Switching To Kids' Meals Is A Budget-Friendly Hack When Ordering Out

Americans spent $482 per month, or $5,784 per year, dining out in 2023, according to research by ConsumerAffairs based on data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. While restaurant spending increased by 5.7% across the U.S. that year, consumers in South Carolina, Rhode Island, Alaska, Louisiana, and Colorado had especially high spending increases, spending anywhere from 41% to 56% more than they did in 2022. While 34 additional states spent around 10% more dining out, 16 states actually spent more time eating at home. However, a 2024 survey by Ipsos seems to indicate a change in 2024, with Americans reporting having dinner at sit-down restaurants 36% less in August than they did at the start of the year, while also having 33% fewer lunches at sit-down restaurants. Those numbers were about the same for fast food restaurants, with people having lunches and dinners 36% and 34% less, respectively. Unsurprisingly, the most significant changes were among Americans making under $50,000 annually, with over 40% reporting fewer dinners at fast food and sit-down restaurants. This could be one of the reasons why so many restaurant chains were struggling in 2024.

According to research by CivicScience, Americans have been trying numerous ways to reduce their spending, including dining out less, spending more on groceries, eating at less expensive restaurants, and tipping less than usual. While there are definitely some people you should never tip, your server isn't one of them. Instead, one idea could be switching to the kid's menu.

TikToker Ashley Garrett (@thedisneygirlie) explores the kids menu at various restaurants and presents her findings to her community of over 107,000 followers. Garrett swears by this unique idea, touting the cost and time effectiveness of ordering off the kid's menu as the primary reasons for adopting this strategy. Garrett even told Good Morning America she saves as much as $60 to $70 on her meal excursions every week. While this tactic can definitely help you avoid the unexpected ways that restaurants save money at the customer's expense, it could also be seen as controversial. Plus, it doesn't take into consideration the money you're wasting by ordering takeout instead of cooking your own food. 

However, strategies like paying attention to rewards programs, or looking for add-ons you can get to your meal at a reduced price can be smart ways to save money. For instance, MyMcDonald's Rewards offers new members a free large order of fries when they spend a dollar or more with the McDonald's app, and every dollar spent earns the equivalent of 100 points, provided you spend a dollar or more. Meanwhile the Steak n' Shake's Rewards program knocks $2 off of every $20 you spend, and even allows you to stack those points. It's also worth mentioning that Steak n' Shake's kid's menu is pretty decent, with steak burgers, chicken fingers, and milkshakes.

Fast food restaurants can be the best option when shopping kid's menus. Wendy's even leaned into kid's meal for adults during Halloween 2024, with its Boo! Bags special. The meal offered collectible figurines, a Dave's single burger, a small order of fries, a small frosty, and coupons offering free Jr. Frosty treats. The meal also included a sixth coupon for a discounted Wendy's kids meal with any purchase. If you're more health conscious, the good news is you don't need to totally sacrifice your health priorities in order to take advantage of the kid's meal strategy. Per Healthnews, the Wendy's kid's menu has the fewest calories, with one meal offered at just 246 calories. Second and third place belong to Chick-fil-A and Subway, with meals offered at 250 and 295 calories, respectively.

Beyond kid's meals, fast food menus can offer many affordable options. A basic hamburger at Burger King costs $2.89 while a 16 piece chicken nuggets cost the equivalent of around 31 cents per nugget. Similarly, Jack in the Box offers two tacos for 99 cents, and baskets of tiny tacos between $3.50 and $5.