SO HERE YA GO ........... ANJIE'S TIPS AND TRICKS for saving money "eating out"
I was once interviewed by
MSN MONEY about how to save money EATING OUT vs. EATING IN! this can be especially helpful when you are traveling or your job necessitates that you entertain clients by WINING AND DINING THEM! You may also just NEED or WANT a break........... a little service and NO DISHES or SLAVING OVER A STOVE.......... but Going out to eat can be very expensive when you are trying to cut costs, save money etc you don't think about "going out" when you can cook "in" for cheaper, right? well THINK AGAIN!
there are many restaurants that are involved in BIRTHDAY freebies that I have previously posted on
here, and then there are
KIDS EAT FREE NIGHTS which also cuts corners............but I have even MORE ideas in mind which can keep "eating out" costs to a minimum click on the banner on LEFT for a GOOD COMPROHENSIVE LIST by the Coupon Divas!
ANYTIME
#1 EARN GC for DINING thru collecting points for prizes, search & wins, Credit Card rewards etc. RIGHT NOW I have in my wallet: RUTH CHRIS and MORTONS STEAK HOUSE $100 GC each from my CC that I LOVE
BLUE AMEX no annual fee card, low apr and YES YES YES earn points to CASH IN for these high quality restaurants! talking about LIVING LAVISHLY FOR LESS .......... oh heck yea!
#2 DO MYSTERY SHOPS: eat free and earn a stipend too! neva neva neva pay for this info, I have a list of REPUTABLE companies that I work for
HERE they are always looking for fresh faces to "get in the circuit" you just have to be articulate and reliable w/ this so you earn a GOOD REP. once you have paid your dues with the not so attractive shops you will be on the call list for the BEST SHOPS EVA! (not only do you get great meals but you can also get hotel shops too, I love to double up and do both on the same night!) RIGHT NOW I have a shop marked on my calendar for a SUSHI SHOP , I can order for pick up (not every shop allows this) and get $20 in SUSHI plus an extra $10 for my time! OH YEA BABE now thats what I am talking about!
#3 Share the Dinner! If you are going to a place that serves LARGE portions you may consider sharing or splitting a dinner and the dessert or appetizer too! My DH and I have found that doing this saves a ton of money and doesn't leave us feeling bloated or over-stuffed. Of course this isn't allowed at BUFFET style restaurants but most other restaurants have no problem with this practice at all. DRINKS are often over priced in restaurants (sodas etc) but Water is most often FREE and tastes great with a few slices of lemon or lime in it!
#4 B1G1F and Other "like" coupons.............
ENTERTAINMENT BOOK and local Discount cards often net you b1g1f dinners. We order the ENTERTAINMENT BOOK every year and we also order one for our VACATION DESTINATION as well, they pay for themselves rather quickly and even though we do not use an entire book on vacation we usually use at least 2 or 3 of the coupons which more than pays for itself and give the remaining coupons to a "local" as a RAOK
there is a GDA on this located right here on this blog RIGHT NOW if you want to get yours
GO HERE we also buy a $10 INDIAN CARD from our local high school each year (may be called something different in your area) this card is INVALUABLE for fast food here in our town and pays for itself OVER AND OVER .......... we get b1g1f at most of our local restaurants and use them at least 2x per month! ALSO we get a few B1G1F meal coupons in our email inboxes too
the latest are
TGIF GO HERE ****thanks to the Dollar Tamer for sharing this!
and
RUBY TUESDAY (click on image on right to get full sized coupon to print)
they are valid RIGHT NOW but ya gotta hurry they expire pretty quickly!
