How to save money when going out

want to save money when going with your friends ? Here is the tutorial you are looking for

How to save money when going out

without making your friends hate you

Going out with friends oftentimes if not always means

spending enormous amounts of money For most of us,

going to bars, restaurants, clubs, and coffeeshops is

the most obvious form of socializing we engage in, and

being frugal can sometimes get in the way Explaining

to friends why you won’t be joining them for beers or

lunch yet again is annoying and can badly influence your

close relationships

But this ebook is not about how to make up excuses

It’s about how to avoid spending tons of money without

being perceived as a penny pincher and a deadbeat

Being frugal shouldn’t be about not being able to do

anything fun and just saving every cent for a brighter

future or some other abstract nonsense It’s about

getting the most out of your every dollar (or euro)

Instead of suggesting stuff like ‘just have fun at home’

and ‘have somebody buy you a drink’ I tried to list a

few ideas on how to have fun, but still retain the frugal

mindset

You are welcome to share this ebook and to visit the

blog at thriftytricks.com And now, let’s get right to it:

1 First rule is that it’s much easier to save when

you hang out with a group of frugal people They

will understand why you’d rather just get a sandwich instead of a full meal out and will more likely agree with your plans This, of course, can hardly be a good reason for changing your friends, unless they really turn out to

be super-hateful towards your lifestyle If they simply don’t accept it and complain about you ordering just a salad, it might not be a bad idea to think about whether they truly are your friends

2 Either way, it’s the best to share your financial

situation or preferences with your closest friends You

won’t be able to hide it from them if you ever go out together, so why even bother? They should understand

3 If you happen to be the most frugal person in

the group, it’s a good idea to start organizing all

the events so you can propose cheaper places and

activities Most people, including your friends, don’t really have ideas on where to go eat and will likely just submit to any acceptable suggestions Be sure to always have one or three that fit your wallet

4 When going out, take only cash with you so you

don’t spend more than you anticipated Especially when

going out to drink, it’s likely that your perception will

change and you’ll become more wasteful – so make sure

you limit yourself with the amount of cash you have on

you

5 Similarly, don’t carry big bills but rather smaller

change, so you don’t end up paying for more people just

because they “haven’t got any change on them”

Pay your part in the exact amount and let them deal

with the waiter Paying with an ATM or credit card can

put you into the same position; waiter will likely ask

you to pay the full amount so others can pay you back

in cash This has rarely a fair outcome, so stand your

ground and pay only your part

6 You can lose a lot of money when splitting the costs

Insist on paying for your own part, and not by equal

split – it seems that Americans are more used to this

technique, whereas in Europe it’s perfectly normal for

7 Some places will bring you separate bills, others

won’t But all will, if you specifically ask for it (and you should) Another way of keeping track of who has paid what is by using the Deadbeat app

8 Research shows that we tend to eat and drink at

the same pace as people around us This way, it’s

healthier to eat next to people who eat more slowly, and more expensive to eat besides those who gobble their food up, because we will try to keep up This way, your brains will not comprehend that you’re not hungry anymore and you’ll order more, and same goes for

drinks Now that you know this, try to be mindful of

your eating and drinking speed; enjoy your meal and

decide for yourself when it’s really time for another glass.

9 Become a regular at a certain bar or restaurant and

make friends with waiters and bouncers by making small talk and leaving tips It’s likely you’ll soon start to

enjoy benefits such as stronger drinks, free entrance

to parties, freebies, etc.

10 If you’re with a group, it’s less controversial to bring

your own food to a restaurant The place doesn’t have

any work with you, you’re just taking up a chair that

would likely be empty if you weren’t there If there’s the

mandatory tipping involved, though, you should chip-in

for it as you’re subjecting everyone else at the table to

covering a part of your tip

This tip is especially applicable to the fast-food or

self-service type of restaurants; if you’re with a group,

nobody will bother you about bringing your own stuff

Think about it this way; if somebody wasn’t able to eat

at that place due to, for example, food allergies, it would

be perfectly acceptable for them to bring their own

meal

12 Being the organizer, suggest going to a brunch

instead of lunch and going to lunch instead of a

dinner These are essentially the same amount and type

of food, but more expensive because less people go out

to dinners than to lunches

13 Dig out coupons for massive discounts at the group

coupon sites It will help you motivate your friends to

go to a certain place, and you will be able to even pay for all the food That means that at another time, your friends will pay for you (even if it’s another coupon place)

14 To save money at a restaurant, especially if you plan

on having a smaller fancy meal like sushi, try ‘spoiling

your appetite’ by eating something beforehand either

at home or even at a fast-food place It might even be

a good idea to have a packet of crackers with you at all times to avoid sudden hunger-induced food purchases

15 If you have eaten before, you can just order an

appetizer or a dessert and ask for it to be brought

with the main course that your friends ordered If you

haven’t eaten before, you can order just the main

course and you’ll be fine.

