Eat Dinner at Home & SAVE! | 31 Days to Find $1000

You had to have known that this challenge was coming…I’ve taken away the drive-thru breakfast, then I told to you pack a brown bag lunch and now we’re eating dinner at home.

For the record, I LOVE TO EAT OUT! I am the primary cook at my house, so I love the break from the kitchen. As much as I HATE this challenge, eating at restaurants is starting to get really expensive for my family of four and we always use some type of coupon. But my oldest daughter has decided that she hates the kids menu. Who can blame her since it’s the same menu at every restaurant: macaroni and cheese or chicken fingers. There is rarely any variety and she loves to eat a variety of foods.

So now we’re ordering 3 adult meals and 1 kids meal. At a chain restaurant, our bill is usually $30-$40. I’ll do the math for you, an average bill of $35, once a week equals $140 a month.

We have cut down on eating out considerably, but there was a time when we went out every Friday night as a celebration for the weekend and then again on Saturday and/or Sunday. I am exhausted by the end of a work week and I welcomed the break from the kitchen. But we are in a savings mode and dinners out are getting the axe.

If you still would like to dine out, but want to reduce your bill, here are some ideas:

• Order water instead of drinks.
• Always use a coupon. Look for the Buy One Get One FREE coupons. You can find them online, your local newspaper or Clipper magazine, or your local Entertainment book.
• Split a meal. Restaurant meals are so over-sized that they can easily be split with your spouse or a friend.
• Go at the right time. Some restaurants have great deals on weeknights or before 4 pm. Check your favorite restaurant’s website to see what deals they offer.

Check out my 31 Days to Find $1000 Pinterest board where I’ll be updating daily through out October.