Steak Dinner - Make the Prices Work For You!

I have been doing this for years, simply because it was a way to stretch my money - so that I could get more out of my dollar - make it go farther - whatever you want to call it. But now I see it as a way to just SAVE MONEY.

When I used to go out to eat, I'd just look for the cheapest item - whether it was what I wanted or not, the price was the deciding factor. Well, that works okay, but I have since learned how to order what I want, as well as stretch my dollars! And looking at prices is still the deciding factor! It is just in HOW you look at the prices! Make them work for you!

I went to a steak house. They offer a 12 oz steak for $11.49 which includes a large baked potatoe, good size salad and bread. The next step up was a 16 oz steak for $12.49, same extras. So for $1.00 more, I can get 4oz more of steak! That works well! BUT....if you order a huge meal and eat it all right then and there, what happens? You go home stuff, bloated, miserable and then you end up sitting on the sofa because you are so stuffed that you can't even move. How much fun was it to eat out? I my book, not much! I paid $12.49 to feel miserable the rest of the day! Not acceptable!!!! That takes all the fun out of eating out. So.... here's what you have to do and consider when you are eating out on a budget, and want to get the most for your money and still feel good after you have eaten......

I chose the 16oz steak. My bill is $12.49 and order the steak medium rare. I eat the salad that they bring first. That is quite filling. Then when they bring the meal, I eat the baked potatoe and start eating the steak, small pieces at a time around the outter 1 inch edges of the steak. The salad, the potatoe, the bread and water to drink - I get full soon enough. They say that it only takes 20 minutes for your stomach to "feel full" so what is in there after 20 minutes is what fills you and what goes in after that is what makes you "stuffed". So stop after 20 mintues!
Then I take the steak home. A reheated baked potatoe isn't very good, nor is reheated garlic bread. But the steak - lots of options there! I order it medium rare. Why? The outter edges are done well enough to eat right then and the inside is rare so that when I reheat it the next day, it just cooks to proper "medium" instead of cooking to "well done"!

Now I have 2 meals for the price of one! Tomorrow I have will have a nice steak and I can make a wonderful steak burrito, a steak quesadilla, make my own baked potatoe and reheat the steak as is. Lots that you can do with 10oz of steak! So 2 full meals for the $12.49 - that's $6.25 each - that's the cost of the average value meal at a fast food! But this way, you get 2 great healthy meals!

Share your comments about your favorite way to save money when eating out!


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Have You Got Money? Yes, You Have! You Just Don't Realize It!

You have money in places you don't even realize! As I have said before, it may just be a buck here and 50¢ there, not much on an individual basis, but put them all together and what have you got? A whole lot more than bib-bide-bob-ide-boo!

A dollar a day is $365 a year. A dollar a week is $52 a year. Again, not much, but put them together and you have saved over $400 in a year and you didn't even have to do a thing to get it. It didn't cost you anything including EFFORT! It was TOTALLY FREE to get! WHY? Cause you already had it, you just didn't know it!!! $400 would cover Christmas gifts just fine!! (it is only 5 months away you know!)

WHERE TO LOOK....

Have you checked the bottom of your purse lately? Have you checked the compartments in your car for spare change you drop there? What about a "holder" that you have around the house or in your bedroom where you throw change?

I do my husbands laundry - and every time I take the jeans out of the washer to put into the dryer, I always find change in the basin (I know, I should check the pockets before washing, I just forget to!)

But guarenteed (for me)- at least a dollar a week - usually more! But based on one dollar a week - that is $52 a year. A birthday or christmas gift or 2!

And where did that buck come from? Not my wallet, not my savings account, not my pay check......my husbands pockets! Yes, reallly - just his pockets where it might have fallen out on the street anyway. From my husbands pockets where it'd probably just been dropped somewhere and forgotten about. From my husbands pockets....that might have just gone back into his pockets and wasted on something he didn't really need. He had it and didn't even know it.

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Save Money with Your Coffee Filters - Really!!

