3 major ways I save money when eating out
Saving money is like a competition for me. I like to see how close to free I can get, or how many times I can get free stuff. When I started couponing, I would search the web for restaurant coupons I could print last minute before my husband and I headed out to dinner. Then I discovered freebies with email sign ups. Then discount gift cards, etc, etc. Anyway, here's all the ways I save money when eating out.
1. Coupons
It's easy to get coupons to most national chain restaurants, but you can also find some for local favorites. Here are 3 places I check for and find restaurant coupons:
- Online. You can just do a Google search "coupons for _____" and you'll find something like 80 percent of the time. I usually end up finding free printables on www.retailmenot.com. Some places will let you just show the coupon on your phone if you don't have the ability to print it before arriving at the restaurant. You can also sign up for emailed coupons and deals from your favorite restaurant websites (I've gotten entirely free meals from places like Zaxby's when I've done this!).
- By mail. Wherever you live, I'm sure you get "junk mail." Flyers from local businesses, local newsletters, etc. In my hometown, we get 3 different kinds of "junk mail" with coupon offers inside. Our city sends out a newsletter monthly full of local events and articles, and sometimes I find coupon offers from restaurants nearby. The second thing I often get is a flimsy newspaper looking thing with coupons for things like toothpaste, chain pizza restaurants, and other fast food chains. The third thing is also delivered monthly; it's called a "Valpack." It comes in an envelope and it has mostly coupons for local businesses and mom and pop restaurants.( I also often find coupons for oil changes at my preferred Goodyear/ Auto Whiz location and almost never pay full price for an oil change and tire rotation on my car :-)) Sometimes you can also find printable Valpack coupons. I snag those when I can for towns where my family likes to vacation.
- Coupon books. I buy the "Enjoy the city" (also known as, "Coupons for Classrooms") books." They are $20 if you buy from a child selling them as a school fundraiser, but they more than pay for themselves. Coupons in here include everything from restaurants and grocery stores, to travel and entertainment. There are even coupons for haircuts. Shane used ONE coupon this week to get his normal haircut and saved $12. That almost pays for the book with just one coupon! There are a ton of "buy 1 entree, get 1 free" restaurant coupons, which is fantastic for date nights with the hubs! Even better if the portions are large; then "buy 1 get 1 free" turns into 4 meals for the cost of 1!
2. Discount Gift Cards
With coupons, you can only use one per person, or sometimes just one per table. Discount gift cards however, you can combine with coupons to save even more! Or for me, I like to raise the stakes with the gift cards. Shane and I usually share a drink, or just get waters when eating out. If we eat at a sit down restaurant, we try to split a larger meal. If we're grabbing fast food, we hit up the dollar menus! Oh, and Sonic is my favorite: we will eat a late lunch there so we can snag their drinks (1/2 off), and grab burgers and fries off their value menu during happy hour!
Discounted gift card websites buy unwanted gift cards from people, then resell them for a discount. It's a win-win. It is important to note that as with anything you buy online, there is a risk to buying discounted gift cards. Not only are you trusting the company to deliver the product you purchase, but also the stranger that sold the gift card to the company for them to resale. I have been buying discounted gift cards from three different companies for a couple of years now. I have purchased dozens and hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards, but I have had 3 that ended up being no good. In all 3 situations, someone sold the card (2 of them were e-gift cards) to the company, received their checks, then waited a month and returned the gift cards to the restaurants for a refund. HOWEVER, in all 3 situations, I was quickly refunded for my purchase from the gift card companies, and those who tried to make a quick buck by stealing from those companies received their punishment!
With that said, here are the 3 websites I buy discounted gift cards from:
Discounted gift card websites buy unwanted gift cards from people, then resell them for a discount. It's a win-win. It is important to note that as with anything you buy online, there is a risk to buying discounted gift cards. Not only are you trusting the company to deliver the product you purchase, but also the stranger that sold the gift card to the company for them to resale. I have been buying discounted gift cards from three different companies for a couple of years now. I have purchased dozens and hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards, but I have had 3 that ended up being no good. In all 3 situations, someone sold the card (2 of them were e-gift cards) to the company, received their checks, then waited a month and returned the gift cards to the restaurants for a refund. HOWEVER, in all 3 situations, I was quickly refunded for my purchase from the gift card companies, and those who tried to make a quick buck by stealing from those companies received their punishment!
With that said, here are the 3 websites I buy discounted gift cards from:
- Giftcardzen.com. This is my preferred site. They usually have the highest discounted gift cards, they are quick to mail or email them to you after purchasing, and they have the best customer service.
- Raise.com. I can find almost any gift card off of raise. They are very trustworthy.
- ABCgiftcards.com. I've only purchased one gift card from this website, but I was pleased with my purchase. It was a $100 Chipotle gift card discounted to $85. I bought it with paypal.com, and at the time paypal gave me an additional $15 off my purchase for using them as my payment method. So, I got a $100 Chipotle gift card for $70! That was like 4 free burritos!
3. THe restaurants themselves
Pretty much every restaurant has special offers, and sometimes they themselves will give you coupons for your next order. Here are 3 ways restaurants will help you save with them:
- Loyalty offers. Some restaurants will give you a punch card, making your last punched purchase a free meal or a dollar amount off. Or, Papa Johns for example, will give you points toward a free pizza if you register on their website. I have received many free pizzas over the years with Papa Johns, plus there is ALWAYS a special offer or coupon to take advantage of! Also, with pizza places, you can easily save $5 by just getting in your car and driving down the road to pick it up yourself.
- Happy Hour. A lot of restaurants have discounted drinks and food between 2 and 4pm. Some of the fancier restaurants let you order off their lunch menu until 4 or 5 pm. Texas Roadhouse gives their more popular dishes out for less than $10 if you come in and order before 6 pm on weeknights.
- Coupons inside the restaurant or tucked in your bag of food. Sonic does this ALL the time. So do a lot of fast food chains.
- Offers via text message. Tropical Smoothie Cafe texts me offers all the time for free smoothies. Sonic notifies me when it's 50 cent corndog day (yes, we eat a lot of Sonic). Dairy Queen texts me half price blizzard offers or lets me know when it's customer appreciation day or free cone day.
- Customer Appreciation Offers. Chick Fil A gives out free chicken sandwiches one day a year if you dress like a cow. Dairy Queen also has one day a year where EVERYTHING is half off! You just have to watch for them, but restaurants like to reward their customers.
- Free Kids meals. I have not taken advantage of this yet, but am on the prowl for those offers now. Moe's (I think) does free kids meals on Tuesdays. So does a local Mexican restaurant. Steak N' Shake gives free mac n' cheese and applesauce with the purchase of any meal!
I hope I have encouraged you or helped you think up ideas on how you can save money when dining out. If you like competition, challenge yourself to see how low you can make that fancy meal cost. You'll be grinning ear to ear and feel like you're "winning" when you walk out the door. Please remember to tip your hard working waiters and waitresses well with all that money you're saving!