It’s OK to Indulge, Especially in Bargains

Posted by Frank

March 25, 2008

Yesterday, my wife and I grabbed the Monday special at Jerry’s Pizza’s and Subs, which is a large Pizza for $4.99. It’s very rare that we ever eat out on a weekday, which makes the occasion feel like a treat. While we were enjoying our grease ball pizza, we realized that we look forward to these types of nights. For a grand total of $4.99 (+tax) we truly feel as though we are breaking budget and splurging. Isn’t that great? Too many times financial blogs preach eating at home, almost to a unrealistic point. In actuality you can go out to eat and treat yourself occasionally, especially when you take advantage of specials.

Every weekend I grab a weeks worth of groceries, making sure that we have something for a meal every night of the week. Since we decided we were going to grab a pizza on Monday, I bought one less night’s worth of groceries. Our pizza technically fits into our food budget because of this and the cost of the pizza actually competes with most home cooked meals. It’s OK to indulge every once in a while, and when it’s done with a financially conservative approach, even better.

Below is a list of deals that you expect to find in your area:

1) Jerry’s Pizza and Subs – Mondays, large pizza for $4.99
2) Subway - $5 Foot long Subs (save 6inches for lunch the next day)
3) Dollar Menus – For the most part, the bargains are on the dollar menu not in the value meals.
4) Olive Garden - $5.95 all you can eat soup, salad, and bread-sticks.
5) Most local restaurants carry a half price appetizer during happy hours.

(keep in mind, we are ignoring the health aspect of fast food, as these are only occasional indulges!) $

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