When you don't have a lot of money, it's sometimes hard to turn down a meal out. I find myself often doing just that. But then again, you don't always have to, if you're smart about dining out.
The easiest way to save a ton of money at restaurants is by deal shopping and clipping coupons! All these goodies came in the mail today and I immediately filed them in my new coupon organizer.
The day that I went to Arizona State to sit in on a French class, I had to either make or grab something portable since the class took place during lunch hours and I was going to meet with the professor an hour after class got out. Instead of driving back home to grab some grub, I stayed on campus, ate a sensible meal and roamed the university until our meeting arrived.
The day before I got Einstein Bros. coupons in the mail. The one that really caught my eye was $1.99 for a turkey bacon and avocado bagel thin sandwich!
Same deal with this afternoon. I knew I had to run a few errands near the Whole Foods market shopping center. Luckily, I finished around lunchtime! I normally would have been tempted by the idea, but turned it down in favor of some home-cookin' but on Wednesdays the salad bar/hot foods buffet at Whole Foods is reduced from $7.99/lb to $5.99/lb! I filled up my box with salad fixings, hummus, pita and falafel and paid for my meal and sat down to enjoy. Granted, this isn't fast food, so it was a little more expensive, but for around $8 I had lunch, dessert for later (see below) and brought my own water again.
I may have also splurged at the deli for a "snickers brownie" that cost me $1.99. It was HUGE! I only ended up eating about 1/3 of the brownie and put the rest in the fridge for after dinner or after tomorrow's lunch. Oh man, it was so worth it though...
I had no idea WF did that with their salad bar on Wednesdays! Is that everywhere? If so... good to know!
ReplyDeleteAnd I also live and swear by Restaurant.com for those peeps in bigger cities. You can buy $25 gift cards for $5!
I too was unaware of the cheaper salad bar on Wednesdays! Can you say dinner tonight? I hope it's everywhere!
ReplyDeleteI hope so too!! :)
ReplyDeletei love coupons! good job :)
ReplyDeleteBringing along your own side....such a good idea! I've never thought of that one before, and I can never turn down fries or chips or whatever. From here on out, I'm bringing my own!
ReplyDeleteOh my heavens, that brownie looks amazing! I want to steal it and put it in the microwave for a few seconds and make it all gooey and divine...
ReplyDeleteI wish Australian dining-out places had coupons. Alas, our lack of chain places makes that a complete non-happening!
Coupons are not a huge thing in Canada. We get some in the mail here and there but my sister, who lives in Illinois, has coupons coming out of her ears. She was so amazed by how many coupons she gets in the mail.
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