None of us like to admit it, but often when we have financial goals we’re aiming for, especially as a couple, we need to make compromises in how and when we eat. Going out for food or fun can rack up the expenses very quickly, to your ultimate detriment if you have an objective like a house you hope to buy in the next few years. A constant lifestyle of concerts, high-profile standup comedians, and “$$$” level dining will slaughter your wallet faster than you’d expect.

But maybe we don’t need to tell you that. Perhaps you’re looking at your bank account and are frustrated at how much lower it is than you want it to be, and you’re looking for help on how to make things better. Here’s the good news, you can buy your cake and eat it, too. Well, sort of.

We want to help you discover some creative ways to save money when going out with your friends or significant other, which should ease the tension on your wallet, while establishing a sense of conservative discipline that will have you making financially healthy decisions in no time.

“Considering that almost every single restaurant in the United States has increased their prices to adjust for inflation, yet our paychecks haven’t increased to match that, finding ways to get creative and the best bang for your buck when going out is absolutely essential,” says Leonard Kim of AdvisorCheck. “When your favorite Korean BBQ place increases the price per person from $30 to $39 and requires a minimum of two people to attend, that’s $14+ tax and tip that you immediately lost on your meal, not to mention the price hikes across fast food restaurants, grocery stores and every other place of business in existence. Those small expenses added to every portion of a person’s life can quickly add up and significantly affect one’s quality of life in a negative way, even for high income earners,” Leonard continued. 

Creative Ways to Save Money When Going Out Tip #1 - Split Meals With Your Partner

This isn’t going to work as well with small plate novelty restaurants, but if you plan on going anywhere with large portions or that does “family style” eating (i.e. you order an item that the entire table may partake in), you can “go halvsies” as we say nowadays, and split a meal for a more cost-effective night out.

This obviously has the benefit of saving you quite a bit of money, but it’s also an excellent option for those who are watching their weight or aiming for a more refined diet. A jalapeno burger with a side of sweet potato fries can definitely serve as a meal for two people, and you’ll probably feel better overall, both in terms of the weight of your wallet, and the lack of grease your metabolism will need to process later.

As an added bonus, when you share a meal, you also have more time to talk with one another without feeling rushed or full from overeating. Unless you are specifically seeing who can eat their half faster. A bit weird, but you know what, don’t let us tell you how to live your life. We’re just here with advice, it’s your relationship. You wanna see who can shotgun 30 fries the fastest, you do you! The goal is to not eat more than you need. How fast you eat that food is none of our business.

You can really maximize the game by checking out companies like Entertainment, known for their insane amount of big-deal coupons, or deals across restaurant.com and Yelp that could net you a free entree or two if you’re diligent and stay on top of their rotation of deals.

Creative Ways to Save Money When Going Out Tip #2 - Use Credit Cards to Find Deals at Restaurants

Some rewards and cash-back credit card options will save you money on various restaurants where you live. According to NerdWallet, some of your best options for cash-back on dining experiences in 2023 include the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, which provides 1.5%-6.5% of your money back and the Capital One Savor One card, which provides anywhere from 1.0%10.0% back. In trying to find anywhere that the Chase Freedom Unlimited card might not work, I’m at a loss. It seems that specific card is accepted in basically any restaurant you could hope to visit. As long as you aren’t trying to use it (or other similar cards) on a Costco grocery trip, you should be good. That is, of course, unless you have a card with grocery compatibility, as well.

It’s worth noting that all of these card options inevitably have limitations. For example, the American Express Gold Card maxes out at $25,000 of purchases that they’ll reward with their 4x bonus points perk. It’s important to do your own independent research on whichever cards you intend to use and the limitations each of them might have, but aren’t made known up front since limitations aren’t usually attractive selling points and might get buried during a sales pitch.

Creative Ways to Save Money When Going Out Tip #3 - Search for Free Events Where You Live

Okay, first let’s lay out the obvious, most affordable date alternative: spend time in nature. This is not an event, per se, but we feel compelled to address it because it feels frequently forgotten amongst the shuffle of date ideas. Never underestimate the power of a nice walk around a local park, a hike to get the blood flowing a little, or a day on the water, if you already have the gear for it (in Austin, many people have purchased paddle boards because that’s a big thing here and saves you a lot of money over renting equipment every time). These options are at zero or minimal cost to you, will get you moving, and will rejuvenate you, as exposure to the natural environment is known to do for your physical and mental wellness.

With that in mind, your next option is to find free organized events near you. Some resources to scour for these options include Eventbrite, MeetUp, All Events in City, Unation, TickPick, and even Facebook. All of these have some level of search option utility for finding free or cheap events happening near you, from sports to music to theatrical performances and more. Make sure to check in with these things regularly, as new things are scheduled all the time, and if you intend to go, RSVP or do whatever each app asks you to do as attendance confirmation. This shows support and encouragement for the event organizers, and provides them essential information to prepare for their events.

