You can still eat out, even in a recession - - Get 5 tips to save tonight!
Thursday, June 18th, 2009My husband got deployed, and truthfully, with three kids, a house, a job, and more, cooking is the furthest thing from my mind. So, I have to fess up that we’ve been eating out way more than we should. But being the coupon shopper that I am, I make sure that everywhere we eat, we get a deal.
With my newly-found knowledge of lots of dining out, here are the four best pieces of advice I have for getting the best restaurant deals.
1. Gift Card Deals
Scope out restaurants that are offering special incentives to buy gift cards. I went to Claim Jumper restaurant with the kids, my mother inlaw, and her nephew for a special occasion. Claim Jumper was offering a $5 bonus gift card for every $25 gift card you bought. I went right to the hostess, bought $100 giftcard, and she gave me $20 free dollars good for a later visit. We promptly used the $100 gift card on the dinner we were going to buy anyway. Now however, I have $20 free dollars to use again on another visit.
2. Inhouse promotions
A few years back, my husband and I each signed up for a rewards card for McCormick and Schmicks. For $25, you got to sign up for the club. However, they mailed you out a $25 gift certificate, so in reality, it didn’t cost anything to join. Since we each got our own accounts, we listed each other as spouses. M&S sends each of us a free dinner on our birthday valued at $40, just for being a member. That’s two accounts, four meals, for $160 in free meals. You then accumulate points on everything you spend. They have a great happy hour with $1.95 appetizers, so many times we eat off the bar menu. And for every 500 points you accumulate, you earn a $50 gift card. The points are calculated before coupons and discounts. So you can see where this is going. Now, we go to Costco and buy $100 in giftcards to use for $79.99. So we save an additional 20% off our meals. It equals lots of cheap dinners at a really nice seafood restaurant. They then had an inhouse promo to sign up for their newsletter and get a free $10 gift cert. The savings just keep coming.
3. Costo gift cards
Costco in many areas offer discounted giftcards to local restaurants, typically at a savings of 20% off. But, since gift cards are essentially cash, unlike combining two coupons, you can combine a gift card and a coupon. So if you get $100 of giftcards for $79.99, and then the restaurant has a coupon available, you’re increasing your savings. One of my local restaurants offers a giftcard at Costco, but they also have a Buy One Get One free coupon they offer. By combining the gift card and the coupon, I’m getting one meal free and the other at 20% off - so the savings is about 70% off.
4. Entertainment Book Coupons
I always buy at least three Entertaiment Books each year, mainly for the grocery store coupons, but the restaurant coupons sweeten the pot. Going back to my McCormick and Schmick example, they offer a $20 off coupon in the Entertainment Book. By combining that with the Costo giftcards and the M&S rewards card, we can have a really nice dinner for about $20 (gratuity not included). The restaurant coupons in there really do save you money.
5. Restaurant.com
Lastly, Restaurant.com can be a tremendous savings. They discount gift certificates to local area restaurants across the country. The certificates aren’t completely free - there is usually some sort of stipulation around them, like “Spend $35 and get $25 off” and you bought the certificate for $4, so you really wound up spending $14, but it’s still more than 50% off. And during the course of the month, they discount them all the way down to 80% off.
Now if I had a secret for how to not put on the pounds while eating out, I’d be a genius! But in all seriousness, even in a bad economy, you can still treat your spouse or family to a night out at an affordable price. Just remember, always tip your server at the full price of the meal. Happy servers means restaurant owners will continue to offer great deals!
So enjoy your savings and a night off from washing the dishes!
