Reducing Dining Expenses

I spend a fair amount every month on dining out expenses. I go out to eat lunch everyday with a group at work and my girlfriend and I usually go out 1-3 nights a week and I typically pick up the bill.

So far I have really only done a couple things to reduce these expenses:

1) Signed up for a Bank One credit card that offers 3% rebate on restaurants.

2) All of my cards are on a free dining rewards account so I can earn airline miles if I go to a participating restaurant automatically.

3) Use restaurant coupons received in mailings such as ValPak.

4) Coupon Books - I also bought "Enjoy the City" ($10) and Entertainment ($15) coupon books this year. These books are very useful and I have saved significant money with them since I am usually buying for 2 anyway. My original plan this year was to just buy the "Enjoy the City" book at the beginning of the year, however I ended up buying the Entertainment book in May when the price fell to $10 + $5 shipping. It ended up working out very well, I was able to use most of the good coupons from the "Enjoy the City" book early in the year, then I was able to get the Entertainment book for essentially 1/2 price (normally $30) and maximize my return on investment.

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Comments (5)

DATE: 12:14 PM
Hey, you sound like a great saver! Here is an idea for saving money on dining expenses... mystery shopping. I did a mystery shop at a restaurant, for my wife and I. We got a free $40 meal, and I got a check for $15 bucks six weeks later. It is great. Checkout http://mysterymoney.blogpost.com/ for more Mystery Shopping information.

Posted by Dus10 D | September 10, 2006 3:03 PM

DATE: 5:11 PM
check out restaurant.com, 50% off your bill coupons for a few bucks. a great deal, especially when they offer 60% off your order. you will eat for next to nothing.

Posted by Anonymous | September 10, 2006 3:03 PM

DATE: 9:30 PM
restaurant.com is awesome, huge savings. pay $10 for a $25 certificate or $3 for a $10 certificate. only restriction is you can only use one coupon per restaurant per month. not all keep track though.

Posted by Anonymous | September 10, 2006 3:03 PM

If you are a good tipper - 20-25%, you can save up to 20-25% on a meal just by stiffing the waitstaff!

A little tip from the tipster.

Posted by CheapBastard | October 4, 2006 12:56 PM

My wife and I eat out way to much and we have gotten some back with Credit Card rewards and such but I am trying to find ways to cut down myself and this resturaunt.com sounds like a good way.. I guess they offer huge discounts as a promotional tool.

Posted by Chad | April 20, 2008 8:58 PM