Saturday, August 8, 2009

Dining On a Dime - Part 3

What About Eating Out?

Am I saying that you can never do it again now that you have a meal plan? NO WAY! There is nothing wrong with eating out, as long as you budget for it.

Plan ahead and don't plan a meal for the one you'll be eating out, or else you'll have paid twice for that meal (one at home and one out). If you know you’re going out to eat on Friday night, leave that space blank on your menu. It will save you money because you won't have the expense of that food sitting around.

If you do decide to eat out, I want you all to remember what we talked about before. You do NOT have to pay full price for ANYTHING! There are so many ways to save money at restaurants that it’s not even funny. What are some things you can do to cut the price of eating out?

1. If you have a favorite restaurant, sign up for their clubs - you will recieve special coupons and promotions by doing so.

2. Look for coupons in the paper, in the mail, and online.

3. Share meals instead of ordering your own. Most meals are big enough for two people to share.

4. Order off the kids' menu to save some money. Usually the portions are just the right size to fill an adult. Not all restaurants will let you, but many will.

5. Eat at places and times when your kids can eat free with the purchase of your adult entree.

6. Sign up for birthday clubs. Most of the time you will get a free meal, dessert, or appetizer on your birthday.

7. Learn who has the freebies!

Who Offers Freebies?

Arby's - every Wednesday (through the end of August) there is a free item when you purchase a certain item.

Captain D's - kids eat free every Thursday (up to 2 free meals per adult entree purchase).

Burger King - join the kids club and get a coupon for a free birthday kids' meal.

Zaxby's - Join the adult club and get a FREE meal deal. Join the kids' club and get a free cookie and then a free kids' meal on their birthday.

Sonic - free kids' meal on their birthday when you join the club.

Baskin Robins - free icecream on your birthday!

Shoney's - kids under 4 eat free.

Black Eyed Pea (Hendersonville)- join the club and get a free gift for joining and a gift on your birthday (free food!)

TGI Fridays - Sign up for the Give Me More Stripes club and you get a pass to skip to the front of the line AND a free appetizer or dessert.

Red Robin - Free birthday burger, and they will email you many other great coupons.

Applebees - Kids eat free Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 5 p.m. to close.

Mimi's Cafe - Print a coupon for a free dessert on the homepage. Join the club for more savings. Also, if you tell them it's your first time eating there, they will give you 4 free muffins to take home with you!!!

Smokey Bones BBQ - Sign up and get a $10 off coupon (might not be free but half price isn't bad!).

Lonestar Steakhouse (Bowling Green) - Kids eat free on Tuesday.

California Pizza Kitchen - sign up and get a free kids' meal on their birthday (pizza and dessert).

ANY restaurant that you enjoy eating will have special coupons, promotions, and/or gifts for joining their clubs. Sign up and you may be surprised at what you get.

A Warning!

Just because you have a coupon, it doesn't mean that you need to use it. Why do you think restaurants give you all these freebies? Because they know that you will most likely go in with several people and you will spend money. Just think about it. If your hubby knows that you're getting a free meal, he may be more apt to say, "Well, I'll get a bigger steak than normal because her meal is free." This is part of their game, and if you play it properly you can win. If you fall into the trap, then they will win.

Sometimes it's a good idea to claim your goodies by yourself or with a child who can help you eat your freebies.

Another great way to save some money - especially with all those free birthday kids' meals - is to go to the drive thru of the fast food places and get 1 meal per kid. For example if we go to Zaxby's that's one meal for one child. Then we'd go to Sonic, that's another meal for another child. Then we'd go to burger king, and that's a 3rd meal, for a 3rd child. Hey....we just fed all 3 kids on all 3 birthdays. Everyone wins.

Another thing to remember is that you need to watch the wording on the coupons you plan on using. Many times the coupon will say, "Not valid with any other promotion or offer." That means that you cannot use a $5.00 off coupon if you order something that has a special promotional price. So be careful and watch the wording on coupons. Some may even say that it's not valid on a certain day or at a certain time.

Why Is This Important?

Why do I care what you spend on groceries? Well, to be honest, I care because I hate knowing that people are spending their hard earned money on something that they can get for less. It constantly amazes me when I see people go from $600 a month for groceries to $300 because they made these changes to how they looked at it.

I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I have been guilty of spending over $800 a month on groceries and eating out (I went back to old bank statements from my previous marriage). Isn’t that disgusting? 2 people - $800 on something that ended up in the toilet the next day. I’m sure I had some good meals. I mean, I enjoy the melting pot as much as anyone, but really…I can melt cheese and chocolate at home for much less.

When I finally woke up and realized….it’s just food, I was able to start prioritizing where my money was going. I stopped caring about the brand. I stopped eating so much junk food. I stopped buying convenience foods. I decided to take the control back and set my limits and not let the grocery store control my budget. Let me tell ya….it’s a very liberating experience. We have stopped going out to eat because it’s just not important to us. When we do go (for our freebies or when our parents take us out) we usually get sick because we’re not used to that type of food anymore. You not only go through a mental transformation, but you go through a physical one as well. You learn what is important, you are able to feed your body the right things – and stick to the WOW (eat meat sparingly). It’s a really cool thing, which is why I wanted to teach this.

What kind of things could we do if we were all able to cut our grocery budgets in half? What kind of financial relief could we have? How much debt could we pay off? What could you do with half of your grocery budget?

This is all about taking back the control. It is about being tuned in and paying attention. It’s about keeping more of the money you work hard for, so that you can enrich your family’s lives.


How Low Can You Go?

Just to kind of change things up a bit, we are playing a game called, "How Low Can You Go?"

Objective:
To see how much less you can spend by meal planning. Eat what you normally would eat, but incorporate what we talked about into your shopping trip.

Two winners per week will be chosen and will receive award(s) at next meeting. Enter via email or give it to me on Sunday.

The Rules of the Game:

1. No cheating! Don’t fudge on the prices (I know them very well!)
2. No using only food storage. Treat this as you would a normal shopping trip. Many of us could not buy a thing for months, but this is to see how low you can go with your NORMAL eating habbits by implementing the things we talked about in this lesson.
3. Use form provided (or make your own) and any attachments if necessary. Please feel free to make something or even just write down the information on a sheet of notebook paper. Just make sure to include the date, the type of meal (breakfast lunch dinner), what the meal was (i.e. meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy with biscuits), and how much it cost you per person to make it.
4. Winners will be chosen based on price per person figures not total cost of purchases or total cost of the meal.
5. The following items do not count toward your total: salt, pepper, spices, flour, and sugar. All other ingredients count.
6. Must include eating out on your totals – bill total (including tip) divided by number of people in your party. So you cannot go order a salad while the rest of the family eats steak and expect that to count. :o)

Have fun with this. See how low you can go!

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