Don’t you just love to dine out? Frankly, there’s nothing more exhilarating than spending some time away from the hassle and bustle of the kitchen to have an elegant meal prepared for you by some of the finest chefs in the world!

Indeed, only such connoisseurs can make your palate savor the delicacies placed before you as you indulge in meals with recipes originating from halfway across the globe.

Unfortunately, to be able to enjoy such delicacies, one will find themselves denting their pockets to the point that their financial advisors will be ringing their phones to see whether or not it is they that have made such frivolous expenses!

So, if you would like to make your eat outs a little more pocket-friendly albeit still enjoying them, here are some of the best tips around to jot in your diary whilst planning your finances.

Eating out can be quite expensive and might affect your finances

1st Tip- Savor Home Cooking

There’s no doubt that eating at home is the best way you can save your money to blow on those auspicious occasions to eat out

Indeed, here are some three simple ways you can ensure that eating at home can spare a few hundred bucks on your weekly food bill.

Ensure to plan your meals before time– Like everything important in your home, meals need to be planned ahead of time. One of the simplest ways of doing this is by creating a timetable documenting your meal times, and ensuring that you do shopping (say over the weekends) of all the items and groceries that you need before the week commences.

This way, you won’t be impulsively purchasing an item that you don’t need and not have to worry about a skyrocketing grocery bill.

Additionally, having such a list can be essential in helping you determine how much you will spend even before the cashier mentions your total amount.

Clear out those stacked kitchen cardboards once a month- Admit it. At some point in your life, you have fallen victim to the shopping frenzy. Where you just had to buy an item that you never ended up using. Now, it’s stuck deep in the confines of your cardboard, laden with dust, and steadily rotting away to become a cesspool for maggots.

Fortunately, if you adopt the simple technique of cleaning out your cupboards on a regular basis, say monthly, then you won’t have any issues of any stacked up items and groceries that would take up space.

Additionally, this will help you know the items that you won’t need and save up for them.

Try as hard as you can to make your home meals your go-to plan and only eat out once in a while

2nd Tip-Restraining Yourself in the Restaurant

Despite the psychological benefits and emotional ones that come from eating out, it’s even better while saving money and time at the same time. Here are some of the ways you can do this.

First of all, why not consider dining out on weekdays instead of weekends? That’s because on weekends, most restaurants normally have free appetizers as well as more affordable prices due to lesser demand.

Secondly, since most restaurant portions tend to be pretty massive, there’s no point of consuming it all in one sitting especially if you are satiated.

Indeed, you can opt to take away some of the food home and consume it once the urge to eat arises.

Last but not least, though it might be tempting to add a couple of glasses of wine after consuming your meal, the smartest thing would be to take it easy on drinks as these can run up your bill especially if you are in an expensive restaurant.

Dining on weekdays instead of weekends can be one smart way of saving that extra money

3rd Tip- Avoid Making Takeout Orders

Although take outs give you the advantage of having excellent restaurant food delivered at the comfort of your home, the extra services employed to package and transport your food and drinks can increase the amount of money you spend on your meals.

As a rule of thumb, if the restaurant just happens to be around the neighborhood that you live in, then you can make it a habit to walk there and order your food.

Not only does it save on the total amount of money that you will spend, but also ensure that you even burn off any excess calories that you will consume!