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I enjoy eating out, mostly because I don’t have to do the cooking or the cleaning. However, I don’t like paying the high price tag that comes with eating out. With a family of 7 (and 3 kids that can no longer eat of the kids menu) we don’t eat out all that often as a family. When we do eat out, I always try to find a way to save some money.
Here are some of the things that we do that save us money when we eat out:
Restaurant.com – I have used Restaurant.com tons! They often have sales, so you can end up getting a $25 restaurant.com gift card for only $2-3. By using these gift certificates we can drastically reduce our bill for nicer restaurants. Our final bill is usually fairly close to what it would have cost us to eat out at a fast food restaurant.
Free Gift Cards – I have earned gift cards for FREE by using MyPoints. I have been able to redeem my points for gift cards to Panera Bread, The Cheescake Factory and more.
Restaurant Websites – If you have a restaurant that you really enjoy, you should check out their website. Lots of times they will have printable coupons or email clubs that you can sign up for. Here are a just a few of the websites offering deals:
- Sweet Tomatoes – They will email you coupons for Buy One Get One FREE meals and more.
- Famous Dave’s – They will send you a FREE offer on your birthday ranging from a FREE dessert to a FREE All-American feast.
- Qdoba – Exclusive offers and FREE gift on your birthday.
Entertainment Book – I usually always buy the Entertainment book each year, there are lots of coupons in the book that can get you FREE food.
Groupon – I am finding that Groupon is a great way to get some great discounts for local restaurants. I picked up the discounts they had for Fatburger and Garlic Jim’s. Keep an eye on Groupon for your area and something may pop up that interests you.
IKEA – Ocassionaly we take advantage of the great food deals you can get at IKEA. IKEA regularly has FREE food for kids or $1 Meatball meals.
Skip the drinks – Sometimes we will skip the drinks all together and just go for water. It’s healthier and cheaper!
Share a Meal – Sometimes restaurants serve an enormous amount of food and there is no way I could eat everything that is on the plate. Instead or ordering a kids meal for my daughter, we will occasionally share my meal. It’s a great way to save money and not feel stuffed too.
What are some things that you do to save money when eating out?
Sarah says
we never go to traditional sit-down restaurants – rather, to self-serve type places (like panera). food seems less expensive, plus no tipping, i guess. plus they make more sense for (our) small children, since leaving them with a sitter isn’t in the budget.