As much as I love to cook, I also love to eat out. For some reason, food just always tastes better when you aren’t the one who prepared it. My son is always pestering me to make him sandwiches and when I point out that since he is twelve years old now he can now make them himself, he always explains that they just taste better when I make them. Yes, I’m a sucker, I know. Anyway, I love to eat out, but I hate to spend a lot of money to eat out. This does not mean that I am limited to McDonald’s for my culinary outings…
I very rarely eat out anywhere without a coupon. When I say very rarely, I mean that I must be eating with someone who hates every restaurant for which I have a coupon. As soon as someone asks me to go out to eat, I run for the coupon stash. There are always great coupons available. The Sunday paper always has coupons for restaurants. Check your mailbox too. The mailers that most people just throw away are filled with coupons for local restaurants. Also, there are always coupons books that are free that are usually available at gas stations, laundromats, nail salons, etc.
If all else fails, check Restaurant.com. There are many offerings on that site and you can often score $25 certificates for $10. Just make sure that you read the fine print. Sometimes they are only good for dinner, or you have to spend a minimum. Watch your e-mails for Groupon and Living Social deals. There are frequently coupons for restaurants that I have been wanting to try. Sign up for the restaurant e-clubs too. They send out coupons all the time.
Buy one get one coupons are my favorite, but 20% off coupons are great too! Sometimes it will just be a free appetizer, but whatever it is, you just saved money! Don’t forget to tip your server based upon the pre-discounted total. That was a huge pet peeve of mine when I was a server!
Where do you get your restaurant coupons?
