How much should I budget for dining out?

Creating a personal dining-out budget starts with a clear understanding of your current spending habits. Begin by tracking your dining expenses for a month. Keep receipts or make notes of each time you eat out, including the cost. This will give you a realistic picture of your spending patterns. Are your dining choices leaning more toward impromptu takeaways or planned restaurant visits? Finding out is crucial in understanding where your money goes.

Once you have this data, categorise your dining-out occasions. Are they mostly social gatherings, work-related, or convenience-driven? This categorisation helps in identifying areas where you can potentially cut back or reallocate funds. If you find that a significant portion of your budget goes to work lunches think about taking a packed lunch to work so you have more to spend on dining out.

This is the toughest step in the budgeting process. Set a monthly limit for dining out. This limit should be realistic and flexible enough to accommodate special occasions, and having a tastecard is going to help a lot. Whatever your limit is, your tastecard can help you get more for your money with two-for-one meal deals and discounts of 25% off your total bill. Sticking to your dining-out budget is a lot easier when you can get savings like these.

Your tastecard is your ticket to unlocking incredible savings at a wide array of restaurants across the UK and at more places than just restaurants. Whether you're planning a romantic dinner, a family day out, or a casual lunch with friends, your tastecard can unlock some super savings. With a huge choice of chain restaurants and independent eateries on offer, you can enjoy more dining out experiences every month by dining out with your tastecard.

For those who cherish their daily coffee ritual, tastecard’s Coffee Club can put even more wonga back into your wallet. Your morning latte, afternoon espresso, or a comforting cappuccino on a rainy day won’t just taste good, it’ll feel good too. The Coffee Club is an ideal way to indulge in your coffee passion without the guilt of overspending on your love of lattes. A tastecard gets you 25% off barista-made coffee at 1000s of independent coffee shops across the country and at chains including Caffè Nero, Krispy Kreme, Black Sheep Coffee, and more.

One of the joys of dining out is taking the opportunity to explore a new culinary world without straining your finances. A tastecard membership opens the door to a diverse range of dining experiences across the UK whether your palate leans towards the exotic flavours of international cuisine or the comforting familiarity of British classics. There is a massive menu of dining out options available with tastecard, each offering a trip for the tastebuds and savvy-savings along the way. A tastecard is your ticket to dining out in style while staying on budget.

Images sourced directly from partners and/or their Instagram accounts. All restaurants available on tastecard at the time of publishing.