Make eating out guilt-free and budget friendly with these Eat Out Cheap Ideas to your Favorite Restaurants!
I’ve put together money saving tips for Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Burger King, Cheesecake Factory, Chili’s, Cracker Barrel, Domino’s, Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Longhorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Panera, Papa John’s, Red Robin, Starbucks, Texas Roadhouse, and even Uber Eats.
With so many budget-friendly ways to eat out cheap with your family, eating out is about to get a whole lot more fun.
Don’t make a trip to your favorite restaurant without first reading these tips…
Eat Out Cheap Ideas ::
1. Sign Up For Email Coupons and Text Coupons! Â Take a minute and head to your restaurants website to look for any email or text coupons. Â Many restaurants will give you a coupon to use on your next visit just for signing up!
2. Download select Apps for your Favorite Restaurants! {TGI Friday’s, Dunkin Donuts, etc.}
3. Follow your Favorite Restaurants on Facebook or Instagram to stay in the know about different sales and promotions.
4. Take advantage of Happy Hour Appetizer Deals! To take advantage of happy hour deals, make sure to call your local restaurant to confirm happy hour menu prices and times before you go.
Just know that you may need to visit without the kiddos and sit in the bar to receive the happy hour pricing.
5. Ask if your favorite restaurant offers any “Kids Eat Free” days? Â Scoring free kids meals is one of the easiest ways to eat out cheap!
6. Don’t forget to sign up for these 101 Birthday Freebies! Loading up on free food for your birthday is the ultimate way to celebrate!!
7. Ask for Restaurant Punch Cards and Loyalty Cards. You might be surprised at the number of restaurants that offer punch cards!! {Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc.}
8. Check your receipts for Restaurant Receipt Surveys!
Just by paying attention to the bottom of my receipts, I’ve noticed that SO many restaurants offer free food or coupons in exchange for your opinion!
Typically, you’ll just need to complete a quick online survey, write down the code given to you after your survey, and return the receipt with the survey code to your restaurant the next time you go out to eat!
Following are a few of the surveys I’ve recently completed for free food or coupons:
- Burger King:Â FREE Whopper or Chicken Sandwich with purchase of fries and drink
- Chick-fil-A: FREE Chicken Sandwich {no purchase required}
- Dunkin Donuts: FREE Donut with purchase of medium coffee
- Panda Express:Â FREE Entree item w/ purchase of 2-entree plate
- Rubio’s:Â FREE Drink
- Starbucks: $1.00 off 1 drink
- McDonald’s: Buy 1, Get 1 Free Quarter Pounder with Cheese or Egg McMuffin
- So… go check those receipts!
9. Get a Coupon Calendar from your favorite restaurant! {Dunkin Donuts, etc.}
10. Use Restaurant.com or Groupon to get discounts at local restaurants.
11. Get Restaurant Coupons from Mailers and Sunday Paper Coupons. {Arby’s, McDonalds, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, etc.}
12. Use Multiple Food Delivery Apps for food deliveries to get the best pricing.  It really pays to price shop the top food delivery apps for your area.
These could include UBER Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates, etc.
13: Avoid the Uber Eats Small Order Fee! Uber Eats charges 3 different fees, including a Delivery Fee, a Service Fee. and a Small Order Fee for orders less than $10.
To make sure you’re not paying too much, review these 3 different fees before checking out. Â Whatever you do, make sure you skip the Small Order Fee!
Skipping the Small Order Fee is easy, just order more than $10! Â Even if you order more food than you want right now, you can always save the extra in the fridge as leftovers.
14: Always Use A Promo Code when you order food delivery! For example, there are promo codes available for Uber all over the web. Â Simply go to Google and search “Uber Promo Codes” for the latest promo codes available.
15. Make Restaurant Copycat Recipes At Home. Â You can save a bundle by making your favorite restaurant style cuisine right from the comfort of home!
16. Drink water {skipping the expensive drinks when eating out is a simple way to slash your bill!}
17. Split Meals or eat half of your meal, and take home the rest as leftovers for the next day.
18. Order From The Lunch Menu. Â If your restaurant has a lunch menu, an easy way to save money is to simply go to dinner a little early and order from the lunch meal!
Eat Out Cheap Ideas for Your Favorite Restaurants…
Applebee’s Menu Hacks and Money Saving Tips!
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Free Buffalo Wild Wings Gift Cards + More Genius Ordering Hacks!
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How To Get Free Food at Burger King + Popular Ordering Hacks!
You’ll be surprised by how easy it is to score free food at Burger King!
Get a Free Chili’s Gift Card + Popular Insider Ordering Hacks!
Are you ready for some guilt free dining out?  Then let’s start by converting some of your free time into a free night out at Chili’s!
Cheesecake Factory Menu Hacks You Probably Didn’t Know!
Use these smart Cheesecake Factory Menu Hacks to enjoy a fabulous romantic date night or a fun family night out!
Cracker Barrel Menu Hacks You Probably Didn’t Know!
Use these clever Cracker Barrel Menu Hacks to save yourself time and score deals on your favorite homestyle Cracker Barrel goodness!
How To Get Free Domino’s Pizza {Popular Deals + Ordering Hacks}
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Free Dunkin Donuts Gift Cards + Genius Dunkin’ Hacks to Save More Money!
Calling all coffee lovers… it’s time to score some Free Dunkin Donuts Gift Cards!
Krispy Kreme Deals and Hacks
Before you order that next dozen of your favorite donuts… make sure you know the very best ways to score Krispy Kreme Deals!
Longhorn Steakhouse Menu Tips and Tricks!
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Free Olive Garden Gift Card + More Popular Ways to Save Money and Eat FREE!
Enjoying a free meal at Olive Garden is simple when you convert your free time into free gift cards… Yum!!
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Free Papa John’s Gift Card + More Clever Ordering Hacks! {Enjoy a Free Pizza Day!}
Every day should be free pizza day… and scoring a Free Papa John’s Gift Card is the best way to enjoy your pizza!  Seriously… the only thing better than pizza is Free Pizza!
How To Get A Free Red Robin Burger + Popular Menu Hacks!
Check out this easy tip for how to get a Free Red Robin Burger.  Everything tastes better when it’s free, including the gourmet burgers at Red Robin!
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How To Eat For Free at Texas Roadhouse + More Genius Ordering Hacks
 When you know how to eat free at Texas Roadhouse, going out to eat gets a whole lot more fun!
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So don’t miss out! Â Catch all the latest Frugal Tips, Recipes + more here…
So what are your favorite ways to save money at restaurants and eat out cheap? Â
Share with us in the comments below!
Anne Meyer says
An idea for stacking discounts: When you have the choice of a free gift card, you could choose a Visa or Paypal card that spends like cash, then go to a discount gift card website like Gift Card Granny and either buy your restaurant gift card at an additional discount, or use it to buy a discounted Groupon gift card and then go on the Groupon site and buy a discounted or cash back voucher.
If you make a purchase on Groupon using the Ibotta app, you also get cash back, I believe, but not sure how that works if you pay with a gift card. Groupon also has discount codes frequently, and you get a percentage off with Groupon Premium (though you have to pay for that so I don’t have it.)
You could use this strategy for many of the stores/restaurants mentioned on this site. Start with a free gift card that spends like cash and then buy discount cards off another site, then order through a rebate app, and use discount codes and/or buy when things are on sale.
Heidi says
I love that idea, Anne… what a great tip. Thanks for sharing!
Rebekah davison says
Chick fila does not have calendar /card anymore
Kerry Hunt says
And parents, don’t forget to check upromise.com to see if the restaurant pays cash back to this college savings fund with use of a registered card. Some deals can be combined too!