6 Ways to Eat Out and Save

Less spending, better eating!

4. Shopping Apps

Ibotta is a shopping app that offers many saving deals on a variety of purchases, from retail shops to eating out. Explore the deals beforehand to see which is most appealing. Afterwards, scan your receipt with the app to have the savings sent straight to your PayPal or Venmo account. The Forks app offers instant coupons for restaurants, both fast food and local diners. Unlike Groupon or Living Social, there's no pre-purchasing of coupons and no printing required. You don't need to set up an account or even give your email address.

5. E-mail and Social Media Savings

Signing up for a restaurant's email list can often get savings sent straight to you, sometimes these are deals only available to email users. Cheesecake Factory and Krispy Kreme both offer email list savings. Following a restaurant on social media is another way to stay in the loop on special deals and weekly or daily specials, especially for local restaurants that do not advertise elsewhere.

6. Restaurant Week or Month

Culinary hotspots such as New Orleans and New York, along with many other cities, have decided to capitalize on slow tourism seasons with a Restaurant Week or Month. Deals are often concentrated on an event website and can range from high-end white tablecloth restaurants to diners. Take advantage of these times to try a swanky new restaurant or simply to eat out for less.