If you’ve been a long time reader of Fiscal Musings, you know that I’m not big on eating out. There are a couple of reasons for this, but you can read the Restaurant Lifestyle for more information. Unfortunately, even if we would rather save the money, we have friends and family who don’t share the same opinion. Sometimes the only way to maintain a friendship is to go out.
So how do you find a compromise in these situations? I’m going to give a few ways to keep your restaurant tab down while still having a good time with family and friends.
1. If you’re married, or are in a relationship, try splitting a meal. Restaurants are usually very generous with their portion size, and most of us could stand to eat a little less. So cut your bill in half and share a meal.
2. Take a pass on the alcohol. These drinks can easily be the largest part of a bill. If you’re going out with friends who want to drink, order a soft drink instead. You’ll typically get free refills and you can still enjoy the conversation. I have also been given these drinks at no charge when everyone else is ordering alcohol, and nothing beats free.
3. If you don’t want to split a meal, or are single, don’t think that you have to eat everything on your plate. Feel free to take home leftovers. Even though you won’t save anything on your bill, it’ll save you the money you would have spent on another meal.
4. Finally, don’t just let your friends dictate where you’re going to go to eat. Take an active role and lobby for a place that you know won’t break the bank. People sometimes take forever to decide where to go, and that’s the perfect situation for you to suggest some place that you’re comfortable with.
Ultimately, it’s your money, and you can decide how to best spend it. Don’t just give in to the peer pressure when it concerns your personal finances. Too often we just go with the flow and figure we’ll take care of the finances later.
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by allese, on November 19 2007 @ 3:47 pm
Great advice… but what do you do when your out with people and the check comes and everybody kind of tosses there cards to the center of the table? As in they just figure everyone must of ordered about the same amount $$$ wise and figure the waiter will split it evenly between the group?
While they may not care about an extra $10 or $20 so, it might be a concern to you. How do you deal with this situation without seeming like a supercheap scrooge who grabs for the check and his calculator– and highlights all of his items and marks the his total?
by limeade, on November 19 2007 @ 8:33 pm
If this type of situation catches you off guard, there might not be much that you can do about it without “seeming supercheap”. If you already know that it’s a possibility, then you can prepare for such a situation by bringing cash. Then when the bill comes, you can throw in cash for the amount that you owe and the rest can be split amongst everyone elses cards.