This story is part of “How to Cut Your Food Bill,” a month-long newsletter series about how to save money on meals and groceries. Register here.
Eating out at restaurants can be a delicious experience. It can also be expensive.
This is one of the reasons why fewer people are eating out. A YouGov report in October found that 37% of American diners said they were eating out less than a year ago due to high menu prices and a desire to save money. Only 8% said they were eating out more.
Still, many of us will do it anyway, whether to take a break from cooking at home or to spend time with friends and family. Eating out at restaurants can even improve our mental health.
Luckily, personal finance and nutrition experts say there are some simple strategies that make it possible to eat out without spending a fortune.
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Think about it Why You go out to eat
Is it your goal to try a hip new restaurant? Or are you just going out to eat to socialize?
Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at NerdWallet, says crucial Why Stating that you are eating out can help you choose a restaurant that meets your needs and doesn’t cause you to overspend.
“You may get just as much value and pleasure from eating cheaper pizza than you would at a nicer restaurant,” Palmer says. “So taking some time to think about why you’re going out and what you want to get out of it can help guide your decisions.”
Give yourself a restaurant budget
Personal finance experts say it’s also worth looking back at how much you spent on groceries outside of your home. This way you have a starting point for creating a food budget. (If you use the 50-30-20 budgeting method, dining out falls into the 30% discretionary spending category.)
Whatever budget you choose for dining out, it’s important to separate it from your grocery money, according to financial advisor Lindsay Plumb.
“My grocery money doesn’t touch what I call our ‘spend with joy’ money,” Plumb says. “The money I’m happy to spend is something I can actually spend happily without worrying about whether I’ll be able to pay my mortgage or buy the groceries or whether the kids need cleats.”
To stretch your dining budget even further, look for restaurants with loyalty programs that offer free or discounted items.
Check out the menu in advance
Take a few minutes to read the restaurant menu before sitting down. You can plan your meal in advance and avoid having to make a last-second decision at the table that might result in you panicking and ordering the ribeye steak.
Registered nutritionist Amy Lawson says this little research can also help you eat healthier.
“Especially when we go to a restaurant and we get there and we’re really hungry. Our hunger hormones are really loud and they’re telling us, ‘Give me all the carbs…Give me the fastest source of energy,'” she says. “It can kind of mess up in our brain the decisions to make the healthiest choice.”
Fill the to-go box early
Another tip from Lawson that saves twice as much money: put half of your meal in a to-go box.
Restaurant portions may be too large. In an analysis by nonprofit ReFED, 25% of restaurant customers said they always or most of the time leave food on their plates.
Skipping half of your meal right away can help you avoid overeating and food waste. This also means you get lunch for the next day at no additional cost.
Eating out…at home
Alternatively, you can let your creativity run wild when you take it with you. NerdWallet’s Palmer says she sometimes orders catering trays from a local restaurant and invites company over. This means she can enjoy restaurant food for a little less and socialize at the same time. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a week.
Some NPR readers also suggest ordering some of your meal to-go and cooking the rest. That might mean ordering something that you can’t prepare quickly or easily, like a pizza or stir-fry, and then complementing it with a homemade salad or steamed rice.
Pick up your food to go
Speaking of takeaway food, it may be worth picking it up instead of having it delivered.
According to the National Restaurant Association, takeout orders are increasing rapidly. According to the National Restaurant Association, three-quarters of all meals at U.S. restaurants last year were takeout.
But the website LendingTree found that fast food and fast casual delivery orders in the top 10 U.S. metro areas cost nearly 80% more than if customers had picked them up themselves.
If you value convenient delivery, you can factor these additional costs into your budget, experts say. But if you can pick up your order yourself, you’ll save yourself the dough.
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The story was edited by Alina Hartounian and Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is CJ Riculan. We would love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823 or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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https://www.npr.org/2026/06/30/nx-s1-5862777/how-to-spend-less-money-restaurants-takeout
