How to Save Even More Money on Fast Food

It seems like we've been on a pretty tight budget for a long time.  We've even got the whole McDonald's "Dollar Menu-Aire" thing down to a science.  When we're tight on cash, we can get in and out for almost nothing.
 

Four Amazingly Simple Ways to Save Money at the Fast Food Drive Through Window

When McDonald's introduced their dollar menu, it was a cool way to save a little money. Everyone loved their commercials introducing a new class of citizens: The Dollar Menu-aires. Now more fast food restaurants have value menus and more people than ever are ordering off of dollar menus. However, there are a few little tricks that can help you save even more money when you order off of the dollar menu.

1. Bring A Limited Amount of Cash. If you know that you will be ordering a McDouble, a side salad, and any size tea for $1 at McDonalds, don't show up with a $20 bill. You'll be driving past pictures of Big Macs, Super-Sized Fries, and Delicious Coffee drinks. But, if you only bring $3.50, you won't be ordering any of the expensive stuff. You'll be ordering the meal you originally planned to buy.

2. Bring a Cooler and Water. When money is tight, I'll throw a few bottles of water into a small cooler and bring those with me to the fast food drive through. It's an easy way to save a few calories and a couple of bucks at the fast food window. Even if you bring a soda from home, you'll be paying just a fraction of the price of soda at the fast food window.

3. Do Dinner or Dessert - Not Both. There's no reason to take in all the calories of fast food for both dinner and dessert. You've got to pace yourself a bit. We enjoy the new Oreo Ice Cream sandwiches at our local Steak-n-Shake. They are sinfully, delicious, and only $1. For just over $2, we get a little bit of heaven and we don't break the bank. We also impose a little bit of portion control by just getting one apiece.

4. Count the Carbs. If you are a guy, 60 to 65 grams of carbohydrates should suffice for a meal. For breakfast, that equates to roughly two Egg McMuffins at McDonalds and a bottle of water. At McDonalds for lunch, that pretty much provides for one premium burger or two smaller burgers up to a McDouble off of the Dollar Menu. You can forget the fries and you can forget the soda. You did bring the cooler right?

While it can feel a little strange not to order a super-sized value meal and it can be a little embarrassing to hand the crew member a crumpled dollar bill and 6 quarters to pay for your whole fast food order, your body and your budget will thank you for exercising a little restraint and a little self-control when you order fast food.