“Convenience, low cost, deliciousness: Pick Two.” That used to the conventional wisdom when ordering delivery. In other words, if you wanted a delicious, conveniently-timed meal, you were going pay through the nose for it.
But times have changed, and delivery services have evolved. If you don’t have the patience or energy to make a weeknight meal, you don’t have to reach far into your pockets to afford something delicious and convenient.
For those times when you don’t want to cook, here’s how to order food that delivers big flavour and minimal cleanup – on a budget!
Find a Service that Offers Fee-Less Delivery
The first order of business is to do away with those pesky service and delivery fees. It isn’t uncommon for some food delivery apps to tack on a 20 or 30% surcharge to your meal simply for the convenience of delivery.
But not all delivery services exact such steep fees. You can find fast food delivery services like getREEF that offer fee-less delivery in 30 minutes or less. It isn’t a promotion or limited-time free delivery coupon, either; it’s built right into their business model that you don’t pay any fees. You can save a lot of money simply by choosing your food delivery service wisely!
Choose Meals That Are Cheaper to Order than Make
Some meals are cheaper to order than to make at home – and it pays (literally) to know which ones. For instance, to make hamburgers for two, you need to buy buns, ground beef, an entire package of cheese, a whole head of lettuce, tomatoes and condiments. Once you tally those costs and compare them against the price of delivery burgers, delivery starts to make more sense.
In this article, you will find a few everyday food items and meals that are cheaper to order than make at home.
Set up a Bill-Splitting System with Friends
If you’re ordering with friends, you might worry about being saddled with the bill. After all, it’s your account or app that’s ordering the food.
Don’t sweat it; just work out a bill-splitting system in advance. If everyone has Venmo, kindly ask them to Venmo you a share of the bill after you know what the final amount is. Likewise, email money transfers work, as do other bill-splitting apps or cold hard cash. Everyone will understand if you mention it in advance.
Refrigerate Lunch Specials
If you’re ordering for a solo meal or even a family dinner, consider ordering in advance. Occasionally, delivery kitchens will offer lunch specials with slightly lower prices than their evening offerings. Order these specials at lunchtime, then refrigerate them until dinner time. It doesn’t work for every food (sorry, fried chicken and fries), but several foods hold well in the refrigerator.
Convenience, low cost, convenience: You can pick all three. Follow the tips above to save money on your next eat-in experience.
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