The Great 'Clever ordering techniques... eg, "double cheeseburger with Big Mac ' Hunt

ThinkingOfLinking

kimbles wrote: »

When my partner and I go to Burger King, we order his food as one of the value meals but 'super'size it so the fries and drink are the large size. Then I just order a burger on its own and we share his fries and drink.

Making a meal a super size only costs and extra 50p but it would add a few pounds onto the total if we just got a burger, fries and drink each.

That's a great idea. We do this with fish and chips: Order one portion of fish (which contains 2 pieces in our part of the world), and one single of chips, which works out much cheaper than buying two full meals and is more than enough for the two of us.

bookbuyer

Half a pint of beer or lager and half a pint of lemonade in a pub are usually cheaper than a pint of shandy. Some bar staff need to be persuaded to loan a pint glass though !!

kriss1977

In a reversal of the Chinese takeaway idea posted (making the rice while you wait for the mains to be delivered), sometimes only fish n chip shop chips will do... I like a steak and kidney pie and chips but buy a pie in the supermarket earlier in the week (freeze in advance if you don't fancy chips that week), pop it in the oven before I leave for the chip shop, take a leisurely walk down the road and by the time I get there, get served and get back, it's ready!! YUM!

ishrav

Hiya,
i sometimes do make my own rice when i order an indian - if you don't want it always boiled, just fry it in a bit of oil for a few minutes first and then add water - it'll be just as nice as the takeaway one - and you could always go one step further and add some frozen peas

another thing to do is buy naan/pitta breads from your local supermarket and then when your takeaway arrives, microwave them or pop them in the toast for a few seconds and then spread butter on them - lovely butter naan at less than half the price of the takeway ones!
:T

qetu1357

Not a new one but take your own drinks and snacks when you go to see a film.

Caterina

If you use Starbucks and have their card, a few savings tricks:

Always order and pay every item separately e.g. Coffee for you and tea for your partner, two separate transactions. This helps you keep the number of transactions up to reach or maintain gold status, when you get freebies (whipped cream, extra espresso shot, soya milk, syrups).

Once at gold you can make a lot of fancier drinks for the price of a single espresso (£1.45):

Americano: ask for a very long double espresso in a larger cup, you can even ask for extra hot water to top it up. All an Americano is, is a double espresso with a lot of water!

Cafe creme: double espresso as above, ask for a side serving of pouring cream. Even fancier, ask for whipped cream. Always ask for it on the side because you get more than just a shot in the cup!

Iced coffee: ask for double espresso, separately ask for a tall cup full of ice cubes. Sweeten the espresso first (if you take sugar/ sweetener) then pour on ice cubes. Ask for a glass of tap water on the side if you want to make your iced coffee even longer. Top with cold milk or cream or whipped cream, or drink black for a very refreshing drink.

Fancy "cappuccino style" coffee: starting from your basic (long) double espresso, ask for syrup in the drink, topped with whipped cream, swirled with caramel. Sprinkle it liberally with the free cocoa/vanilla/cinnamon.

Latte: ask for your long double in a tall cup instead of a small one, top liberally with their warm milk that they keep in the jug. Or ask for a side serving of warm/hot milk and top your coffee to taste.

For the health freaks among us (me included!): Decaf Soya Latte: ask for decaffeinated double espresso and warm or cold soya milk on the side. If you like your latte very milky you can always ask for a second helping of milk or soya milk!

Macchiato: usual espresso then ask for hot foaming milk as a side, pour a splash in your coffee, to taste.

The variations are almost infinite!

Money saving disclaimer: it is a LOT cheaper to make your drinks at home, rather than give Starbucks all the custom required to reach Gold (you need 50 transactions to reach Gold). However, if you have an unbreakable coffee addiction or have factored your Starbucks expense as an allowable treat, then you might as well make the most of it.

Keeping_Positive

We order 20 nuggets and separatefries and drinks for the kids and I at mcds instead of separate meals. Can also save by ordering one less fries. We just split it using the box and a bag.

MrOrchard

Great ideas, already doing some of them such as the rice, but the others are fantastic, shame Starbucks coffee is so horrible though

liz545

I like iced coffee, but I don't like milky drinks like iced lattes. So I order an iced Americano with room for milk, and just add a splash of milk. It's just as refreshing as an iced latte but much lower calorie and it's cheaper too!

coolster1

kboss2010 wrote: »

When ordering a takeaway (Chinese or Indian) I make my own rice in the time it takes to deliver. Usually saves about £4 for 2 people.

I actually stopped boiling my own rice since I got hooked on instant microwaveable rice!

I absolutely adore Veetee's peri-peri and pilau rice. The cheapest you can find them is between 85p-£1. Aldi and Iceland only stock the plain or pilau rice, peri-peri I'd buy during the various multibuy promos all year round at the big supermarkets.

Yes, it's more expensive than making your own, but it's cheaper than takeaway rice