Three Dining Deals You Shouldn't Chew On

The restaurant industry is currently a $683.4 billion dollar industry, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2014 study¹.  If you’re like the rest of society, you probably enjoy a night out with friends or family enjoying a meal being prepared for you.  You may often also look for deals to enjoy these nights out a little easier on the pocketbook.  If this is you, then here are three dining deals from a recent article on Bankrate² to avoid next time you’re out:

1. The Specials of the day – the specials of the day or week that your server may list off may be the hot item on the menu but it doesn’t always come with a hot price.  Servers often don’t list the prices as they are rattling off the details of these appetizing specials and leave you with sticker shock when you get the bill.  Just make sure before you order one of these specials, you check the price first.
2. Daily Deal Restaurant Certificates – by this we mean Groupon, Living Social, and others like them that promote a deal with a lot of fine print.  Some of these can actually save you quite a bit of money, but make sure you read the fine print before you purchase them.  Often they are restricted to certain days, times, or even menu items that limit when can actually take advantage of them.
3. For the over 21’ers, in one word alcohol!  Did you know that bottles of spirits are marked up about 300 percent, wine 200 percent, and beer even MORE at a restaurant?!  Now obviously, if you are of age and of course drink responsibly we’re not saying to never have a drink with your dinner, but be conscious of this mark up if you are dining out on a budget.  Foregoing that second beverage, or waiting until you get home after dinner can save your receipt some damage!

Have you experienced any other dining “deals” that didn’t turn out to be so great?  Let us know on twitter @honorcu using #askhonorcu!

Listen to 97.5 Y-Country's Wild Bill and Honor's Scott talk about dining deals to avoid in this past week's Mason Jar Monday! 

¹Source - http://www.restaurant.org/News-Research/Research/Facts-at-a-Glance

²Source -  http://www.bankrate.com/lite/smart-spending/restaurant-deals-you-shouldnt-swallow-8.aspx