16 Ask your friends if they’re ok with you eating their

leftovers In our group, it’s not uncommon to do this –

the food would likely be thrown away otherwise

17 Me and my wife normally split the main course- try

doing that with your friend You can order some soup to

complement the dish and you’ve still saved a couple of

bucks

18 If you ordered a full course, you really don’t have

to eat all of it – take your leftovers with you for the

dinner or the next-day meal

19 This is an obvious one, but when you order a meal,

just order some tap water in addition to that Drinks

can easily add a lot to the bill

Partying & drinks

20 Volunteer to be a designated driver for your

group of friends and tell them you’ll drive to and from the event if they cover for gas, tolls, and parking You can even suggest them paying for a single beer that you can drink at the beginning of the party

21 Very obvious tip, but I feel it needs to be mentioned

here anyway – drink before you leave home so you

spend less money at the bar

22 Bring a small amount of hard liquor (gin, vodka,

grain alcohol) in a shot flask and add to any drink that

you’ve ordered – whether it be a soft drink or a cocktail

or even a beer You’ll get drunk much faster and you’ll spend less money

23 Definitely drink water in-between drinks Reason

number one is of course that you’ll be busy with drinking this water and you’ll order less expensive booze Reason number two is even better – you’ll avoid hangover Seriously, hangover is an issue of

24 Some places in Australia and New Zealand offer a

BYOB option allowing you to bring your own drinks

I know right, Aussies have everything These places

charge ‘corkage fee’, but it can still be cheaper in overall,

especially when you’re in a group

25 People can’t tell cheap alcohol from an expensive

one when they’re sober, let alone drunk Don’t fall for

the story of worse hangover when drinking ‘bad’ liquor

– just drink a lot of water and you’ll be fine drinking

non-premium booze.

26 Buy pitchers instead of shots, and order tap beer

instead of bottled one Beer is good, and it’s normally

the cheapest option Go beer

27 You have two options: you can either eat before

going out to drink or don’t The latter will help you

get drunk faster, but you’ll likely pass out and get tired

The former will prevent you from buying unhealthy and

expensive fast-food when drunk It’s a blue or red pill

situation I guess you should decide according to the

occasion

28 Figure out if and when the place you’re going to

visit offers happy-hours And similarly, if the bar that

you’re going to go to has a cover (which, well, sucks), try

getting in for free by sending an email or a facebook

message to an employee or a promoter working there Tell them that you’ll come only if you can get free

entrance for yourself and your friends

29 When buying drinks, order two and only pay one

tip You’ll save your waiter some work and yourself

some money

30 Arrive to the party late This way, you’ll avoid

becoming tired soon, save some money, and still see the best of the event

31 Instead of ordering a mixed drink, consider ordering

liquor and soft drinks separately For example, instead

of ordering 3x Red bull vodka for yourself and your friends, ask for a Red bull can and 3x vodka

32 Learn a conversation starter that is not “Can I get

you a drink?” and start using it (hint: “Can you get me a drink?” probably won’t work)

33 Learn a few bar bets for getting free drinks

People love to be entertained, and that is essentially

what you do with bar bets

34 To get in, you can always try to haggle a bit

If there’s a group of you and you don’t seem like

troublemakers, try to persuade the doorman into

letting at least a couple of you in for free while others

pay Make sure you tip him as well

35 Important: before you leave home, figure out how

you will get back If you intend to drink, don’t leave

by car, or you’ll be paying high parking fees Consider

taking a bus, having a designated driver, or walking

That’s it!

If you liked this ebook, be sure to check out our website

at ThriftyTricks.com Similar to this ebook, posts are formed in lists of non-obvious tips about saving money and financial advice for young adults and college

students