Because we are average people, we like to save a buck.  What helps a lot with all the dining out are coupons from Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com.  If you don't use these, you should definitely check them out.  How it works is, you get emails from them (or you can go search their websites) and you can purchase, for example, a $24 gift certificate at a particular restaurant for $12.  This way you can check out new places for a lot less money.  The amounts vary from place to place, and there's a lot of things besides restaurants; vacations, kayak rentals, rock climbing, hair and nail services, just loads of stuff.  BUT, pay attention!!!  There are conditions--coupons may be only good on certain days, or certain locations, or for only lunch and not dinner--you have to read the fine print.  And then there's the question of what happens when your bill doesn't come up to the amount of the certificate, as was the case the last time we used one.  Stay tuned for THAT review.