Welcome to A Dollar A Day, where every day we'll dish out creative and quirky ways to save on your living expenses.
Looking at a restaurant's wine list can be a particularly daunting task. Foreign languages and flowery language aside, buying a bottle of wine can be, well, kind of a rip-off. Bottles of wine are typically marked up to three times the wholesale cost, reports the Wall Street Journal. And don't get us started on the price of a nice scotch.
Our solution: Bring your own. Before you go out, Google "bring your own booze restaurants" in your neighborhood. Pick up a bottle of your favorite Syrah and enjoy your meal without worrying that you're spending too much on alcohol.
Watch out: Some BYOB restaurants charge a corkage fee that can get pretty expensive. Call ahead and check.
Note: Bringing your own bottle doesn't have to just be about saving money -- it can also be about adding a bit of sentimentality to a meal. For an anniversary, choose a bottle of wine that was bottled in a significant year. Or, find a wine that was served at a special occasion in the past (wedding, birthday, bar mitzvah, etc).
Tip: The Wall Street Journal advises that you should tip the waiter as if you ordered your wine from the restaurant's wine list. Even if you bring your own bottle, the waiter is still going to uncork it for you and make sure your glass is full throughout the meal.
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