Giveaway: Ghirardelli Gourmet Milk Chocolate Gift Packs

Written by WellHeeled on January 9, 2012 · 56 Comments

Is there anything in the world that’s better than rich, indulgent chocolate? (OK, maybe, but not many…).

That’s why I’m so excited to be working with Ghirardelli on a giveaway to promote their new Gourmet Milk line of “upgraded milk chocolate.” Two lucky winners will receive a gift pack includes 4 bars of each of the following flavors: Gourmet Milk Creamy Devotion with rich and creamy 32% cacao milk chocolate, Gourmet Milk Sea Salt Escape with sea salt and roasted almonds and Gourmet Milk Coconut Rendezvous which features toasted coconut flakes. That’s 12 bars in a gift pack!

One of my favorite things to do is to kick back at the end of the day with a good book, a cup of tea, and a bar of chocolate or a few pieces of truffles – purchased with my chocolate budget, of course. It makes me feel positively indulgent when I do that, and it’s much cheaper than going out. Besides, life is just sweeter (pun intended!) when it includes chocolate. And you better gather ye chocolates while ye can – after all, our favorite cocoa treats be as expensive as caviar in 20 years.

Please see the Rafflecopter form below (click here to see the permalink) for ways to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Categories: Blogging, Food - Tags: reader specials, win free stuff

I Can’t Buy A Regular Cake Because I Am Having a Wedding (or, My Time In The Wedding Twilight Zone)

Written by WellHeeled on November 7, 2011 · 46 Comments

The title says it all. A bakery refused to sell me one of their regular cakes because I told them I am getting married. Hence begins my experience in the Wedding Twilight Zone.

(This is a plain white cake, much like the cakes that the bakery wouldn’t sell to me once they found out I was having a wedding).

Here’s what happened. As a devout cake-lover, I knew that I wanted my guests to have a delicious cake at the wedding. So I found a well-regarded bakery and reached out to the owner. The website shows two pricing schemes: one for wedding cakes ($5.50 per person or around $150 for 28 people) and one for “event” cakes ($45 for a cake of comparable size).

Here’s how my conversation in the Wedding Twilight Zone went:

Me: Hi, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions about your cakes. I am looking for a cake next year.
Bakery owner: Oooh, how wonderful! Are you having a wedding?
Me: Yes, actually, so I just had a few questions. In my head: oops, should I have said that? But I don’t want to LIE to her. I was wondering what’s the difference between the wedding cakes and the event cakes.
Bakery owner: The wedding cakes are a nice two-tier cake. There is a $150 minimum order.
Me: Oh, okay. I am having a really small, casual wedding. Can I buy a regular event cake instead?
Bakery owner: Oh, no. The event cakes are a completely different look. They are like.. birthday cakes! You’d need to get the wedding cake. Then there’s the delivery fee…
Me: I understand. But I’m not asking for a wedding cake for the price of a regular cake. Can I just buy a regular cake?
Bakery owner: No… wedding cakes and event cakes are completely different. You’d have to get a wedding cake.
Me: Fine, can I just get a regular cake for a ah, regular event, then? I can even come pick it up.
Bakery owner: awkward silence
Me: All right. Thank you very much. Let me think about it.

What Is The Wedding Twilight Zone?

The wedding twilight zone, I propose, is that weird disruption in the space-time continuum where once a store hears the word “wedding”, it will refuse to sell you, the customer, anything that is NOT wedding related. Despite your insistence to the contrary. Despite you asking them what is the difference between wedding vs. non-wedding. (See this BBC video for an illustration).

The wedding cakes and the event cakes share identical flavors. For the same size, the wedding cake costs more than THREE times as much as the regular cake. From what I can see on the website, the wedding cakes are more beautifully decorated. The regular event cakes, however, are just fine for my purposes. I don’t want to pay an extra $100 for a second tier and more decorations.

So, I understand why a wedding cake – which the bakery prepares with more effort and decor – costs more. I understand that many items have a “wedding premium.” I’d expect the owner to be peeved if I bought an event cake but expected a more elaborate wedding cake. But I don’t! If I just wanted a plain, frosted cake – for WHATEVER occasion (which was really none of the bakery’s business) – why couldn’t I buy it? It is really frustrating. The owner was perfectly polite, but the exchange still left me slightly bewildered and indignant. I don’t want to have to dance around the subject and say it’s a “special event” or a “fancy luncheon” or a “graduation” to buy what I want to buy.

Give customers what they want!

This business owner lost out on my business. I get it – it’s better to sell a wedding cake at $150 than a regular cake at $50. But it wasn’t a matter of whether I will buy a lower cost event cake or an more expensive wedding cake from her bakery. It was whether I will buy an event cake from her. Which she apparently did not want.

