David and I like to eat out. A lot. Sometimes my mom asks me if I ever cook... But eating out on a tight budget can be difficult, so in order to feed our habit we've discovered ways to keep it cheaper. Here are some of our tips:
1. Sign up for email clubs.
I set up a separate email account for my coupons because I sign up for everything and that generates a lot of junk mail. Despite all the junk you'll get, these email coupon clubs can actually be worth it. Usually there's a decent offer just for joining, something for your birthday (I alternate which birthday I sign up with), and some other offers in between.
2. Join loyalty programs.
If you're like us at all, you have a few restaurants that are real favorites. Right now, we're in a rut of Freebirds and Fazoli's. Freebirds has a loyalty card that gets us a free meal for every ten we buy. While these type of loyalty programs don't necessarily save you money every time, if it's somewhere you apt to eat often, it's worth it.
3. Do receipt surveys.
We ate at Fazoli's for free most of last summer by working their system. I signed up two email addresses for their email club and printed the initial offer of free spaghetti for a free meal for both of us. On the bottom of the receipt there is a survey for a free spaghetti coupon, so our next meal was also free. They eventually changed the survey coupon (probably because of people like us), so you now have to buy a drink to get your free spaghetti. Still, I keep a stash of receipt coupons and we can eat for less than $5 total. I check receipts from every restaurant and store and often do their surveys.
4. Find the deals.
This may seem like an obvious tip, but it's important. Most restaurants have deals or specials that you can take advantage of. For example, some restaurants sell souvenir cups and then offer refill prices if you bring back their cup. We take advantage of this type of deal at Rudy's BBQ and Fuzzy's Tacos. While it may not save you that much, every penny counts! Other restaurants have even better specials. Freebirds (our current obsession) has a two taco combo for $5- that's two tacos with as much as you want on them, chips & salsa, and a drink for only $5. David loves this deal and often sounds like a Freebirds commercial when he suggests it after church. If you find the deals, you really can save a lot of money!
