My Singles group at church has gotten a lot more active lately.  They have weekly meetings at Starbucks on Thursday evenings and have started meeting up for lunch at rotating places on Sunday.  I've worked Starbucks into my spending budget (I always get there early and get some work done too).  I went to these first 2 lunch meetings, but while I like company, I'm not sure I'll keep them up.  They may be stretching my spending cash a bit too far.

However, I'm sure you all have run into this issue too.  You want to be social, but you need to watch your pennies a lot more than your friends seem to need.  Sometimes you can speak up and ask for a cheaper alternative, but that's not always an option that the others are willing to take.  I've learned a lot of tricks for keeping my meal costs down at restaurants.

The first one is to just order a soup, salad, or something off the appetizer menu, which tends to be lower cost than a full size entree/meal.

The second one is to split with someone.  Restaurant portions are often twice if not thrice what you really ought to eat for a single meal, so splitting your meal with someone both keeps the cost down and helps keep check on your waistline.  My best friend and I used to do this a lot.  And Phillip and I did it at my birthday dinner.  If no one's willing to split, you can always save half for take home...then at least you're paying for 2 meals instead of one (pretty standard practice for my grandparents).

Third idea is to ask the server if they offer half-sized or small portions (some places will do this at a lower cost), or ask if you can order off the kids menu.  This is what I did at Cracker Barrel today.  I got a kids meal of macaroni, green beans, and a hot chocolate (there were some healthier option like milk available too).  My meal was less than $4, so I was able to leave the waitress a 20%+ tip and still get out for $5 even.  I wasn't super hungry, so it was plenty for my lunch.  I was mainly there for conversation anyway.

In groups, you can usually get away with just ordering water and watching everyone else eat.  I went through a period or two where I *had* to do that.  I survived, though I think it often made the people I ate with feel a little uncomfortable.   Sometimes people took pity on me and gave me items off their plate that they didn't want (sometimes I ate pretty well that way)....always helped when there was bread on the table.

One time at O'Charleys, I just ordered a $1 scoop of ice cream...mmm, that was good.  My friends kinda laughed, but I think it made them feel a lot better that I was eating SOMETHING.  And I enjoyed it.  I ate something healthier at home later.

If you love the more expensive brands of sweets, keep your eyes open at outlets and discount stores for "blooper boxes" or candies that didn't come out pretty enough to meet the companies standards.  Jelly Belly puts out something called "Belly Flops" which look a little funky, but taste every bit as good as the regular Jelly Belly beans.

My over generous co-worker has reeked havock with my waistline, by bringing in her cholocate find from the Russle Stovers store.  You may have seen the Soho line of chocolates.  They're truffles with Pollock like "art work" gracing the top.  If I remember, a 9 piece box falls somewhere between $15 - $20.  My coworker scored a "blooper" box about the size of shoe box with these for $10.

I'm taking a little time out to watch "The Producers" tonight.  I'm a sucker for musicals.  I didn't rent or buy the DVD, but I checked it out for free at the library.

They had an article on AOL this week  talking about free attractions in several major cities.  I was delighted to find out that entrance to the Smithsonian was free.  I've been wanting to go back for years, and I'm finally getting a chance this month.  Do you know about the free stuff in your city?

I think one of nicest spots in Nashville is the atrium at the Opryland Hotel.  The rooms are expensive, but walking through the atrium is free.  In the summer we have something called Shakespeare in the park, which is just what it sounds like, productions of Shakespeare plays in the park which don't charge admition.  And of course there are the public parks themselves.  Recently, I've found an organization that offers free classes and counseling for small businesses in TN.  And I'm sure there's more I haven't untapped yet.

Try googling you city or town, and see what's out there.  A good place to start is the city government website, particularly if they have tourism or events section.  Feel free to comment with any good finds.