Learning how to cut costs when you go out to eat will help to make dining out more enjoyable and less of a waste. Many Americans waste a ton of money eating out, whether it is on fast food or restaurants. By following a few steps, you can learn how to cut costs when eating out.

Step one:
Share your meal with your spouse. Restaurant portions are usually big enough to feed two people. Many people are unaware that most restaurants will even split your order onto two separate plates before bringing your dish out to you, as long as they are asked. Most people think that restaurants won't do this because they would be losing money so they order two meals, which is a waste of money because the not everything is eaten.

Step two:
When ordering drinks try to avoid drinks that are charged per the glass, this is the fastest way to add to your bill. To keep your costs down you can order water, which is usually free, or you can order a beverage that comes with free refills, such as soda, coffee, or iced tea. If you have to have an alcoholic beverage with your meal simply, order one drink and then stick with water for the rest of the meal.

Step three:
Use coupons at restaurants. If you take the time to look through your local newspaper or just go through the junk mailers from your mailbox, you can find coupons for a variety of different restaurants. Many times you can find buy one get one free coupons, but you can also find some that offer a special price on dinner if you come in before a certain time.

Step four:
If you have kids going to a restaurant that is kid friendly can save little bit of money. Many restaurants will have a night where kids eat free as long as an adult entrée is purchased, take the time to do some research to find the local restaurants I your area that offer this. A kid's entrée can cost around $5.00 to $10.00, which can add to the bill.

Step five:
If you want to eat out try to avoid going out to eat at dinnertime. Most restaurants charge more for their food during the dinnertime rush than the lunchtime hour, even if they are offering the same foods. If you feel that, you have to go out to eat try going midday rather than the evening. For example, a dinner for a single person costs around $25 to $30, this includes drinks. Going to lunch, you can buy the same meal for a single person for about $15; this is a savings of around 50%.

Step six:
You can also order by phone from some of your local restaurants because many of them offer car side service. Although you will still be paying the same price for a meal you are going to be saving money because you will not need to order drinks, but you will also save another 15% because you will not have to tip your server.

Step seven:
Go online and buy discounted gift certificates to your favorite restaurants. Going to www.restaurants.com you can save over 50% when you are eating out. The website offers you the chance to buy $25 gift certificates for $10 and $10 gift certificates for $3 each. You can also buy an Entertainment Book for your city. These books are often sold at schools as a fundraiser for around $20 per book. The books come loaded with coupons that offer buy one get one free meals and 50% off deals for various restaurants in your local area.