We all know, no matter how good cooks our flatmates or we are, we rarely can resist the weekend full of eating out. The phrases ‘I’m bored with home food’ or ‘I’m too tired to cook’ are familiar phrases that everyone uses in a week, sometimes for weeks continually.

How to save money when dining out

Hashing out the pros and cons of outside food becomes a secondary topic when the price of food outside starts to loom in front of you.

Plan it out

Decide where to eat; this is where half of the gamble lies. Fast-food restaurants or drive-ins cost much lesser than proper restaurants because of the serving, the presentation and all the efforts that go into your meal. You are never only paying for the meal itself, which would be the exact cost of all the ingredients, the price is usually twice the cost it takes for you to make the same dish at home.
Also, decide the time. When you go early, Happy Hour has all the half-priced drinks and entrees that are mostly on the house. You could catch a movie or something special afterward, depending on the occasion. The restaurant you also choose matters, along with the branch and considering the number of people. If you’re in groups, buffet restaurants are better. Make sure you have dining coupons. It is always better to eat at home, takeout or order it inside, rather than spending copious amounts and efforts on going out.

Keep an eye out for discounts

You might get annoyed from customer care companies or offer-related calls that come up just when you’re doing something important. But there are always discounts and offers everywhere you see. New restaurants give away huge discounts and dining coupons to attract more public. There are discount coupons and dining coupons that are sent via mail; you can subscribe your email to many such websites (our inbox is already full of trash anyways).
When you make a bill above a certain amount, few restaurants give you cash back or dining coupons. Such dining coupons are usually left on the table in a bid to look cool or due to disinterest or disbelief that they’d be of no use. While actually, these dining coupons can make all the difference in the world.

Choose lunch over dinners

This is not a well-known fact, but lunches do cost a lot cheaper than dinners. The prospect of a lovely night out can seldom be beaten by anything else, but lunch is really preferable when it comes to a few restaurants (mind you, not all), especially the ones that have mediocre prices.

Birthday parties

Some online clubs or portals allow you discounts and dining coupons on your birthday. You should consider signing up for them. Also, many restaurants reduce the bill or give a free drink or entree if you celebrate your birthday. This would probably not look like much, but in hindsight, it costs a few bucks less for every person you take, and that makes all the difference by bringing the price down to a bare minimum.

Share and care

This sounds like an obvious solution. When you’re going out in a group, you obviously split the bill among everyone. This way even if you end up ordering a lot and gorging on more food than you expected, you’re still paying only the amount of the bill by so much. The next time you go out, order a little more than required and see the effect on your wallet. It is mostly not going to be that much.

Take what you can

When we go out for hotels, we sometimes end up ordering more food than we can eat. And if it is expensive or good food, we regret our choice. To solve this, we can always ask the leftovers to be packed and can take them home. This can be used later when we get hungry and can also help us retain the whole price of the food.

Get cashback

Most hotels offer a discount or cash back guarantee when you fulfill so and so conditions, pay with a certain credit or debit card, order a special meal course or order food above a certain price limit. Be careful to notice these things when dining out.

The littlest of things can make the world of difference. It is always better to stay aware and to plan out before going to dine outside. Do not let the prices hinder your fun. Stick to groups and average popular restaurants, with reasonable prices. Avoid public holidays and days when the restaurants are filled to the core even if you possess some dining coupons.