4 Ways To Save Money Without Giving Up Takeout

1. Check your active subscriptions

Subscriptions are the bane of everyone’s budget. They’re easy to accumulate, and hard to remember to get rid of. Chances are, you’ve got at least a few subscriptions that you could par down. There could be a few random app subscriptions that you forgot to cancel — and you probably have a couple of subscriptions that do the exact same thing. Try to cut down to one streaming service and one music service for at least a few months, and see how much money you save. Chances are, it’ll be enough to soothe the blow of not being able to access every single one of your comfort movies on demand.

2. Skip getting delivery

We’re not saying you have to skip getting takeout, but what if you order it for pickup instead of delivery? Just ordering directly through a restaurant’s website can already save you loads of fees that online delivery services add to the menu — that’s right, you’re paying higher prices well before you even see the cost of your delivery fee. Take off the cost of the service fee and delivery, and you could potentially save over $15 every single time you place an order. That’s practically a whole extra meal’s worth of money saved.

3. Stop buying bottled drinks

Skip the bottled water and opt for a water filter instead, which will save you tons of money on your next grocery store trip. Cutting back on sodas and bottled drinks like tea can also help save your budget; the latter you can make yourself at home for much cheaper, while some have had success with replacing the former with cost-effective solutions like sparkling water, juices, homemade coffee, or homemade tea. Don’t fall for the bottled drinks while you’re out at restaurants, either, as they’re often much more expensive than what they’re really worth.

4. Save where you can on your food budget

If you want to spend money on takeout, you should try making a frugal grocery budget for yourself. Don’t splurge in things like ready-made meals, which are often marked up — even just a couple of premade meals can seriously cut into your grocery budget. Batch cooking cost-effective meals and freezing them isn’t just about saving time by meal prepping, but will also save you lots of money on food at home and prevent you from accidentally wasting precious ingredients. Look for sales, coupons, and discounts, buy in-season foods to get the best prices, and plan out a full shopping list that suits your budget before you go to the store.