Another way to stretch your dollars, or save your dollars, is to find other uses for things you already have. Most items have lots of uses, you just have to think about it. Here is one of my favorites - COFFEE FILTERS. They are of a non absorbant but retaining material - strong, but thin and so many uses! Here's 10 ideas - you can't live without Coffee Filters - particularily the circular flat ones!!!

1. Snack "plates"....that I don't have to wash!! I give my grand daughter treats and snacks during the day which results in dirty dishes or finding the snack on the floor. I used to use sandwich baggies, but was always worried about a child and plastic. Coffee filters are perfect for her little hands and hold a perfect amount for her (she is 6). I can fill the coffee filter with chips, cookies, granola, fruit snacks, popcorn, cut-up fruit or any other item for her to eat. PRESTO!! No dishes to wash. Nothing to pick up off the floor because it fell out of her hands. Mobile - can go anywhere. Holds most any food a child would want. Don't get better than that!

2. Cover up the food being heated in the microwave so it doesn't splatter. Use one of the coffee filters as the protective covering over a bowl or a plate. Then just toss! I was using paper towels or napkins - but this is easier, and very much less expensive. The circulare filters work best for this. This way is cheaper than using paper towels so you are saving money!

3. What a great packing material! Whether you are moving or just storing precious china - flatten a filter between each plate or wrap around a glass. Or if you have some nice dishes, that you use just sometimes, a flattened coffee filter between each dish as they set in the cabinet provides a bit of protection. Save money - you don't have to buy that expensive packing material to protect your china!

4. I used to make homemade popsicles for my kids because I couldn't afford to buy them (6 in a store for a couple bucks, but making my own out of juices was about 12 for a buck and more healthy!) But the problem was the dripping! The kids didn't like it, I didn't like it. I started out wrapping the stick in a paper towel.Worked, but annoying. Then I saw where they use round aluminum for holding candles so the wax doesn't drop on your hands, BINGO - why not the same for popsicles! I poked the stick of the popsicles into the middle of the coffee filter and voila! The drips go into the filter and absorb! No more sticky hands or drips around the house!

5. Food Holders! Depending on the style of the filter (the V-shaped ones might be a bit more difficult to use - the circular filters work for more things). If you are at a picnic, serve each sandwich with a circular coffee filter "holder". If the kids want to eat outside in the tent - give them their lunch with sandwich holders.

6. Party Snack Holders - the V-shaped ones would be wonderful for holding the party snacks. YOu could even have the craft be to decorate their coffee filters (get white ones) and then it gets filled when done decorating. Fill it with the little snacks that they can snack on while waiting to be picked up. Again, MOBILE!!!

7. Since coffee filters leave no lint or other residue they are perfect for washing windows! No streaks, no dust! And it saves on the cost of paper towels! SAVE MONEY!!

8. Ever get some of that cork crumbs in your wine bottle? Strain the wine through a coffee filter and no more cork crumbs!

9. Craft item holders - working with beads, sands, pebbles, rhinestones... the circular coffee filters with a flat bottom are great for holding all these small little things but still make them easily accessible for your craft. Save money - you don't have to buy those little holders. You can buy in bulk, store in bulk, but use the filters when you are working with the little items.

10. A great kids craft accessory. Coffee filters are strong - they can hold up to markers, crayons, colored pencils - give the kids a couple of them and watch their imaginations go! Throw in some glitter and the princess will all have beautiful hats and the prince's will have

So think about what you have around the house. Watch the sale items - maybe you don't use or need that item but the price is good if you did. Think of other ways to use that item that you can get for a cheaper price and save money!

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Just click here and take a look! It is totally free - you can't loose! If you join now, you will even get a FREE $1.00 Bill!!!!!! You've already made money!

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I usually spend an hour or two on Friday nights (okay, I have no life, but I do have fun getting the freebies and samples!) going through the list of offers. Granted, ocassionally I miss some as they sometimes close the offer before I get there, but its the only time I can get there, and I still find alot of great offers. And thre are other offers that do cost, but seem to be at a discount if you go through Quiz Points to make the purchase.

Give it a try! If you don't like it, just don't go back! What have you got to loose?

QUIZPOINTS!

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