With a slowing economy people start to eat out less. This always creates a price war between the restaurants. This means if you budget wisely you can actually eat out more frequently for the same amount you were spending when the economy was zooming along (being prepared for these times really makes life easier). So what can we expect in the coming months? Deals and lots of them.  Their are three types of establishments, fast food, mid-level sit down, and high end.  Lets start with where the deals are not and work our way up to where the best deals will show themselves.

High end restaurants ARE NOT cutting prices. Their clientel are affected by down turns in the economy but not enough to stop eating at their establishment. So if you thought the restaurant that sells $200 dollar bottles of wine was going to offer a coupon you were mistaken. Those kind of tactics will sully their image and push their customers to find more “acceptable” dining establishments.

Fast Food restaurants ARE cutting prices. There is another burger war brewing between McDonald’s and Burger King. BK is cutting the cost of the double cheeseburger down to $1. You might say, “big deal McD’s already has it on their dollar menu.” What you may not realize is the BK double cheeseburger is 30% larger and that McD’s is looking to dump the double cheeseburger all together. Seems their franchises are losing money on every one they sell. The reason for these price cuts and competition is that more people will turn to fast food since it is the least expensive option, other than actually cooking for yourself, thus everyone is in a grab for market share.

Mid-level sit down restaurants ARE cutting prices. These are the restaurants that get hurt the most when times are tough. Their meals are good, the service is usually decent, but the prices really are too expensive if you are living on a tight budget. So when people perceive a slow down in the economy this level of dining out is one of the first things to go. This means that in order to attract their customers back these establishments have to run promotions that at least look like a great value (I’m feeling a never ending pasta bowl coming around). Also look for coupons in the Sunday paper. If they are not their yet they are coming. This is the best way to hit the chain restaurants. Most of the time I save on smaller establishments by using restaurant.com. This is one of my favorite websites since I can get a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant for only $10. The real deal is when they offer a promo code. I try to include these codes in my Wednesday deals whenever there is one available. Speaking of which, through tomorrow, you can get 50% off your purchase using coupon code “LUCK”. This means that a $25 gift certificate will only cost you $5. That spends just like money, and you get to support your local businesses instead of the large chain restaurants.

The key to eating out on the cheap is to zig when everyone else is zagging (just like most things in life). So when everyone else is paying full price for filet mignon you can get pizza on sale. And when people can only afford pizza you will be dining on filet mignon at a discount. So go find those deals and bone appetit.