It is a common practice for a lot of people to eat out, so it would make perfect sense if you want to learn how to save money in this department. Fortunately, there are many ways to save money at restaurants. Read on to find out several powerful tips on how to do so.

The first tip that you can follow is to always drink water. Now, this clearly isn’t the most exciting drink on the menu, most of all if you are at the restaurant during happy hour. However, you can save a lot of money by drinking water at restaurants, especially since alcoholic drinks are very expensive there.

Another great tip to save money at restaurants would be to split an entree with somebody. In general, this tends to work best with a significant other, but it is definitely a great money-saving method overall. Not only will this save you a lot of money per meal, but it will also save you a lot of money per year in the long run. Plus, if you count the money that you’ll save from ordering water instead of something else, then you could save thousands every year!

Now, if nobody wants to split with you, then you might want to consider getting an entree as your actual meal or ordering a kid’s meal instead. As funny as this tip might sound, entrees and kids’ meals are always cheaper than regular meals – and they are much healthier, too. So, don’t worry if other people make fun of you because of it; by doing this, you will end up eating healthier and saving lots of money at the same time.

On that note, you can also add on some healthy sides to your meal. Chances are, some vegetables and side salads will still be much cheaper compared to an actual meal, so you won’t have to worry about how much food everyone else is ordering. You will still get to save money and eat healthy while everybody else orders what they want. Everybody is happy!

Of course, you can just opt to skip dessert, too, but a lot of families don’t like that route very much. After all, gourmet desserts are usually amazing at restaurants, most of all if there’s a special occasion going on. If you really want to save money, though, then try to split dessert with somebody else. This will stop you from gaining too many calories, too – just think about that.

Hopefully, all of these tips will help you save money at restaurants. Just make sure you follow all of them whenever you can, at least, and you are sure to save some money even if you eat out a lot. Good luck!

About the author: Jane Sidney is a blogger and has published articles about health and fitness. She has also written a variety of topics for an expat community blog that provides international calling cards and swiss calling cards for international travelers.