Eating out is a way of life for many Americans. The busier families are with work and other activities, the more they seem to resort to restaurant meals as a way of getting dinner on the table. These days going to a restaurant is not just for weekends and special occasions; it’s an everyday occurrence.
In addition to being convenient, restaurant meals can be huge budget busters as well. It’s not unusual for my family of four (two adults and two teenagers) to spend a ton of money even at a modest restaurant.
Fortunately, there are several ways to save money when eating out, including looking for coupons, ordering water to drink, and skipping dessert. Another way to save significantly on your restaurant bill and to try some fun, local restaurants at the same time is to visit Restaurant.com.
Restaurant.com is a website that allows you to buy $25 restaurant gift cards for $10. When you visit the website you need to enter your zip code or the name of your city. The site will then provide a list of participating eateries in your area. A recent check of my zip code returned 20 restaurants within 15 miles of me, but you can change the distance search parameters to anything from one mile to 30 miles.
The results you get will vary, but they won’t be your standard chain restaurants. The list I got included everything from local pizza parlors to fine dining restuarants in my area. Using the site will not only save you a lot of money, but it has the added benefit of encouraging you to try new places as well.
The site allows you to choose between a $10 gift certificate or $25 gift certificate, depending on the restaurant. You can use the gift certificates for yourself or as frugal gifts to give to others. There is even a Restaurant.com Dinner of the Month Club in which you can participate for 3, 6, or 12 months. And while $25 gift certificates for $10 is a great savings, occasionally Restaurant.com offers even bigger discounts so it pays to keep tabs on them. You can do that by following them on Facebook or Twitter, or by signing up for their email newsletter.