or go
HERE#5 LOYALTY CARDS , FREQUENT VISITOR CARDS
many places have these , but you may have to "spot" them to find out about them
I have never been TOLD about them but I have a FEW in my wallet that I have found at the registers. SHEETZ and PADOWS are just 2 that I have. The deal is you get a punch card and when you have made so many purchases you get a FREE ONE. I have a FREE COFFEE, FREE SUB and FREE SANDWICH all ready to redeem. BRUSTERS also has this for FREE ICE CREAM and
RITAS has one for FREE ITALIAN ICE............. nice little EXTRA goodie / reward
MY VERY FAVORITE is from
TGIF......... I have gotten serval GOODIES from here - they were the GOLDPOINTS program and now they are STRIPES! either way I love it! I often have purchased these cards from EBAY + gotten an
EBAY REBATE TOO filled and ready to redeem at a few of my favorites! :) yummmmmmmm
#6 LADIES NIGHT and OTHER "SPECIAL" night PROMOS. I haven't been to a ladies night in many moons (not telling) but I know they are still going on and get some notices very often about "happenings" in LA and in NYC...............I am there are many opportunities going on around the country but I am kinda "out of the loop" now that I live in the BOONIES (well, SEMI-BOONIES) on where to go for the free meals and/or free drinks for special nights, happy hours etc........... I am sure if you look in your local paper and listen to the radio you will find out about these type of events! :)
#7 RESTAURANT.COM - a FREELANCER FAVORITE has great local GC (with restrictions read them) usually $25 for $10 and they very often run SPECIALS as well. RIGHT NOW you can get $
25 for $2 and print them out and get THE BEST GDA on this site! DONT MISS OUT ON THESE THEY ARE GREAT
#8 USE YOUR SEARCH & WINS (left hand side of this blog / pull down) to look for your favorite restaurants CHAIN as well as LOCAL. FAST FOOD - FINE DINING............... go to their main websites in your spare time and sign up for any mailing list that may be available (make sure to fill in bday if they ask) and / or sign their guestbook. This will usually net you a discount or two throughout the year. AT THE SAME TIME you are earning points, entries or getting chances at winning prizes! HOW GREAT IS THAT?
#9 Sweepstakes, contests and Radio games I have been fortunate enough to win contests and been the X caller on the radio and won a few sweeps that have afforded me everything from a free appetizer booby prize to $100 GC at many restaurants. The best thing about winning gc is that you can COMBINE them with coupons/promos the restaurant may run, making it a double deal! You can win this type of prize(s) too, but you have to enter to win..........stay tuned to the newsletter, blog and more resources I will be introducing you to (SEE UPCOMING POST ON THIS) to win win win! :)
#10 Start your own business for TAX DEDUCTABLE MEALS.............. Mystery Shopping Costs, parties, restaurant meetings, client entertaining, Travel expenses, etc etc are all legitimate tax eductions when you run your own business . Sometimes the entire cost is tax deductable and other times only up to 50%. I am not a tax preparer or expert , but a simple search online (use your search and wins) can find you the correct url of the IRS that can explain these type of deductions to you, if you don't want to pay for this info. You can ask questions by telephone (may be a long wait but you can do this) and / or you can do a mystery shop for a TAX company (yes they are looking for those now some pay up to $200 to get your taxes done!). The info is out there. for WINS you can claim a loss for expenses up to the amount of your winnings. Expenses include, envelopes, stamps, telephone (% of time used) , computer (% of time used for business) Losing Lottery tickets, etc etc...........
BEST HINT EVER: get a job on the travel channel or food network going to different restaurants eating the best food in the world and then get paid for it, and oh yea, they also pay for your hotel! TOUGH JOB HUH? OMG............. WHAT A GREAT LIFE
2nd BEST HINT EVER: start a blog, go around to your local restaurants filming the event (especially the locally owned ones) and eat *use coupons too of course if available like the ones in #7 above............... EAT FOR NEARLY NOTHING, bring a
FREE business card with your blog address printed on it and give it to the OWNER of the store before you leave explaining that they may want to visit to read your review. (NOW THIS BECOMES A BUSINESS EXPENSE) OK you getting excited yet? Now once you have blogged about your review........... did you know there are sites that you enter your reviews "in" and get contest entries?
CHECK IT OUT HEREOK that's all I can think of , right off the top of my head............. but I am sure I will have more to share as time goes on. If you have ideas just comment here and share or email me and I will post them! XOXOXO
THERE ARE SOME PILLSBURY PRINTABLES HERE
