Share Plates At Restaurants
I’ve got another quick and simple saving money tip that my wife and I have been using for the past year or two that has worked wonders! It involves sharing plates at restaurants.
Share Plates at Restaurants – Money Saving Breakdown
- Difficulty (Super Easy/Easy/Medium/Hard/Expert): Easy
- Average Savings per Year ($/year): 200
- Time Required (mins): 5
- Savings for your time ($/hr): 2,400
* based on eating out twice a month.
Share Plates at Restaurants – The Background
This tip was born back a couple of years ago when my wife and I made some major shifts in our life to get healthier. We started the P90X exercise program and began to change what we would and wouldn’t eat. This was all in an effort to live healthier lives. Part of this health kick was to prevent just pigging out until we felt like we were going to explode.
Share Plates at Restaurants – Restaurant Portions
When you go out to eat these days, it’s very hard not to pig out! Usually, the portions are just so big that even the most hungry of us are forced to get a box to bring back some of the food for leftovers. My wife and I found ourselves frequently returning home from restaurants with stomach aches and leftovers. Add to this that the leftovers almost always tasted pretty bad the next day.
Share Plates at Restaurants – Money Saving Tip
That’s when we started developing the habit of just ordering one entre and splitting it – sharing a plate. Most waiters/waitresses look at us like we’re a little crazy, but I don’t really mind. I’d say we’ve done this more than 100 times over the past couple of years. Not once have we had the waiter/waitress refuse or try to charge us some kind of extra plate fee.
If you can get past the slight bit of embarrassment when first getting started, you really can save a bundle over the years and you’re body will thank you for it in the long run 🙂 We’ve done it so many times now that it has just become second nature for us.
We’ve also used this tip several times with our kids. We can frequently order one adult meal, share the plate between the two of them, and save an additional $4-$5 in the process. We may look like cheap bastards to the other folks in the restaurant, but I don’t really care as we’re also earning healthy points 🙂
Share Plates at Restaurants – Final Thoughts
What’s not to love about sharing a plate when going out to eat? You’ll save money and be less likely to over eat at the same time!
When I was a kid and we were still just a family of four, my parents would order us one value meal when we got fast food. We could each have our own sandwich or burger, but we all shared the soda and fries.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…Moving Forward: Fast, Slow, and Constant.
That’s a good example… You guys didn’t fight over who would get the toy?!?
I do this with my son simply because he won’t eat all his food. He’s a growing teenager, but many of the “adult” meals come with SO much food that he doesn’t even come close to eating it all. I’ll order something small (like an appetizer) and then wait for him to push his plate forward and say he’s full. That’s when I get to work.
Brock @cleverdude recently posted…I Gave Away My Computer Monitor As Motivation To Declutter
Lol – we do the same thing Brock. If we end up ordering 4 dishes, it will be WAY too much food!
Hi Derek,
My husband and I often share a meal when we go out to eat. This saves us practically half the bill each time. Most restaurants serve way too much food on a plate anyway (unless you’re going to those fancy schmancy restaurants that are more about the art than the feast–so they only give you a bite per plate). And very few restaurants give you a split plate fee. This is a great tip 🙂
~Lisha
Lisha,
It’s a double win – saving money and not feeling stuffed 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Usually I shared plates with my daughter aside that we can save a bit by doing that I’m pretty sure that there was no food waste. My daughter is a very picky when it comes to food.
Clarisse @ Savvy Scot recently posted…A lifetime of savings part 1: Saving money in your 20s
Clarisee,
I’m the same way! I hate to waste food and feel pressured to finish all of it. By sharing, we can ensure nothing goes to waste 🙂
My approach to restaurants has usually been to just order what I want, eat a little more than half and take the rest home. It usually lasts for lunch leftovers for a couple of days after that. I do think sharing a plate with certain people would work out well. You just have to have the same taste in food!
Daisy @ Prairie Eco Thrifter recently posted…Can You Afford a Pet?
Daisy,
True – if you like different things then this won’t work 🙂 I always feel bad taking most things home as leftovers as I know they’ll usually taste much worse the next day (texture-wise I guess). Thanks for commenting!
You are not alone in this practice. This also increases the enjoyment in restaurants. You know you cannot eat several different dishes. But if you share plates you can taste several dishes that increases your satisfaction.
Actually, I don’t understand families not sharing dishes. Think about a family with three children. The other day, I saw a family bought 5 different turkey legs in one of the amusement parks. I watched them carefully. At the end all five of them threw their meals half eaten. It is such a waste. My wife would have bought only three and break them down to go around. No wasted food or money. How could it be wrong?
TCI recently posted…How to Get Cheap Car Insurance Rates
TCI – good point. You would never see me doing something like that!!
Sharing is good. Since I don’t like to cook I’ll also order and take home half for the next day. I don’t understand how some people hate leftovers. I love them!
untemplater recently posted…Never Underestimate What You’re Capable Of
Untemplater,
To each his own 🙂 I generally am OK with leftovers if they don’t get all mushy… gotta have that texture!
Derek: We have done this too. The portions going out are obscene. We do this with appetizers, salads and then the main meal. Some pricey places may charge for splitting but who cares.
STEVEN J. FROMM, ATTORNEY, LL.M. (TAXATION) recently posted…Philip Seymour Hoffman: Estate Planning Lessons For Us and Especially Women
Steven,
Haha – I guess you can tell from the article that we don’t normally frequent the pricey places. Thanks for stopping by Steven.