Sat, April 11, 2009
Saving Money on Dining Out
With the economy in a funk, consumers are becoming more cost-conscious. In response, retail businesses seem to be offering more discounts. Recently I discovered a neat resource for people who like saving money but who'd also like to be able to have a meal at a nice restaurant.
A professional organization to which I belong recently sent me information about a web site called Restaurant.com. The site sells discounted gift certificates for meals at restaurants all over the U.S. In most cases, for $10 you can buy a $25 gift certificate, good for a year at a participating restaurant. In eastern Massachusetts, there are 170 restaurants currently listed. Most of the restaurants impose conditions on the use of the certificates (e.g. minimum party of two, minimum food purchase of $35 - $50, use only during weekdays, exclusion of holidays, etc.). You must register at the site in order to make a purchase.
As attractive as Restaurant.com’s standard deal is, there seem to be frequent opportunities to get even better prices. Last week, I was able to get a $25 certificate for $5; now through April 13th you can get a $25 certificate for $4 using the discount code SEASON when you make your purchase. Googling “discount codes restaurant.com” seems to be an effective way to search out their latest coupon codes.
If you had a $50 meal and used this offer, you’d spend $39 (including a 20% tip based on the original meal price), reducing your total cost by 35% in comparison with the $60 you’d otherwise pay. You’d save a smaller percentage on a more expensive tab, of course. This seems like an easy way to reduce spending on meals eaten out.