How to Save Money & Still Have a Life

Eating Out

I could easily say, “Don’t eat out as much” but then that would take away from the title of this book (“And Still Have A Life”).  You could probably do that easily, say once a month.  Make it a date night where you look up recipes, go to the store together to get the ingredients, then cook in the privacy of your kitchen.  Depending on what you make, you’ll still save money and might even have a decent amount of leftovers.  But on with eating out for less.

·        If you do nothing else, visit Restaurant.com.  You punch in your zip code and see all the restaurants in your area that are offering gift certificates at a discount.  The usual amount is $10 for a $25 gift certificate.  Now, if you go through a rebate site (visit Chapter Five where I coach you on internet shopping) you’ll get a 25% rebate (approximately, depending on the rebate site).  Don’t stop there, though!  Almost always, there are one or more coupon codes for Restaurant.com, with some upwards of 80% off.  And there’s no shipping fee, of course, because you print them from your own printer.  Let’s calculate:  If you buy one $25 gift certificate for $10, then get 80% off, that puts the checkout total at $2.  Then, if you include the 25% rebate (often 27% during the holidays), the final total is  $1.50.  Many of the gift certificates require a minimum purchase and do not apply to alcohol, tax, or gratuity.  But to get a $25 gift certificate for $1.50 is amazing, in my book. 

·        Certain restaurants have certain specials at certain times.  For example, Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill has a thing called “Wine Down Mondays” where you get half off bottles and glasses of wine all day every Monday.  Many places also have “Happy Hour” for drinks and/or appetizers.  The individual websites may tell you about them, or you may just have to ask the next time you’re in.

·        An odd place to check for coupons is the phone book.  There is often a green section entitled “coupons” and you just cut them out!

·        Visit ValPak.com or check the blue ValPak envelope in your mailbox.  There aren’t just restaurant coupons, but also coupons for salons, auto care, dental offices, etc.  The website lets you print the coupons you need.

Gift Cards

If I had to pick one section for you to read and forget all the others, it would be this one.  So listen up.

The next time you go to a store and buy a gift card, just know that you are wasting money!  There are multitudes of websites devoted to selling