Have Your Cake and Eat It Too! Eat Out and still Save Money!

• Eat out at restaurants for lunch instead of dinner. The menus are often the same, or at least very similar to evening meals, but the prices are often much cheaper.
  

• Clip restaurant coupons out of the paper and keep them in a binder for future use. Also make a note of any specials like "friends eat free" or "dads eat free " nights at your favorite restaurants. If you have children, look for "kids eat free nights". Many restaurants will have specials to attract business on otherwise slow nights, such as Mondays and Tuesdays. Be sure to check your bill to make sure the discount was included. One of our local restaurants advertises "kids eat free" on a certain week night, but they only give you the discount for kid's meals if you specifically ask for it.

• Participate in a restaurant coupon program. For a small fee for processing and handling you can receive coupons for restaurants of your choice. This simple program can save you over $1000 dollars for just a $10 processing/handling fee. Take a look at itsabargainbasement.com.
• Sign up for email lists that any of your favorite restaurants may offer. Restaurants often send out discount coupons this way. Also make note of early bird specials. If you are old enough, check to see if your favorite restaurant offers special menus for seniors.
• If you feel like getting out of the house but can't afford a full meal out, eat dinner at home and just go out for dessert and coffee.
• One of my favorite things to do is visit Restaurant.com
  where I can purchase a $25 gift certificate for only $10. This is beneficial in two ways. I can purchase a gift for a friend or I can use the certificate myself. I have found some great local restaurants that I may not have tried had it not been for this site.
• One more way to have your cake and eat it too is to get the recipe of your favorite dish from your favorite restaurant and make it at home. I have found a great recipe book to get all my favorite recipes, and for those days when I just can not justify spending any money eating out, I can still treat my family to something special. Take a look to see if your recipe is here.