CB suggested that we call back closer to the wedding and just tell the bakery it’s for a birthday or whatever. I told him no. The owner sounded like a nice-enough lady and the cakes got great reviews online, but I am not going to jump through hoops for her to take my money if she doesn’t want it. Let her eat her own cakes!

Have you ever been trapped in this Wedding Twilight Zone where once the store finds out you are having a wedding, they won’t sell you any none wedding items?

image source: by Volantra via Flickr

Categories: Food, Spending - Tags: all things wedding

iDine Review & Giveaway: Money Back for Eating Out

Written by WellHeeled on October 31, 2011 · 10 Comments

One of my biggest discretionary spending is eating out. I love trying new places to eat and not cleaning up after a meal, so over the years have funneled thousands of dollars to bistros, cafes, restaurants, and creperies. Imagine my delight when the folks from iDine contacted me and told me about a program where I can earn up to 15% money back on what I spend at restaurants. In exchange for my review, I will receive a $50 American Express gift card and will get a $20 gift card to give away to one lucky (and hopefully hungry!) reader.

What is iDine?

iDine is a rewards network where you can earn money back for eating out at participating restaurants. Once your benefits hit $20, you get an American Express gift card. What sets this network apart from others is that there are no additional cards, coupons, or certificates needed. In fact, the server and dining companions won’t even know you are part of a “discount” program.

How Much Do You Earn?

If you spend $1-$250 in a year, you receive 5% back in the form of an American Express gift card.
For spending between $251-$750, you receive 10% back.
For spending over $750+, you receive 15% back.

For more details, check out the membership chart.

How to get the American Express gift cards:

You have to sign up and opt in to marketing emails from the network.
You also have to put in at least one credit card into the system because that is how iDine track spending. You can add up to 5 credit cards.
iDine has a list of restaurants that participate in the program, of course to receive credit for dining, you need to go to one of the participating establishments.
Finally, you will need to finish a survey within 30 days of your dining out experience.

My experience with iDine

I signed up the Last weekend CB and I went to The Bottle Room in Whittier, CA, after we visited a friend. The restaurant has a cool lounge vibe, and the food (we got a burger and a flatbread pizza) were good as well. This was a restaurant I had wanted to try out.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many restaurants were in nearby neighborhoods, many restaurants we’ve already been to and several more we were thinking of going. We spent around $40 for dinner, which means we would earn $2 in cash back. It doesn’t seem like a big amount, but we probably spend ~$4,000 a year eating out. Even if half of that spending is at iDine restaurants, over the course of a year we would get over $200 back in American Express gift cards.

To enter the $20 American Express iDine giveaway:

Sign up for iDine and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so
Leave a comment telling me what restaurant you’d like to try
Tweet: Win $20 iDine AmEx Gift Card @WellHeeledBlog http://tinyurl.com/3zrw7go

Each entry will be 1 point, so everyone can enter a total of three times. The contest will end at Sunday November 6 at 12pm midnight PST. Good luck!

Categories: Food - Tags: reviews, win free stuff

It’s Expensive Being Social

Written by WellHeeled on May 18, 2011 · 21 Comments

Recently I have been seeing many more friends than I usually do, and while I love and enjoy their company, it’s expensive being social!

Sure, there ways to be social without spending a lot of money. I’ve written about those ways before, as have 99% of personal finance bloggers out there. I love those ideas. Most of these ideas (game nights, potlucks, cooking at home), though, work for once-in-a-while get-togethers. But I argue that it is hard to consistently hang out with friends WITHOUT going out, and thereby spending money.

These past few weeks I have caught up with several friends that I haven’t seen in months. We caught over brunches, lunches, and dinners. We caught up over morning coffees, afternoon teas, and evening sangrias. All of this catching up has resulted in some very unusual spending. I don’t even want to look at my credit card bill right now.

For the most part, I don’t mind. I know as long as I don’t make a habit of spending $500 on food every single month, I will be OK. It is really nice to see friends and enjoy a delicious meal together.

It is really nice to be social. But it’s also expensive.

Business Insurance Experts Premierline Direct

Categories: Behavior, Entertainment, Food - Tags: eating to my heart's content, making friends

My 21 Day Detox

Written by WellHeeled on April 17, 2011 · 16 Comments

Detox diets and cleanses are big business, especially among young professional women. Prices can range up to hundreds of dollars a day, with organic juice cleanses delivered straight to your door. But I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars to go on a detoxification diet. With so many resources available, I can design my own detox diet (which will be MUCH more lenient than any of these detox diets I’ve read about), which won’t cost me any money at all.

From tomorrow Monday, April 18 to Sunday, May 8, I am embarking on a self-style detox.

As someone who is utterly devoted to epicurean pleasures, I won’t be going on a fast or a liquid diet- I fear for the safety of those around me if I were to stop eating! Instead, I’ll make my 21 day detox period a time to develop cleaner, leaner, and healthier eating habits.

