This Is The Biggest Waste Of Money At Fast Food Chains (If You're Dining In)

A standard fast food combo has included a main dish, a side, and a drink for decades. Most restaurants also try to cater to the desires of diners by offering a variety of sizes. A large or extra-large drink can be tempting on a hot day, but it's often unnecessary when dining in, especially if refills are free. Better to save yourself a buck or two and just go back for more if you want some later.

Most large fast food chains offer free drink refills, but it can vary by location. McDonald's is set to phase out its self-serve beverage fountains by 2032, meaning each franchise will be able to decide for itself if it wants to offer free refills. Other chains like Burger King, Taco Bell, Five Guys, Chick-fil-A, and many more continue to offer free refills.

The price of a small fountain drink at Wendy's in New York is $2.79. A large is $3.99. That $1.20 may not seem like much, but it adds up. If you're dining with a family of four, that's an extra $4.80 per meal. Data from Zappi shows that 43% of Americans eat fast food at least four times a month. If you bought large drinks every time, that would work out to $230 wasted per year. Refilling a smaller cup when you're thirsty gives you the same amount of drink at no extra cost.

Free refills cost a restaurant pennies, so it's not a loss to offer them. The cost is covered by the initial purchase. Beverages have the highest profit margins in restaurants, often up to 90%. For the cup and the syrup used, a drink may only cost a chain like Wendy's $0.05 to $0.25. At $3.99 for a large, that's a good return for the restaurant.

If you want to get more drink for your money, another trick is to skip the ice. Although some people think ice is added to fountain drinks in order to cheat you out of your beverage, that's not really the case. Restaurants like McDonald's spend a lot of time and money researching the exact right size and shape of ice they need to cool a drink with minimum dilution. If you want more volume than colder temperature, you can skip the ice even when getting orders to go. Drinks in Europe are rarely served with ice, so it's not as uncommon as you'd think. If you still want ice, ask for it on the side in a separate cup.

When dining in, get more bang for your buck by stopping at the drink machine before you leave. Even if you drank enough during your meal, grab a refill on your way out. You can save it for later. Don't forget to take advantage of fast food loyalty apps as well, which can help lower costs. Want to stretch your fast food dollar even further? Check out our money-saving McDonald's hacks.