“One cannot think well, sleep well if one has not dined well.”
This is one of the most relatable quotes that defines how important food is in our life. According to the statistics, the restaurant industry is expected to contribute around 2.1% to the total GDP of India by 2021. That said, food is one of the major expenses for an individual. Which is why here are a few ways that tell you how to save money on food:
As the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail! Always try to plan beforehand to avoid any last minute purchases. Be it grocery shopping for your weekly meals or going out for a fancy dinner, plan your days ahead!
This will eliminate your chances to purchase anything at the last moment and thus avoid impulsive buying. Consider buying groceries in bulk to get big discounts. Moreover, the possibility of spending a lot more on food if you don’t strategize is higher when compared to strategizing your meals.
For instance, you can simply pack snacks for your commute or purchase groceries online to start saving small. In fact, purchasing on a credit card can you get up to 50% more reward points on dining and grocery spends.
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When going out, choose the restaurants wisely
With so many credit card offers available, one of the answers for how to save money on food is by choosing the right hotel or restaurant wisely. There are so many restaurants that offer discounts on hotel bookings via a credit card.
Here are a few ways to choose a restaurant wisely:
→ Check if they have partnered with your credit card and offer discounts if using them.
→ See if they have the concept of “Happy Hours” and plan accordingly.
→ Ask for a special discount on the basis of being a premium customer(This is possible if you visit the restaurant frequently).
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Compare on different sites before ordering online
With so many food ordering websites coming up such as Zomato, Swiggy, Uber Eats and more, ordering food online has never become so easier! However, do your research by comparing the offers on different sites before ordering online.
Moreover, find out if your mode of payment offers any special discounts when your order online. For instance, Paytm has partnered with many restaurant chains and are offering cashback when using Paytm as your payment method.
In short, compare before your order! This can be on the answers when thinking about how to save money on food.
You can also look out for dining discounts by looking out for dining vouchers online. There are many websites that offer dining deals and discount vouchers for fine dining restaurants. However, this completely depends on the partnerships they have with the restaurants.
Moreover, some offers are restricted to certain days of the week or times. Therefore, it is advisable to first check with the restaurant before buying that coupon/voucher.
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Understand your credit card benefits properly
A credit card can do a lot more than give you credit and reward points. Here are some of the best dining benefits offered by different credit cards:
→ SBI PRIME offers quarterly dining vouchers of ₹1000 from Pizza Hut on spends of Rs.50,000.
→ RBL Titanium Delight Credit card gives you 10% value back on spends at Pizza hut online & Domino’s online on WEDNESDAY only
→ Citi Rewards gives you up to 15% savings across participating restaurants.
→ ICICI Coral Credit card offers a minimum of 15% savings on dining bills.
→ HDFC Bank Diners ClubMiles Credit Card gives up to 15% discounts at 3000+ premium restaurants & Global dining privileges.
If used properly, it can give you an opportunity to get free food! Here’s how!
Let’s say you have a credit card that gives you 4 reward points on every ₹150 spent and 10 reward points on every ₹150 spent at partner websites. By the end of the month, you spend ₹50,000 in which ₹12,000 were spent at the partner websites. This means you have collected 1814 reward points. If the value per point is ₹0.30, then you are able to save ₹545! Moreover, if you reach the milestone, you can end up getting dining vouchers too.
Saving money on food can be easy if you really wish to do! How do you save money on food? What are your strategies? We’d love to hear your tricks and tips in the comment section below!