My dietary habits range somewhere between lackluster and atrocious. They are not healthy for how I feel on the inside nor how I look on the outside. I hope that 21 days of detox will kick start a better eating regime, which should in turn give me more energy.

Here is everything I am giving up on my detox:

Caffeine (including lattes and black tea)
Red meat – this will be difficult as I am a HUGE meat-lover, so I’ve built in a cheat day (see below)
Alcohol
Cookies and cakes
Crackers
Cheese
White bread
White rice and pasta
Any drink that is not water, milk, soy milk, or tea
Fries, including sweet potato fries (my absolute favorite)
Butter
Airline salted peanuts
Jam
Bacon (again, I love bacon, so this will be hard)
Pizza
Ice cream (sob)

Here is what I will allow myself to have:

Fish
Chicken 1x a week
Red meat (probably a burger!) once during the 21 days
Unsweetened oatmeal
Water (hot, cold, with lemon, etc.) – I will drink 8 oz a day (6 if I drink a lot of tea)
Green tea and white tea
Low-fat milk, soy, and yogurt
Vegetables (preferably steamed)
Fruits
85% dark chocolate (hey, at this concentration, it’s practically an antioxidant!)
Whole grains
Brown rice
Eggs
Baked sweet potatoes
I can cheat on the sweets / cookies / cakes ONE TIME

Originally, I had thought about delaying this detox because I will be traveling heavily for the next 3 weeks. But when is it EVER a good time to change one’s diet habits? If I use the “it’s a bad time” excuse, I will never start. For some people, my “detox” might be a day of exceptionally bad eating, but for me, it’s truly a 180 in how I eat.

Aside from the physical benefits, I also hope this detox will also confer financial benefits. I should be more limited in going out to restaurants. Even if I do go out to a restaurant, I’d be ordering steamed veggies, which should be cheaper than steak and potatoes.

If you’d like to join in on the detox (or have previous experience with detoxes), please chime in!

Categories: Behavior, Food

Starbucks Rewards Card: A Good Deal for the Frequent Drinker

Written by WellHeeled on March 11, 2011 · 44 Comments

Starbucks, you win.

My coffee shop fix has been a little over the top lately. I go to Starbucks about 3-4 times a week, in addition to sprinkles of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Nordstrom Cafe visits.

CB and I like to go to coffee shops during evenings and on weekends – he studies for his GRE, I work on my freelance work. All those $5 here and there adds up, and we show no sign of quitting the java. So night I finally caved in and signed up for the Starbucks Card rewards program.

With Starbucks Rewards, you will earn 1 Star every time you pay with your card. Once you get up to 5 Stars, you get a small offering of free services, such as free flavored syrups, free soymilk, free refills on iced tea, etc. I am probably most excited about the free soymilk, as I love my chai soy lattes. For every 15 Stars, you will get a free drink. You also get a free drink on your birthday. Plus, you can you can always exchange gift cards in case you want to get another one.

Since the Stars are based on per transaction, I wonder if I can break up all my purchases into separate transactions. In any case, I have sort of admitted defeat to the lure of Starbucks.

Anyone has a Starbucks Card and is earning the rewards?

photo courtesy of Starbucks.com

Edit: ~~The winner of the Cholula 4-pack giveaway is Julia C! Congrats Julia~~. Winner is Hedy. Thanks everyone for entering!

Categories: Entertainment, Food

Food Budget Inflation Rampant: Time to Wave the White Flag or Double Down and Try Harder?

Written by WellHeeled on February 15, 2011 · 38 Comments

In the Me vs. Food Spending competition, the statistics are currently thus: Food Spending 10, Me -3

Fighting a never-ending battle with food costs

In November 2010, I spent $336 on Food & Dining ($185 groceries / $151 restaurants). In December 2010, I spent $297 ($78 groceries / $219 restaurants). In January 2011, I spent $279 ($20 groceries / $259 on restaurants). Granted, some of these splits might be biased because CB tends to pick up groceries on his way from work, and I will often pick up the check at restaurants to make up for the difference.

food 300x145 Food Budget Inflation Rampant: Time to Wave the White Flag or Double Down and Try Harder?

via flickr/clspeace

Still. For someone who had a ~$200 food budget just a few years ago and who had expected cohabitation to decrease food costs (because we can split groceries! and magically bond over cooking like characters in romantic comedies! – I was obviously not in my right mind), these numbers are a little hard to accept.

The truth is, I don’t like to cook after I come home from work. I find cooking time-consuming and thankless. *CB thanks me when I cook, as I do when he cooks, but on the whole I think this whole daily-grind-cooking (as opposed to special-occasion-cooking, such as a dinner party or a lovely brunch), is one of the most thankless jobs out there. Mom, I don’t know how you did it.