Creative Ways to Save Money When Going Out Tip #4 - Go Out on Monday or Tuesday

Hey, did you know? Eating out is almost objectively cheaper on Monday and Tuesday than the other five days of the week. Seriously. The basic logic is that most people will relegate the weekend for going out on dates or hanging with friends, so they already spent the money they wanted to spend for that week. Because of this, there’s a drop off of customers on Monday and Tuesday, and if you pay any attention to email marketing (you know, those emails that are probably automatically sent to your spam folder and out of sight), a lot of them are discounts specifically for Mondays and Tuesdays to help encourage traffic. At the time of writing this, I’m using EatCheap.app to locate good deals for Mondays within the city of Austin where I live. I see several huge deals, like ½ oysters, shrimp, and all-day happy hour at Blue Cafe, $3 off all appetizers and tequila at Iron Cactus Mexican Restaurant, and $2 off literally every menu item at Firehouse Lounge.

However, it’s worth noting that some places aren’t open on Mondays, usually because their weekends are so busy, they allow the day(s) after to function as their own employee’s weekend. This is true of one of my favorite locales called The Emerald Tavern (allow me and my friends to eat and play board games together and you’ve got my attention). So keep this in mind if you want to go out with your significant other on a Monday—ensure the place you have in mind is actually open and/or has normal operating hours.

Creative Ways to Save Money When Going Out Tip #5 - Eat Half Now, Half Later

So this one is sort of like splitting meals, except with a priority on turning individual meals into multiple for each of you.

He wants the crusted parmesan chicken, she wants the meatball marinara. Fortunately this example is really easy, because Italian food almost always feels like you’ve received too much to physically fit in your stomach. It’s one of the only things Italian cuisine has in common with Mexican cuisine. You feel like you’re going to explode if you eat everything on the plate(s).

Solution: make those things into dinner now and lunch tomorrow! In essence, you are each buying two (or more) meals, depending on what you order. Not only does this multiply your meals, it’s a neat trick for justifying purchases that might otherwise seem too high. Lasagna for one person for $22?! That’s insane. It’s less insane if you think of yourself as buying two or three meals at once, though. Now that $22 is actually just two $11 meals, which is much more reasonable for a nice night out and a good reheat the next night. Split that into thirds and you’re looking at $7.33 a night for three nights in a row, or however you end up parsing out your meals. Ever been to Buca di Beppo? It’s one of those “family portion” places I mentioned before. You can drop $100 for a few Italian dishes at Buca and feed two people for a week. If you’ve been, you know. The amount of food they give you is out of this world.

The best part about this is most of these things keep really well for the first few days, so it’s almost like they expect you to make them into leftover meals. And if you have an air fryer to warm them up (not related at all to the subject of this article, but air fryers are incredible and you should have one in your kitchen) then your food will be nearly identical to how it came out on date night.

An Answer For Your Questions

Do yourself (and your relationship) a favor and pick one of the above strategies, and start implementing it immediately. Once you’ve internalized its benefits, you’ll realize how easy and helpful it can be, then pick up another, and another. If the idea of doing all of this at once is overwhelming, no worries, you don’t need to perform a massive life overhaul overnight. In fact, we specifically discourage that! Your chances to fail, or fail to create new habits, goes up immensely when you take on too much at once. Besides, especially with the credit card research, it can take time to find the deal that’s right for you, so don’t rush into the first shiny offer that crosses your path.

“Everyone needs help to deal with the challenges that come with inflation and adjusting to a newfound budget,” says Leonard Kim. “That’s why it’s so essential to talk to a financial advisor and work through your newfound expenses with them so they can help you lay out a strategy to navigate through these inflationary periods today, alongside what is in store for our futures,” Leonard continued. 

If you believe the trouble of your bank account goes deeper than just some wayward spending on date activities, then you may want to see the consultation of a trained financial advisor. Financial advisors are equipped with years of fine-tuned financial wisdom to help guide you towards the spending behaviors, money mentalities, and cash strategies you need to accomplish your goals. Financial freedom and wellness are well within your reach, if you’re open to asking for help.

Find your own financial advisor through our user-friendly, intuitive search engine that does all the hard legwork for you.

Don’t let yourself repeat the mistakes of the past. Feel progress through intentional action. It’s easy. You just need to start!

If you like our content, please give us a like and subscribe as it really helps us to continue to provide relevant information.

Written by Cooper Barham

Fact checked by Billy Quirk

Reviewed by KJ Kim

Disclosure

The information provided in this article was written by the research and analysis team at AdvisorCheck.com to help all consumers in their financial journeys, by providing the resources and the insights to help improve one’s financial health, make it through recessionary and inflationary periods of time, and save their earnings to use them towards building a secure financial future. 

Unauthorized reproduction or use of this material is strictly prohibited without prior approval. Any parties interested in content syndication, references, interviews, or PR, please contact our marketing team at marketing@aimranalytics.com

AdvisorCheck.com is an independent data and analytics company founded on the principles of helping to provide transparency, simplicity, and conflict-free information to all consumers. As an independent company providing conflict-free information, Advisorcheck.com does not participate, engage with, or receive funding from any affiliate marketing programs or services. To become a free AdvisorCheck member, visit advisorcheck.com/signup