Saving Money on Restaurants

I love to eat out. Trying new and unusual (to me) foods is one of my passions in life. It's also an area where I could save a ton of money if I would quit eating out two or more times a week.

However, while I really like to save money (had you noticed?), I also believe in enjoying the money I work hard for. Since it will be a long time before I reap the benefits of most of the things I'm saving for (retirement, house), I think it's a good idea to have some short-term benefits to keep me motivated to work hard and continue to seek out ways to save money or get extra cash.

The good thing about my restaurant habit is that a lot of the food I like is cheap, sometimes as cheap as a much less delicious frozen dinner from the grocery store. Going out for foods like Indian and Thai helps keep my dining out costs down. Of course, I also like sushi and upscale restaurants, and those add up fast.

As long as I'm making a comfortable amount of money, I plan to continue my dining out habit. It's nice to know, however, that should money become tight, this is one area where I can cut back and save a lot of money.