Cheap Eats / Ideas on How to Save Money on Food

• Feeding yourself on a budget can be hard.  Sometimes you have to eat the bare minimums just to make sure you have money for other things.  I created a list of cheap meal ideas below to help you save money on food.  Some of these ideas are just general suggestions, some are funny, and some should only be used if you’re flat broke. 

• Dollar Menu

This is an obvious cheap meal idea.  If you buy 3 dollar menu items you can have a small meal, and the portions are usually just enough to hold you over. 

• The Lunch Menu

Instead of buying a big dinner you should buy a huge lunch.  Lunch menu prices at restaurants are usually cheaper than dinner prices.  Sometimes you can pay $20 for a dinner meal, when the same dish would of only cost you $12 at lunch.  So buy a huge Lunch.  Spend 2 or 3 extra dollars on your meal, doggy bag what you don’t finish, and eat the left overs for dinner.

• Buying in Bulk

This cheap meal idea is great if you don’t mind preparing your own food.  Go to Costco and just stock up.  In the long run making your own food saves you an amazing amount of money compared to buying it from restaurants.

• Saturday Samples at Costco

If your going to buy in bulk shop on Saturdays.  Costco gives out free samples on Saturdays.  Walk around the store and start sampling.  (Free lunch baby!!!)

• Food Matching

Ok!!  This idea is my favorite (If you’re really broke or just really out going I suggest trying this out).  This only works if you have a bunch of restaurants that are close to each other.   Example: Go to Mcdonalds and just order a grilled chicken patty (yes you can do that and they cost about a dollar).  Also grab your favorite sauce.  Then go to Bertuccis or something.  Restaurants like that giveaway free rolls.  Ask for an order of rolls.  Finally go to a Chinese restaurant and order a spring roll ( they cost about $1.50).   When your home cut a roll in half and spread th Mcdonald’s sauce on it.  Put the grilled chicken patty on the other side and split the spring roll over the patty.  Close the sandwich up and enjoy.  You have an exotic meal for only $2.50. 

• The Scavenger

If your friends know you as a scavenger they might not eat around you.  But if your broke and you want a cheap meal.  Go out to eat with your friends, order an appetizer and share it with everyone at the table, but don’t order a real meal.  When your friends finally have their dinners in front of them ask to have what they don’t eat.  You’ll end up getting a lot of food because they filled up on your appetizer. 

• The Bread Diet

This is an easy cheap meal idea that you’ve probably already used before.  Eat everything with bread.  For example: If you are having bacon and eggs for breakfast grab 2 slices of bread and make a sandwich.  Bread is a filler food and it expands in your stomach.  You’ll feel less hungry if you add bread to every meal.

• Food Network

Watch the chefs cook on the Food Network.  They teach you how to cook some pretty bomb meals and they don’t use expensive ingredients.  ( I know about this because my girlfriend watches the Food Network all the time.)

• The Soda Effect

This is a horrible idea for your teeth, but if you’re really hungry and you can’t afford real food.  Just drink soda.  The bubbles in Soda will fill your stomach and you won’t feel as hungry.  (This idea won’t work if the soda is flat)

• Beans Baby

This cheap meal idea has the same concept as the “Soda Effect”.  Beans will give you more substance than soda, and the gas they produce in your body will fill your stomach.  (But be careful because once the gas leaves your stomach it will fill up the room you’re in.)

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