Split A Meal, Save Some Cash

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Sitting across from my son and his girlfriend in a restaurant, I listened as they picked a meal to share. My first thought was to question whether they’d both get enough food. Then, my mind was flooded with memories of bringing home leftovers or being miserably full when leaving the restaurant. Maybe my son was on to something that could help my wife and I cut our bill when dining out. By sharing an entrée, you can significantly reduce the overall cost of eating at a restaurant. However, there is a little bit of art to the process. Some entrees […] Read more »

5 Ways To Save When You’re Forced To Dine Out

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My wife and I were out of town for the weekend as I was running a half-marathon in northern Minnesota. The focus of the weekend was the race and the activities surrounding it. We obviously had to eat, but didn’t want to spend a lot on food. Before leaving town we came up with the following plan to keep our food cost down, but still have meals we both would enjoy and enhance the experience of the weekend. Breakfast At Hotel Our hotel offered a free breakfast buffet each morning including eggs, sausage, toast, waffles, fruit and a variety of […] Read more »

Restaurant Wine: By The Glass Or The Whole Bottle?

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My wife looked at the wine list at a nice restaurant and noted many were available both by the glass and the bottle. We were out with friends and several in the group were looking at having a glass of wine. If we could all agree on one would it be worth it to buy the entire bottle instead of each ordering an individual glass? Figuring out whether buying a bottle would save money requires several questions be answered. What Is The Restaurant’s Wine Pour Size? The size of a restaurant’s wine pour (serving size) may vary, but is typically […] Read more »

Save Money Dining Out With This Simple Game

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If you like to save money, and you have a competitive soul, I’ve got the perfect game for you. Dining out usually raises red flags of potentially wasting money for me, but sometimes it is nice to just go out and have someone else do the cooking for me. There’s endless ways to keep down the cost of dining out, such as splitting a meal, eating appetizers, drinking only water, but here’s a new one for you: save money on dining out by making a game out of it. My wife and I trying to figure out which restaurant to […] Read more »

Save Money With Outback Steakhouse’s Rewards Program

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  Friday night I found myself pulling into the parking lot of Outback Steakhouse. One teenager with a vehicle at work left another teenager (and her friends) in need of a ride to the high school football game. By the time that all got coordinated and executed, my wife and I were hungry and not willing to wait the time it would take to drive all the way across town back to our home and cook dinner. Thus Friday night was one of those times when I was actually OK with going out to eat. Even though I was voluntarily […] Read more »

Save Money by Cooking at Home: Japanese Steakhouse Edition

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When a Japanese steakhouse first opened in our city, it was extremely busy. Tales of flaming onion volcanoes, spatula tricks with eggs, flying bowls of rice and shots of sake had people rushing through the doors. As the newness wore off, the infatuation with the restaurant died down quickly. One of the reasons for this, in my opinion, was the price. For example, let’s say my family visited the restaurant for dinner.  My wife, myself, and my son would each order a meal, as well as upgrade from the white rice to the chicken fried rice. $20.95 (steak and shrimp) […] Read more »

No Restaurants in November 2011 – Final Results

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Hello everyone. First let me apologize to you all for the delay in getting this post up. Last week was a beast of a week and Friday was probably the most insane day of them all. My wife went back to work after 3 great months of maternity leave. 🙁 We did learn some things and feel very blessed to have been able to share that time together. For starters it inspired and motivated us to develop a plan to bring my wife home so we’re both stay-at-home parents. My wife is a great nurse and loves her job but […] Read more »

No Restaurants in November 2011 Update and a New Challenge

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Well the month has almost come and gone and I cant say I’ve really missed going out to eat all that much. For the most part it has given our family extra time in the kitchen to bond. My wife and I have tag teamed the meals as well as taken turns cooking meals individually. When it’s time to do dishes Isaac has enthusiastically helped clear the table and load the dishwasher. So we have saved money but also created a fine little helper in the process. Isaac helped in more ways than one too. We really only had a […] Read more »

Day 1: No Restaurants in November 2011 – Let the Savings Begin!

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Time to break out the cookware!

So today it begins. No Restaurants in November baby! If you missed the rules I am giving myself (and possibly you) click here to see if you have what it takes. Yep those are challenging words! :D Have you decided to be TOTALLY WEIRD by participating in such a thing? WARNING: Your friends may laugh at you. You may get called some names. Your actions may cause people to feel judged. If this happens to you, please tread carefully. Unpredictable behavior may ensue. I get it. It totally sucks to be the only person at work with a bagged lunch, but guess what? It also sucks to be broke and/or keeping yourself from reaching your goals. Read more »