all i can eat

i ended up eating the chinese buffet for lunch today. it's $4 cheaper for each person at lunch than dinner. we have to always have our weekly date. we have gone out once a week since before we married 27 years ago. before someone tells me that i'm wasting money, remember it keeps our marriage from getting in a rut and it's cheaper than marriage counseling. plus i don't have to do dishes!

we always cheap out by using coupons or gift cards, ordering the special if it's a good deal, going for lunch instead of dinner and discussing what we are going to order beforehand. we sound like this-

"are you going to get the steak combo? if so, get me  ranch dressing for your salad and i'll give you the fries from my seafood platter. oh? then get an extra order of shrimp on the side and i'll just eat your salad and the extra shrimp. no, don't order the onion rings as an appetizer, order them as an extra vegetable. it's cheaper!"

i made some good food choices. i stuck to eating mostly the lean meat i spooned out of the dishes and also ate a salad. they always have fruit stuck in among the desserts, so i had some cantaloupe. it was hard, but since it's out of season, what did i expect? they also had boiled egg halves sprinkled with parsley with the dessert- i guess because it requires cooling- so i had a boiled egg for dessert too ?!?

i did save a bit more today. i have decided to forego purchasing drinks at  restaurants. i will save $1.50-$2.00 each time  i order water instead of tea or a soda. i can save around $100 a year by doing that each week.  i look at it this way: when i am writing out my budget for the year, would i plan on spending $200 a year on sodas? no, but it does add up. add a bit of lemon and i'm good to go.

plus water is better for you, has no calories and doesn't rot your teeth.