Eat Out for Less - Off Peak Dinner Deals

Increasingly, casual dining restaurants are offering 33 to 50% discounts on certain menu times at non-peak dinner times, e.g. 4-6 PM on Sunday to Thursday. In many cases, the deals are on appetizers and drinks, but occasionally, entrees are included. Based my experience, the appetizers, entrees and drinks are the same portion size as the full priced ones offered during other times.

For us, this is a great deal. When it's just our family dining, it is an acceptable trade off to eat at the restaurant's specified time to get a much lower price. In fact, we prefer to eat earlier because we have a five year old daughter, who we try to get to bed by 8PM. Also, since we have a young child, we like going to restaurants at times when they are less crowded. Now we get the additional benefit of lower prices.

I believe many of these meal deals are a direct result of the current recession and expect that most will be eliminated once the economy improves. In the meantime, we will be making a conscious effort to dine out early and take advantage of the available off peak meal savings.

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This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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