Eating out in Tampa restaurants could seriously put a dent in your bank account. It’s not exactly cheap to be served good food, you know? You don’t have to stop going to restaurants if you’re working under a budget right now. Simple follow the tips below and continue having fun and enjoying your favorite meals.
Dine out for breakfast or lunch instead of dinner
Restaurants serve the same meals every day, though they have lunch specials that are priced lower than their dinner specials. Take advantage of these meals and try them out during brunch or lunch because supper will always be more expensive than the earlier meals. Besides, you don’t want to squeeze in with the dinner crowd, so it’s really advantageous for you and your group to dine out during lunch. You get the same food experience for less the price.
Skip the alcohol
Drinks—juices, cocktails, colas, and alcoholic beverages—are priced higher in restaurants because of the “service charge” and because restaurants actually put larger profit margins on drinks. If you really want to have a drink with your meal, order one glass of wine only. You don’t have to order the whole bottle, lest you want to spend hundreds of bucks on a single meal. You can simply have your drinks at home to cap off the night without necessarily draining your bank account.
Find discount vouchers
You can find discount vouchers on many sites online. All you need is to pay for these coupons in advance and you can get as much as 50 percent off your tab. Pretty neat, right? This is especially money-saving when you’re dining with a group since most restaurant coupons require that there should be two or more people dining in their place.
You can also join contests on Facebook and Twitter by following your restaurant of choice. They could be running a game or a contest and you can get a free appetizer or dessert next time you dine there. You will also be in the loop if the restaurants have some special discount nights, like an eat-all-you-can for $5.
Dine out with frugal foodies
If you need to dine out with friends, choose the group who’ll understand that you’re trying to save money and don’t want to dine in expensive Tampa restaurants. Choose the people who, like you, are trying to dine on a budget, too. If you go with friends who have the money to burn in expensive fine dine-in restaurants, you will be forced to pay up, too.