I’d rather pick up extra freelance assignments, or work longer hours and try to get a bigger bonus – in other words, I’d rather make more money to afford buying good food than try to scrimp and budget in that regard. But making more money takes time, while resisting the 6th restaurant visit in one week can be implemented immediately.

Resign to the higher food budget? Or make an extra effort to cook more?

On the one hand, is $300/month food budget for one person really that unreasonable? On the other hand, I can easily cut $50 or $100 out of the budget if I just cooked 3-4 more nights a month. Is cooking 3-4 more nights a month really that difficult? I know CB is also finding that our profligate dining out habits to be a drain on his finances. Given that neither of us lack things to save for, isn’t it worth more effort to cook?

I don’t know the answer to this. But I do know that I am hungry.

Categories: Budget, Food, Spending - Tags: dining out, dinner, having fun

The High Cost of Healthy Groceries

Written by WellHeeled on December 7, 2010 · 34 Comments

The common perception is that cooking at home is always cheaper than going out to eat. Most of the times, I think this is true. Lately, I’ve trying to cook at home more, both to save money and to help myself meet my fitness goals. After I started tabulating our grocery bills, though, I’m not sure how much money we are actually saving. It turns out that CB and I actually have pretty high standards when it comes to our groceries: I want items that are healthy, delicious, and convenient (which means pre-cut, individually-packed, pre-cleaned, etc.).

I am trying to incorporate more fish and high quality meats and vegetables into our diet (trying to improve my nutritional intake, from, say, three years ago). These high standards, not surprisingly, translates into high cost of groceries. I’ve been buying a lot of frozen wild salmon ($30 for eight 6 oz. individually vacuum-sealed fillets), frozen Tilapia loins ($15 for 6-8 loins), Greek yogurt (I like FAGE, which costs $1.99 for one small container), and other fares such as organic noodles, pre-cut butternut squash, and brown rice. CB is resisting it, but I am hoping to move us onto pastured eggs before long.

The fish is especially expensive – I try to have fish (wild Alaskan salmon or Tilapia, although I am attempting to branch out) twice a week. Our monthly fish budget – assuming we get 1 pack of salmon and 1 pack of Tilapia – is almost $45! Yikes. I also like to get a big container of FAGE Greek yogurt for snack during work every week. At $5 a carton, that’s a cost of $20 a month. If we start buying pastured eggs, a dozen would cost $5 to $6.

I think we need to start really keeping track of our food expenses. Or else, I’m going to eat us out of our house and home. Almost three years ago I asked readers what was your food budget. At that time, my groceries budget was $110. Now, I’ve set our grocery budget at $250-$300 a month for the two of us, although I hope to stick to the lower end of the scale. A benefit of cohabitation is that we can pool our grocery monies together and buy in larger quantities, so I am hopeful that our money will stretch further.

So, let me ask again – How much do you spend on groceries a month? And, what kind of healthy produce / meats do you buy?

Categories: Budget, Food

Fitness Boot Camp Journal: Days 4-5

Written by WellHeeled on November 24, 2010 · 6 Comments

Day 4 (11/23)

Today was a kickboxing cardio class. Lots of punches, kicks, lateral runs, sprints, and jumping jacks. Then crunches. Remember how I said Day 3 was the hardest workout I’ve ever had? Well, Day 4 is a very close second. Lots of muscles are sore, including many that I have never known existed.

Day 5 (11/24)

More strength, resistance, and balance training with tubing, balance discs, and fitness balls. Have you ever heard of the bridge exercise on the fitness ball with a heel dig? I haven’t. Until Day 3. This exercise works your glutes and forces all the little muscles in your abs and back to kick in action. Then today, we did it again. And maybe I imagined it but I could’ve sworn that I was stronger than Day 3. For a lot of the exercises, I had to stop briefly to just let myself rest a little or grab a sip of water. After the workout, my thoughts were: 1. every muscle in my body is sore. 2. I have really, really weak arms.

**Day 4 was also my first weighing / measurement. Every six weeks, the trainers will weigh participants and measure their waist and hips, and body fat percentage using body fat calipers. These are small clothpin-like devices that measure skinfolds to calculate how much subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin) a person has.

My initial measurements are:
Weight: 103.6
Body fat as a % of weight: 29%-30%
Waist: 27
Hips: 35

As a note, I am barely 5’1 in stocking feet, and am considered small-boned.

I am not happy with these numbers, and frankly I was a little dismayed at my high body fat percentage. Depending on which body fat chart I look that, 30% body fat is either on the edge of the acceptable / optimal range or has already crossed over into the too-high range. I shouldn’t be surprised though – all those years of no exercise and eating whatever the heck I want (which usually includes fried foods, oily foods, and lots of sugar and sweets) has caught up to me.

