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Frugal Food

Spend Less • Live Better

Savvy Grocery & Dining Tips

  • When at a restaurant, split a bigger meal between two people.  You not only save money, but you won’t be tempted to overeat.
  • Cook more often at home.  Eat leftovers.  Eat out less often.
  • If you do go out to restaurants, get cash back and even win monthly jackpots by joining Mogl.com, it's free!
  • Instead of sodas, coffee, tea, or juice drink water – it’s free and has zero calories.  Try adding lemon or a slice of cucumber in the water.
  • Host potluck parties with friends.  It’s more fun, saves you money, you can be loud and you don’t have to tip.
  • When you do go out to eat, get discount vouchers to your favorite restaurants at Restaurants.com.
  • Want an alternative to expensive coffee?  Check out CoffeeForLess.com.
  • When grocery shopping, reach for items on the top and bottom shelves, they are often cheaper than the ones at eye level.
  • For more frugal tips and ideas, click here.
     
     
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Ways To Save Money When Eating Out

Even though it's ultimately more frugal and cheaper to eat in vs. going out, sometimes it's a nice treat to get together with friends or just eat something that you normally won't make for yourself or your family at home. You really can have your frugal cake and eat it too!

Here are some frugal food tips for anyone to use in order to save money when going out to eat at restaurants. Bon appetite!

Set A Budget: Allocate a certain amount of money when going out. For example, if you limit yourself to spend only $15 - then you won't be tempted to order anything higher than that.

Just Appetizers: I just did this the other day at one of my favorite French restaurants. I ordered the appetizer version of one of their main entrees. Not only was the appetizer portion enough, but any bigger would be too much food.

Cash Back From Restaurants: Maximize your dining experience by getting cash-back from your favorite local restaurants.

Split Your Meal: Save money by splitting an entree with or without an appetizer or salad with another person. The bonus is that you won't be tempted to overeat.

Snap Up Deals: Be on the lookout from daily deal sites such as LivingSocial or Groupon. Redeem restaurant deals that you know you will really take advantage of.

Eat Your Leftovers: Often times, you or someone in your group have leftovers. It's quite wasteful to throw away perfectly good food that you already paid for. Ask for a doggie bag, make something creative with your leftovers the next day, chances are it will taste better too.

Coupons: Take advantage of restaurant coupons you get in the mail or in Sunday papers. Clip out coupons you know you will actually use.

Order Takeout: If you are in the mood for your favorite restaurant cuisine, place your order to go. You not only save money on the service tip, but you don't have to order drinks since you already have something at home to drink with your meal.

Restaurant Vouchers: Get discount vouchers to your favorite restaurants at Restaurants.com. Most $25 gift certificates or vouchers cost only $10 or even less when they have special promotions!

Membership Discounts: If you have a membership with AAA or AARP, you can get great discounts on restaurants such as Mimi's Cafe, El Torito, Denny's and more.

Order Water: Instead of sodas, coffee, tea, or juice drink water – it’s free and has zero calories.  Try adding lemon or a slice of cucumber in the water.

Yelp It First: Before going to a restaurant I've never been to, I always check it out on Yelp first. I read the reviews and check out their menu for entree selection and prices. Often times, you can get a sense of if this is a restaurant you want to try. 

Skip Dessert: Although this is very tempting, often times your main meal was more than enough. You don't really need that plate of chocolate cake a-la-mode! But, if you have to have dessert, split it amongst the group you are dining with.

Earn Rewards: Research which credit card offers the best percentage back when you use that card when paying for going out to restaurants. You can earn 5% quarterly on purchases at restaurants from certain credit card companies.

Potlucks: A slight take on "going out to eat", host a potluck party outdoors with friends. It’s more fun, saves you money, you can be loud and you don’t have to tip.
     

Resources on Frugal Food & Dining

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• Save Thousands Grocery Shopping - How a average family of 4 saved up to $240/month.

• Guide To Once A Month Cooking - Frugal mom's system to simplify your life.

• Make Your Favorite Restaurant Dishes At Home - Easily cook restaurant dishes at home.

• Save Money On Restaurant Dining - Get cash back by going to your favorite restaurants.

• How To Survive Inflation With The Rising Cost Of Food - Secrets on how to save on food.

   
    
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Read and learn about useful tips and tricks from experts on how to live "the frugal lifestyle" everyday!  Check out the books below, to see more of my top picks of frugal and financial savvy books, please visit The Frugal Book Store.
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Living The Savvy Life:
The Savvy Woman's Guide to Smart Spending and Rich Living
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It's Not About Being Cheap.  Living the Savvy Life isn't about being a cheapskate, a miser or a tightwad.  It's about having security and peace of mind by spending less than you make.  It's about knowing where you stand financially on a daily basis so you can make intelligent fiscal decisions. 

​It's about being penny-wise on the things that are less important to you so you can spend money on the things that are important to you. It's about choosing to purchase only the things that you love and make you happy.  
It's about finding, attaining and maintaining balance.  Are you ready to start Living the Savvy Life?

   
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​Thrifty: 
Living the Frugal Life with Style


Best-selling author Marjorie Harris offers a timely and entertaining guide to living the richly frugal life. From tips on how to haggle to becoming a frugal fashionista, maintaining your home on a budget, and thrifty gardening, travel, and entertainment, Harris provides essential guidelines to living a quality life on less. Written in her trademark witty, engaging, and accessible style, Thrifty is packed with simple and savvy tips drawn from Harris' own fulfilled, thrifty experience. Bonus tips come from renowned experts such as best-selling author Margaret Atwood, chef Jamie Kennedy, actor R. H. Thomson, travel writer Sylvia Fraser, and The Globe and Mail's style columnists.
  
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How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: 
Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor
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How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free offers inspirational advice on how to enjoy life to its fullest. The key to achieving an active and satisfying retirement involves a great deal more than having adequate financial resources; it also encompasses all other aspects of life -- interesting leisure activities, creative pursuits, physical well-being, mental well-being, and solid social support. 

What sets this retirement book apart from all the others is its holistic approach to the fears, hopes, and dreams that people have about retirement. This international bestseller (over 110,000 copies sold in its first edition) goes way beyond the numbers that is often the main focus of retirement planning in most retirement books.
   
To see more of my top picks of frugal and financial savvy books, please visit The Frugal Book Store.

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