Eating Out: If You Must Do It Look for Lunch Loyalty Cards

We all have heard about 1,000 times that one big way to save money is to eat out less. However, part of the social culture of my workplace is a short walk outside to grab a sandwich or salad for lunch each day. Nevermind the fact that lunch is the 20 minutes per day that I get away from my PC and actually get a chance to stretch my legs and see daylight. Needless to say this is one "latte factor" I'm not giving up anytime soon.

While paying $8 a day for lunch isn't a great way to save money, if you find yourself in my situation you can at least try to find ways to lessen the damage. One of those ways are lunch loyalty cards. I have found that several chains including Paradise Bakery, Panda Express, and Chick-fil-A offer them and all kinds of local restaurants also offer them where I live. The typical scheme is get 10 lunch punches and get one lunch free, which equates to a healthy 9% off your total lunch bill if you are persistent about it. So the next time you stop by your favorite lunch spot, ask if they have a lunch loyalty program and/or punch card. Any other ideas? Please share them in the comments.