Given my petite build and my weight history, I know somewhere in the mid-to-upper 90s is a healthy, happy, and maintainable number for me. Through the end of high school I was always a steady 96-97 lbs. And I certainly have not gotten any taller since high school! But my primary focus won’t be on the scale. Instead, I am looking to lose fat to bring my body fat percentage down to 23%-24% and to lose 2.5-3 inches on my waist and 2 inches on my hips. If I meet those goals, the weight will come down naturally. Basically, I want to be my high school shape, but with more lean body mass and less fat.

It’s not just about vanity

A toned midsection is nice, but vanity is not the only reason I want to lose the belly (although I’d be lying if I said aesthetics doesn’t matter at all). Abdominal fat is especially dangerous because it contributes to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, and certain types of cancers. According to a Harvard Medical School article: “Abdominal, or visceral, fat is of particular concern because it’s a key player in a variety of health problems — much more so than subcutaneous fat, the kind you can grasp with your hand. Visceral fat, on the other hand, lies out of reach, deep within the abdominal cavity, where it pads the spaces between our abdominal organs.” I need to be especially vigilant because the women in my family tend to carry excess weight around the stomach and the hip region.

Hello balanced meals, we meet again for the first time

Exercise is only one part of the equation: I DO know that my eating habits ave to change. I read somewhere that to change one’s appearance – even small changes in tone, definition, losing a few inches here and there – is 70% diet and 30% exercise. It doesn’t matter how much I work out if I just go back to unhealthy eating habits after ward.

Through my boot camp I have a nutritional plan that put my daily caloric requirement at 1,200-1,447 calories a day. I almost cried when I saw that range – it is so small!! I will definitely swing towards the higher end of that range. And, as I hate the feeling of hunger (or even just a nibble of hunger), I will have to be very smart with my food choices and get high density foods that is filling but healthy. I might even get an iPhone app to make sure I am meeting all of my nutritional and caloric requirements through 5 small meals a day.

Slowly, I am coming around to the concept that eating healthy is something I have to do permanently. Every day. For life. As someone who have been able to eat just about anything she wants, as much as she wants, with little “visible” consequences until a few years ago, that realization was a little depressing. I know, I know, the world’s smallest violin is playing for me right now.

The bottom line

In six weeks it will be the start of 2011. In previous years, I would greet January by making an easy-to-break New Year’s Resolution to get “healthier” and “more fit” without any action to back it up. But if I keep up with my boot camp and learn to develop healthier eating habits, I will already be on my way to a healthier lifestyle by January 1, 2011. And that would be pretty great.

Categories: Food, Health

Chocolate Will Be As Expensive as Caviar in 20 Years

Written by WellHeeled on November 11, 2010 · 24 Comments

Remember my chocolate budget? Well, I better start saving much more money because in 20 years, chocolate is going to skyrocket in cost. According to a chilling article by Gizmodo, the world is running out of chocolate!

At the rate we’re going, chocolate is going to be a rare—and extremely pricey—commodity within the next twenty years.

What will the shortage mean? $11 Snickers bars, sooner than you think. Pretzels given out for Halloween. Or more candy made from carob, a poor substitute for the sweet and sticky real deal. And a tectonic shift in how we view our mochas, according the Nature Conservation Research Council’s John Mason:

“In 20 years chocolate will be like caviar. It will become so rare and so expensive that the average Joe just won’t be able to afford it.”

Imagine all the things that would be affected by this shortage: hot chocolates, s’mores, mochas, Spanish mole dishes, Hershey’s Kisses, chocolate croissants, brownies, chocolate cupcakes….

I wish I had something more cogent to say about this shortage, something about market pricing or consumer behavior. But all I can say is…

NOOOO!

Categories: Food, Luxury

Food Waste: Throwing Money Away

Written by WellHeeled on October 6, 2010 · 39 Comments

Something I find a little embarrassing is how much food we waste in our home. There is something unsavory about tossing away food – to have good food to eat is a luxury for many people across the world, and even in America. Not to mention that I paid good money for the often organic / grass-fed / cage-free groceries I buy and I am literally throwing dollars down the drain (or the trash) whenever I toss another box of barely eaten berries or wilted veggies or mealy apples. At least I have figured out a way for preserving bread.

When I was living alone, I had to toss out a lot of food because I can never finish them. Now that I live with another person, it is still difficult to finish all the fresh meal, produce and fruits that we buy. Sometimes, we just plain forget about the food that we have, and by the time I remember, it’s already too late. Other times it’s a matter of poor planning – we might shop the Thursday before a weekend get away, and by the time we are back on Sunday we go to dim sum instead of scrambling eggs because no one wants to cook, and the food is spoiled when Monday rolls around. We are also not big fans of grocery shopping, so my ideal life is to do it twice a month and call it a day. You can imagine how well that works out.

