Tag: dining
There are 5 entries that are tagged dining. Now displaying reults 1 - 5.
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Going Out to Eat: How Much Should We Spend?
Posted on September 22, 2008 by Him
Hannah blogs about money and marriage at Monogamoney.com. Topics include saving, budgeting, investing, travel, and The Dark Knight.
Jon and I recently let a relative stay in our apartment for a week, while we were away on vacation. As a thank-you gift, she gave us a $150 gift certificate to a nice restaurant. And this presents us with a problem.
Jon and I have very different styles when we eat out. He'd rather go out less often, and spend more each time. He thinks that when we go to a nice restaurant, we shouldn't scrimp. We should each get an appetizer if we want one, we should get a bottle of wine, we should get dessert, because there's no point doing it if you don't have the full experience. I'd rather spend less, and go more often. I get more enjoyment going twice and getting only an entree each time, as opposed to going once and getting the works.
A few months ago, this perpetual disagreement led to the biggest fight we've had since we got married. We had a $400 gift certificate to a nice restaurant, which we received for our wedding. So we decided to invite two of our friends out for dinner. I wanted to strategize beforehand, so we could make sure we kept our tab under $400, hopefully even having enough to pay for the tip. Jon felt like I was spoiling the fun. He won; the bill came to $700. (In defense of my husband, he eats out like this only once or twice a year. And it was his birthday.)
The next day, after a little yelling and maybe a tiny bit of door slamming, we decided that before we go out for a nice meal, we'll label it a "Hannah" night or a "Jon" night. If it's my night, I get to control our spending, and Jon can't complain. If it's a Jon night, he'll order whatever he wants and I can't complain.
What do you think? Have you had any similar fights with your girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse? How did you resolve them?
Hidden Educational Costs
Posted on December 03, 2007 by Him
photo: powerbooktrance
I'm currently taking some classes in order to obtain a certification that will help me in my current job and in my career. Due to the specialty of the field that I'm in, this program is not common; in fact there are only 4 institutions in the world that offer it, and the one that I'm taking just happens to be the best one. In order to obtain the certificate, one chooses 4 classes in the curriculum and must receive a passing grade in each of the classes.
The classes are somewhat expensive at $1,400 each, plus the cost of books. My job covers up to $2,500 in educational expenses per calendar year; therefore I've elected to take 2 of the classes at the end of this year, and the final 2 classes at the beginning of next year. By doing this, I limit our out of pocket expenses to just $600 (plus books), which is all tax deductible. I also put the tuition on our rewards cards; in addition to being able to command more salary after I get the certification, the tuition payments will also help in paying for our honeymoon.
The one cost that I can't quite shake off is the cost of studying and doing homework in a coffee shop. While I love our apartment, it doesn't have any areas for me to buckle down and concentrate on studying and homework. Having computers, television, cats, refrigerator, chores, and everything else just makes it impossible for me to not be distracted. I attribute this to my college days; where I lived in college was always too rowdy and loud for me to get any studying done, so I always went to a coffee shop. Thus, when doing my homework for these classes, I've found myself in coffee shops around Chicago. It's almost Pavlovian: coffee shops just make me want to study.
For my first class, I went to a coffee shop 5 times to do homework and spent a total of about $30. Were the cappuccinos and pastries worth it? Well, last week I received my grade in the mail:
"A"
To me, it is definitely worth it.
Get Your Latte Factor On At The ING Direct Cafe
Posted on November 28, 2007 by Him
In October, Bird and Bills had a post about the ING Direct Cafe. I commented that I had been to the one in Chicago and would write a post about it. About 6 weeks later, I'm finally getting around to it...
About six months ago I noticed that an ING Direct Cafe opened up just off of the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. At that time I didn't have a chance to run in. A few months later I was running errands and around that area and also needed to make a deposit into my ING Direct account. I decided that a visit to the cafe was in order.
Before I went, I went to the ING Direct website to find out what it was all about. They have a page dedicated to the cafes, and I learned that there were also cafes in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Wilmington (that's in Delaware). Also on that page is a coupon for a free coffee, just for being a member. Free coffee? How am I supposed to get my latte factor on?
First off, here's a view of the outside. It's pretty hard to miss.
On the inside, there's what looks like a normal coffee bar.
The weird thing about the cafe is that all of the baristas are also bankers! You can order a latte and make a deposit, and the people behind the counter can do both. Another weird quirk is that deposits aren't really processed there...they are mailed off to a processing center in Minnesota (I think, it's been a few months since I've been there). So if you deposited money there, they'd have to mail it off to the processing center, and you'd still have to wait to have it post to your account.
They baristas were nice and friendly, and were indeed knowledgeable about all of ING Direct's products. After hearing that they didn't do anything I couldn't do own my on on their website, I ended up getting my free coffee and taking a seat to relax a bit, where they had various finance magazines on display for customers to read.
While I was there, I took advantage of their computers with internet access to check if there were any comments on this site. I also did the banking on their website that I wanted to do at their counter.
All in all, it is a pretty neat place. For someone with above average financial knowledge, this place is pretty much a gimmick, as evidenced by their awesome ING Direct motorcycle.
I think that their goal is to make people aware of their services in a non-traditional way. After walking by there the other night, I think it is working; there were many in the place who were enjoying coffee and reading. I think that this method of getting people to be more aware of their finances and saving is great. Since I practically lived at coffee shops when I was in college, it may have been what I needed to persuade me to start saving and paying attention to my finances at an earlier age. Or just drink more coffee.
Found a Restaurant Bill Mistake
Posted on June 13, 2006 by Her
Recently we went out to eat with a big group of friends. As usual, one person paid with their credit card and everyone else gave them cash for their portion of the bill. The friend who paid with the credit card didn't bother to read the itemized bill, and kept quiet when our cash didn't cover the bill. Fortunately, another of our friends did read the itemized bill, and discovered that we had been charged for some other table's drinks (plus our own). He brought it to the attention of the waitress, who corrected the charge. Our poor friend almost paid a fortune in over-charges just because he didn't check the bill (and was too polite to ask us for the extra cash).
It's always a good idea to check your bill, especially in a large group where it would be easy to overlook extra charges.
Tre Kroner (Good Eats In Chicago)
Posted on February 22, 2006 by Her
One of our favorite restaurants, Tre Kroner, was recommended in today's Red Eye. According to the author,
Tre Kroner, a 20-table storefront owned by Patty Rasmussen (a Norweigan-American) and her husband, Larry Anderson (a Swedish-American), blends the traditional dishes of its owners heritage and updates them for American palates. It also does a brisk brunch business, thanks - at least in part - to the delicious lingonberries, which make several appearances on the menu.
We first discovered Tre Kroner on the way to a dentist appointment. There was a huge brunch crowd gathered in front. Anyplace with a line like that has to be good! So we checked it out a few weeks later and fell in love with the place. For one thing, the food is heavenly. They offer a brief menu of perfectly-prepared dishes. Their omelets are the lightest we've ever had. We also really like their salmon eggs benedict and their rotating assortment of fresh-baked pastries, which are filled with lemon, apple, raspberry or hazelnut.
The atmosphere is very pleasant. The restaurant is staffed by attentive, cheerful Swedish-looking waitresses. The setting is unique in that it occupies two floors of an old home. The downstairs dining room is bustling with activity while upstairs it is quaint and peaceful. Even the upstairs bathroom is charming, with its lace curtains and antique claw foot bathtub.
The prices are so reasonable they almost seem antique too. We've never spent more than $25 including tip on breakfast for both of us. It's a charming little place where you can enjoy a great meal at a great price.
We recommend: Tre Kroner!
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