Unclaimed Money

Eating out is expensive. Cooking at home is much more economical. With kids, eating out can really take its toll on the budget. Eating out should not be a regular occurrence, if you are trying live frugally or pay off debt, but it is not practical to expect to never go out to eat. Sometimes, you find yourself out and about with out a packed meal, and suddenly there is a car full of hungry, grumpy kids, not to mention parents. (See below for some tips to prevent that.) Sometimes you just want to go out to eat as a special treat. So, when you do dine out, here are some tips to help keep the cost down.

Drink Water
It is amazing how much this will save you. Adult drinks can be up $2 at some restaurants. Kids drinks $1 or more. It adds up quick when you are with the family. Do the kids really need more sugar and/or caffeine? Do check the kids menu closely. Sometimes their drink is included, so you wouldn’t save money by drinking water. Let them have milk or juice if it is part of their meal.

If you do choose to buy drinks, buy the smallest size. Most restaurants have free refills. No matter how thirsty you are you can be satisfied with the smallest size.

Know your Restaurants
Pay attention to their ads and signs. Many places have days when the kids eat for free. A local Italian place here has Two for Tuesdays. Remember them or write them down. Save your special treats for those days. Some restaurants have good deals for kids everyday. Shoney’s gives you one free meal per adult buffet.

Don’t go to fast food.
It really is not that cheap, especially if you buy the kids meals. Yes, you do pay for the toy. You can eat better food (though I’m glad to see some healthier options at fast food places) for the same, or less money elsewhere.

Eat at Buffets
Buffets may not always be an adult favorite, but they are great for kids. Here are a few reasons:
Better food and more options than fast food.
Instant gratification for the kids. They don’t have to wait after they order.
It often costs less than fast food. Younger children often eat free.
Great for picky eaters!

One of our regular choices is CiCi’s. The kids love CiCi’s. We have four children. Two eat free there. We drink water. Our total bill is $22. Another tip about CiCi’s, if they don’t have the pizza you want on the buffet, they will make a pizza to your order, and bring it to your table. Golden Corral is reasonable too. They price kids according to age.

Probably our favorite buffets though are the local ethnic ones. Pricing varies, but at most at least two of our kids are free, some price by age, and usually the adult prices are very reasonable. It is a great place to have the kids try new food. Ours love Chinese. We went with the kids to the local Indian buffet once. I love Indian! The kids were a bit hesitant at first, but found many things they liked. Total with tip $27. We can spend that much on fast food.

Consider how much your kids really eat.
Do your children finish a whole kids meal. Can they share a meal? Younger ones usually can. Often, the adult portion is large enough to share with a child. Another trick, order small sandwiches for all, but share sides.

Avoid Getting Caught Out and About
With good planing dining costs can be cut substantially. Try to prevent getting “caught out and about” at meal time by planning errands between meals. Keep a stash of snacks in the car for those times things take longer than expected. If you need to get something while on the run, convenience food at the store is cheaper than at the drive through.

Eating out is something we are going to do. We can do our best to avoid unplanned dining, and save dining for a special treat. When we do choose to eat out, keeping these tips in mind will help keep the costs under control.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 1st, 2007 at 7:01 pm and is filed under kids and money, money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.