If I am truly honest with myself, I probably throw away $20-$30 a month because of food waste. Looking into my refrigerator right, I see almost a full box of blueberries ($3), a carton of curry ramen ($3), half-eaten rice and beef kebabs ($4), a package of baby bok choy ($2), half a shallot ($1), and half-a-carton of cage-free eggs a week past the expiration date ($2). That is $15 right there, gone to waste.

Lately, I have resorted to buy almost all frozen foods – frozen, pre-cut veggies, frozen salmon fillets, frozen garlic naan, etc. And chocolates. At least this way I know my food won’t go bad before we have a chance to eat it. But man (and woman) cannot live on frozen meals, chocolates, and wine alone. I want to have some fresh fruits and veggies in our diet, so I guess I will just have to be more mindful of when to finish food before the expiration date.

What are your tips and tricks for combating food waste? How much money do you think you lose because of food waste?

Categories: Food

Coupons on a first date, yay or nay?

Written by WellHeeled on September 28, 2010 · 23 Comments

Even romance can’t escape the recession – lately, I’ve been seeing frugal dating tips everywhere. One thing I’ve read is to use a coupon on a first date.

I love eating out, I love good food, and if I can do it for 10% or 20% or 50% off, all the power to me. CB and I have no qualms about busting out a restaurant.com coupon and enjoying a $60 meal for $40, or going to Restaurant Week, or ordering specials. But using coupons on the 293rd date is very different than doing so on a first date.

Using coupons on a first date, especially in a restaurant, a bit awkward to me. ChowHound had a very spirited debate on this matter, with the Yay-coupons coming slightly ahead of the Nay-coupons. I think I’d lean towards Nay to coupons on the first date, and this is why:

First date should be the time when you are extra careful to make sure the other person is comfortable. A coupon might give the appearance that someone picked the restaurant only because of the discount, and not because of its great lighting or special tapas or cool drinks menu. Even if that’s not the case (i.e. the asker has a coupon to a great restaurant that he/she already knows and loves), I’d much rather avoid the impression.
Most coupons require that you announce the fact that you have a coupon at the beginning of the meal. Some coupons are really hard to figure out. Buy 2 entrees and get an appetizer (but not entrees in the XYZ section) or spend $50 in these categories and get 20% off. The date might feel as if he (or she) must order in a certain way because of the coupon, and that’s not cool.
Some waitstaff are not as attentive when you mention that you have a coupon. It’s not right, of course, because people should tip on the original amount so the waiters who provide the same level of service should receive the same tip from a party using a coupon and a party that doesn’t. But I’ve gotten bad service just for only getting water and not the cocktail the waitress pushed, so.. imagine if I used a coupon. Again, having a snippy waiter is something to laugh about when you have been dating the other person for a while, but it can add to the stress on the first date.

The one thing that I don’t like is how using (or not) coupons is seen as an indication of character. For the purpose of simplicity I will make the very general assumption that men tend to ask ladies on dates and women tend to be asked (understanding that there are no hard-and-fast rules and that this gender dynamic rules out gays and lesbians).

In the ChowHound thread most of the comments either said that men who uses coupons are either financially responsible stewards of money or cheap stingy penny-pinchers. And that women who don’t like coupons are gold-diggers who are only out for a free meal ticket. I would never discount someone for using a coupon on a first date, but my personal preference is against it. But coupon is a coupon – you can’t extrapolate that one instance to make assumptions about a person’s whole financial outlook / money management skills (good or bad).

Instead of having my date use a coupon at a more expensive place on a first date, I would much rather have a first date at a cheap neighborhood place or a a taco truck. First dates don’t have to be expensive (seriously – my favorite taco joint sells $0.80 tacos – get 15 of them, grab a bottle of $6 Moscato, and take me on a picnic. I will swoon), but it should be comfortable for both people.

Coupons on first dates can bring mixed reactions, so I say it’s best to wait until the dating relationship is a little further along before those 2 for 1s and buy one get one 50% start coming out. Of course, if both people met on CouponCupid.com, then go forth and coupon!

So.. coupons on a first date. Yay or nay? I’d be very interested in hearing feedback from both guys and gals.

Categories: Food, Love, Spending

Eating Out On Vacations

Written by WellHeeled on September 22, 2010 · 26 Comments

This weekend CB and I traveled to the absolutely beautiful city of Boston and had a grand ol’ time walking around, meeting up with friends, and eating. Lots and lots of eating.

All this eating has turned into quite an expense. We were in Boston for three full days – in those three days we had:

3 dinners, including a grand lobster dinner at Legal’s Sea Food
5 brunches/lunches (picture on the left is of the crab cake benedict at Stephanie’s on Newberry. They cost $18 but was 100% worth the price. I can tell that it’s all crab, no filler. Thank you to Saving My Bacon for introducing me to this restaurant!).
2 coffee breaks
1 donut run (can’t pass up Dunkin’ Donuts, can we?)

