Am I a Big Kid?

The other day we had a going away luncheon for someone in our office. At one point during the lunch, one of the ladies asked how I was doing on my "Dining-Out Reduction Plan" (DORP). Everyone was interested in my philosophy so I told the story about how my girlfriend and I spent approximately $9,000 on eating out in 2006.

I explained that for 2007 we (I) resolved to eat out less and when we do eat out... make extensive use of coupons and also my new favorite trick: ordering off the kids menu.

When I brought up ordering off the kids menu, everyone got this puzzled look on their face and someone asked, "They let you do that?" Of course they do. I then showed them the value of ordering off the kids menu. I will give you two examples here highlighting some of my favorite items:

I use to always get:
Chic Fil A Adult Menu Item: 8 Nugget, Value Sized Combo
8 Nuggets
1 Large Fries
1 Large Drink
$5.99

Now I get:
Chic Fil A Kids Menu Item: 6 Nugget Combo
6 Nuggets
1 Regular Fries
1 Small Drink
1 Free ice Cream Cone
$2.99

Rationale: There is no need to value size your meal when dining-in because you get free refills. The free ice cream cone (when you trade in your "toy" in the kids menu makes up for the fewer fries and fewer nuggets. You get the same amount of food for $3 less.

I use to always get:
Applebees Chicken Finger Basket
- 6 fingers
- lots of fries
$6.99

Now I get:
Applebee's Kids Chicken Finger Basket
- 4 fingers
- lots of fries
- free ice cream
$3.99
Rationale: When you throw in the ice cream, you get the same amount of food for $3 less. Also we go from 3 PM to 7 PM during half price appetizer time. You can split potato skins or quesadillas and feed two to three people depending on hunger levels for $3-$4.

At most steakhouses, Jawana and I will split an entre'e. For example, at O'Charley's I will order the 7 oz Sirloin which comes with a baked potato and a salad. Jawana will order a Potato and we will split the steak and come out with a nice sized meal for about $12. The good thing about O'Charley's is kids eat free!

Tuesday nights are "Kids eat free night" at the Pizza Hut buffet. We try and go at this time to take advantage of a lot of free food since really, Shayla eats more than we do.

Ok, so those are some of my money saving tips for eating out!

I may be 32 years old, but I have the maturity of a 10 year old.

Whatever that means.