesday night. Larry and I would split a regular adult meal and the boys all ate for free.2. Use gift cards.
We are really active in our church. As a "thank you", at Christmas our pastor and his wife give us a generous gift card to a local restaurant. For the past 19 years, the big thrill in our house has been for for our kids to watch us open our Christmas card. That way they can see what restaurant we are going to for some special occasion the following year. We each also receive a gift card for participating in a walking challenge through my husband's employer. Keep those gift cards in a special place somewhere at home so they don't get lost. Be sure you know what you have on hand, so the next time you get asked by family or friends to go out to eat you can suggest an establishment for which you have a gift card.
3. Check for free birthday meals or other discounts.
Take advantage of combining free birthday meals with a family evening out at a restaurant.
Ask about discounts! Since my husband is now 61, I have become aware of the lovely thing known as senior citizen discounts on meals. They are glorious! There are also discounts for teachers, veterans, police, and fire department employees throughout the year. Look on-line for listings of these discounts.
4. Order from the early dining menu or daily specials.
Restaurants have trouble filling booths and tables before 5pm. That's why they offer an early diner menu. You can get the same food, sometimes in small portions, for a hefty discount. Just be sure you are seated and order before the time deadline. I generally tell our hostess when he or she seats us, "We plan to order from the early dining options." That way they know that we intend to take advantage of the discounts.
If you simply cannot arrive before 5pm, then be sure to check out the restaurant's daily specials. Sometimes you can get a fantastic deal. I once got three delicious fish tacos for under $10 at one of the ritziest restaurants in town. It was the daily special.
5. Plan Ahead using the on-line menu.
Oh my goodness! The advent of on-line menus is a Godsend for budget-minded families! Nearly every eating establishment has one. Before we even hit the door, we gather the kids around, check out the on-line menu and plan our strategy. We take the entire amount of money which we have set aside for the meal, subtract 20% for the tip, and divide the remainder by the number of people in the family. That is the amount which each person has available to spend on their entree.When my children were younger, we started with the children's menu. Sometimes it was the cheapest option. But, often, they actually got more food if they split a regular dinner with another sibling. Sadly, this option didn't come with soda, like the children's menu items did. Soda rarely made an appearance in my home and we never ordered it in restaurants. If your kids are like mine, after you calculate the total and the tip, if you still have leftover money in the budget, you might offer to let them split a scoop or two of ice cream for dessert.
This strategy of pre-planning what you will order is SO important when you are asked out by family or friends! Getting your calculator out in front of others can feel awkward. But, believe me, we didn't hesitate to do it! However, when you pre-plan, you will enter the restaurant, confident that you already know what you will order and that you have the funds to pay for it. It discourages you from overspending, too. If Grandma sees that your children are disappointed at not getting to order soda, and offers to buy them one, by all means, let her.
Right before you leave home, it's also best to remind the kids that you have already decided what to order from the menu. Children sometimes forget in the excitement of the moment.
6. Go out for breakfast or lunch instead of dinner.
Breakfast
- You save 20 - 30% by eating breakfast or lunch out as opposed to dinner.
- Breakfast, of course, is a menu, filled with traditional favorites at great prices.
- Those little juices and milks are expensive though. I'd opt for water and give your kids the beverage of their choice back at home.
- Some restaurants offer a complimentary cup of coffee after you finish your meal, too. We have asked at restaurants and sometimes even if they don't expressly offer it, the waitress has brought us a complimentary cup of coffee.
Lunch:
- Lunch portions are often smaller and less extravagant when compared to dinner.
- You'll find more sandwiches and fewer steaks.
- Look for soup and salad lunch specials. These can be very inexpensive.
- Always ask about the size of house salads though. Sometimes I have ordered a house salad and it is literally a few pieces of iceburg lettuce in a small bowl.
- Look for 2/$20 or 2/$30 special offerings. In this scenario you get two meals for an extra special low price. Your choices are limited. But, sometimes the price is worth it.
Once the kids see that they get a lot more bang for their restaurant buck, they'll sign up for the breakfast and lunch train, too.
7. Order appetizers instead of a full meal.
8. Split meals.
Once again, we have done this a lot. American portions are huge! There is often enough for two meals. So, why not just plan to split it? Given the fact that I am vegan and my husband is a carnivore, I am very happy to eat his baked potato and salad, while he quaffs down the meat and the rest of the meal. It actually works out pretty well. We are both happy and pretty full when we get finished with dinner. Some restaurants frown on plate-splitting. But, unless it's in writing, then you can do it. Of course, if you are at a buffet, this strategy is not fair game.Don't want to split a meal? Look at the senior citizen meals.
They are smaller portions and priced accordingly. Unless otherwise stated, you do not have to be a certain age to order them. They began to look appealing to my husband long before the age of 60.9. Order water.
Oh gosh, this seems like such a no-brainer to me that I hesitate to even put it in print. But, you would be amazed at the people who plop down cash that they don't really have for sugared beverages, wine, or beer at a restaurant. Our kids know that unless a soda comes with their meal, water is their beverage of choice.
10. Take a calculator with you!
Before the advent of cell phones, we took a calculator with us to the restaurant. If we didn't know the prices, we would take the total amount we had available, subtract 20% for a tip, and then divide the remainder by the number of people. We did this before we headed out the door to the restaurant. By the time we were seated, each child knew how much he had available for his order. There was always a little finagling as we settled in and figured out how to "tweak" the numbers if someone wanted to order something a little more expensive. But, we worked as a team and made sure that everyone got something that they wanted. As the kids got older the advent of on-line menus made it so much easier to look up prices and select what we would order ahead of time.
Bonus Thought: Tip on the entire amount.
This isn't really a way to save money. It's just a reminder. The tip was always figured into our budget. When our children received free meals, we tipped on the entire amount, as though we had ordered children's meals for all four of them. Unless you have received truly bad or disrespectful service, I do not believe that it is right to take advantage of super special cheap eating and then give your server a less-than-generous tip. If you've had a bad experience, do let the management know. Otherwise, we tip at least 20% of what our total bill would have been without any free meals.
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