The total cost of all our meals for two hovered around $350, or around $60 per day, per person. That is much higher than we normally spend, but I tell myself it was a vacation.

What is your philosophy when it comes to eating out on vacations?

Forget the budget and satisfy the senses – after all, it’s a special occasion

OR

Keep the wallet in check to avoid a spending hangover after the trip

I’d like to think I maintain a healthy balance between the two, but when it comes to food and touristy experiences (Duck tours – $65 for two tickets, anyone?), I veer on the side of it’s a vacation! I did stay in one of the cheapest options I could find in Boston ($140/night hotel), so I gave myself a little more leeway to enjoy the culinary delights the city had to offer.

Categories: Budget, Food, Travel - Tags: eating to my heart's content, vacation

Sushi: An Expensive Culinary Habit

Written by WellHeeled on June 9, 2010 · 30 Comments

I am far from the suavest of sushi aficionados (try as I might, the most adventurous I get in terms of raw fish is with tuna sashimi, and I love rolls). Even at a more pedantic level of enjoyment, however, sushi is an expensive culinary habit.

Case in point: Last Saturday night CB and I went to a new sushi restaurant that had gotten rave reviews from my friends. The place did not disappoint and was entirely reasonable for a nice Saturday evening meal. Still, for two people, with no drinks, the total tax & tip came out to $50 for three specialty rolls (with all of my favorite ingredients – spicy tuna, unagi, crab, roe, avocado, cucumber, tuna, and salmon), and a bowl of green tea ice cream. The food was beautifully presented and delicious, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere cozy.

It was a wonderful dinner, and I view our $50 bill as money well spent. After all, sushi are truly works of art – it costs money to prepare the labor-intensive dishes and to purchase high-quality fish and other seafood. At some other restaurants, the cost of sushi can go as high as your wallet will expand (or is it contract?). I doubt that I will develop the sense of adventure or sophistication necessary to truly enjoy sea urchin, squid, or octopus sashimi. I do know, however, that I’ve graduated from $5 spicy tuna rolls at the mall sushi shops, and I don’t think I can go back. We’ve all heard of lifestyle inflation. This might be the very first step on my road to sushi inflation.

How often do you eat sushi? Are you willing to spend more on sushi than on other meals? What is your favorite dish?

Categories: Food, Luxury - Tags: dinner, worth the money

Bringing Lunch to Work

Written by WellHeeled on April 19, 2010 · 37 Comments

Personal finance experts often cite bringing your own lunch to work as one of the ways you can save big. It’s no surprise – at $5 to $10 per meal, eating out at the office every day can put a dent in a young professional’s budget. I haven’t made any specific goals with regards to bringing lunch to work yet, except, well, I should be doing that at least somewhat frequently. For the sake of both my budget and my waistline, bringing lunch to work is a smart way to go.

There are not many appetizing options around my work, so the good news is that I won’t be tempted by an In-N-Out or a good pizza joint right down the street. But I also don’t want to just eat lunch from home all the time – it’s fun to grab a bite outside with coworkers, and sometimes nothing can curb the appeal of a big Chipotle barbacoa burrito bowl (with extra corn salsa, of course). I’ve decided that 4-5 times of eating out at lunchtime a month is a reasonable amount for me, or $40 to $50 a month. Other days, I will bring my lunch.

Right now, my midday culinary choices aren’t the most adventurous – I’ve brought veggie curry & rice, chicken & potato soup, chicken & rice (see a pattern here?), and… chicken & mushrooms & rice. I need to get more easy-to-make but still delicious (and healthy) lunch ideas! I hope to slowly branch out into… more soups, and maybe a salad here or there. Every time I cook, I try to make enough food for at least 2 meals – both dinner for the night and lunch for the next day, or I’d set a pot of soup in the slow-cooker and have it for both meals the same day.

How much do you spend on lunch a month? And what do you bring?

image source: frugalmania.com

Categories: Food

The Chocolate Budget

Written by WellHeeled on March 21, 2010 · 23 Comments

If you are not a fan of chocolate like I am, you might be slightly confused by the concept of a chocolate budget… but if you love all things chocolate (like I do), then I’m guessing you understand where I’m coming from.

(Doesn’t this picture pluck at your heartstrings taste buds?)

My love for chocolate is quite democratic. I love artisan chocolates garnished with exotic or unconventional ingredients such as sea salt, bacon, or pepper, but I also will happily munch on peanut M&M’s or Hershey’s Kisses.

Every time I wander by a Godiva store, I am compelled to go in… it’s almost as if the Mother Ship is calling me home! I try not to buy anything, though, a small box of two truffles cost almost $5. Still, every month a bit of my budget goes to chocolate-related goodies: hot cocoa mix, candy, cupcakes, ice cream, or yogurt… you get the idea. Most of the times I head to Trader Joe’s for its offerings.

That’s why today was such a happy day. Last month, I gave my boyfriend a AAA membership for Valentine’s Day. To thank me for purchasing the gift membership, AAA gave me the option of a certificate for a free 1-pound box of See’s candies or… something else (I stopped paying attention after I read that chocolate is one of the choices).

So today CB and I went to a See’s store and picked out a customized 1-pound box filled with goodies (my favorite is dark chocolate so the dark nougats and the dark pineapple butter cream were especially delicious). Now I will try my hardest to make the entire box last longer than 3 days. No promises, though.

How much money do you spend on chocolates and chocolate-related goodies a month? And what is the one chocolate maker that I MUST try?

image source: flickr.com

Categories: Food, Spending - Tags: worth the money

How Much Is That Wine In The Restaurant?

Written by WellHeeled on January 11, 2010 · 33 Comments

I almost never order alcohol in restaurants because I have to drive home afterward (and cabs are expensive). That is a good thing, because I recently learned that how high markups can be: a bottle is marked up 300% in restaurants over the wholesale price, or 200% over the retail price (see WSJ article on pricing formula).

Cheaper vintages tend to be marked up at a higher percentage (300% – 400% of wholesale) compared to more expensive ones (150%-200% of wholesale).

That means a $20 bottle you bought at a grocery store would cost you $50 at that bistro down the street. WOW! I was always under the impression that wine markups were high, but I had no idea how high.

Also, as can be imagined, more expensive restaurants may have higher markups.

In most cases, the fancier the restaurant, the higher the markup. A top-tier chef, a team of sommeliers, a large wine cellar and expensive stemware are all built into the wine price. Because pricier restaurants typically have fewer tables and less turnover, they need to make profits on fewer bottles sold.

Buying wine by the glass is even more costly. Restaurants tend to charge the wholesale bottle price for a glass – so that they make back their investment with the first glass (see this ChowHound thread about wine markups) and protect against loss if any bottles have wasted wine.

WSJ recommends that diners avoid ordering by the glass if possible – for reasons of taste as well as value.

If the wine in an opened bottle doesn’t sell in a few days, for example, best practice is to pour out the spoiled wine — but whether that happens or not is a matter of conjecture. For diners looking to maximize the value per ounce, ordering a pricier bottle may be a better choice than ordering by the glass.

A few nights ago I went out to a cheap burger & fries place where the entrees top out at $10 or $11. A friend ordered a couple glasses of red. The restaurant didn’t even say what type of red it is. She forgot to check the price, but assumed that it was $5 or $6. Turns out it was $9!! Two glasses added up to almost $20. Talk about high markups!

I’m trying to become more educated on wine… and I think I shall begin with my education at home, where I can drink excellent Pinot Noirs & Chardonnays purchased at Costco for $10 or $15. These bottles, according to formulas on markups, may cost $30 or $40 at a restaurant.

What type of wines do you order at restaurants? Do you ever buy wine by the glass?

image source: weblogs.cltv.com

Categories: Food - Tags: consumer behavior

With Dim Sum, You Always Win Some!

Written by WellHeeled on December 10, 2009 · 18 Comments

If you’ve never tried dim sum before, boy are you missing out!

Dim sum is a brunch originating from Southern parts of China. In many metropolitan areas (especially coastal regions such as New York City, the Bay Area, and Southern California), dim sum is widely accessible. Many Chinese restaurants serve it in the morning until 3pm in the afternoon.

Dishes are served in small plates (think tapas), which makes it perfect for sharing with a group. There are a variety of savory and sweet dishes (although if you are a vegetarian, your choices will be severely limited. If you’re a vegan, then I imagine most dishes are completely off-limits). At some restaurants, servers will push around carts filled with steaming plates of pork buns or shrimp-stuffed noodles. If something catches your eye, you can order the food straight from the cart. At other restaurants you will be given a menu (some with pictures) and will order from there.

Dim sum is also a budget-friendly brunch choice. With prices as low as $1.50 a plate (usually includes 3-4 pieces), a brunch for 4, including tax and tip, ranges from $35-$50: an incredible value for the quantity and tastiness of the food you receive. Delicious and budget-friendly – what else can you ask for?

Some of my favorite dishes are lotus-wrapped chicken, BBQ pork buns (I like the ones with the glazed top, not so much the steamed version), fried taro cake and fried turnip cake, shrimp rice noodle rolls, congee with salted pork and thousand-year-old eggs, and egg tarts. As you can tell, I have many favorites… the one thing that I am NOT partial to, however, is “Phoenix Talons” (or, in less elegant – but much more realistic – parlance, chicken feet). My favorite tea is Chrysanthemum.

What are your favorite dim sum places?

Categories: Food - Tags: brunch