Foodie on a budget

I have an entry-level job, my boyfriend is a grad student. Needless to say, we don’t have an excess of money to spend on eating out, but I’m not going to let that stop us. Below are some ways of finding great deals to make dining in Atlanta more affordable. Any time I come across a new tip, I’ll be sure to share it!

• Groupon – Daily deal emailed to you six days a week (if you use my link to sign up and purchase one, I get a $10 Groupon credit – a great way to help me eat my way through Atlanta and review places for you). Offers include restaurants, event tickets, exercise classes, activities, spa treatments, etc. These deals often give you 50% + off the normal price! Be sure to read fine print, there can be some restrictions. How it works – you buy the Groupon online, then print to redeem. For example, for my first post, I paid $15 for the day’s deal, which got me $35 worth of food at Park’s Edge.
• Living Social – Same idea as Groupon.
• Half Off Depot – Same idea, but also tends to have several side deals or on-going deals that are available until sold out.
• My Daily Thread – Also the same concept. Some deals offer a bonus deal if a certain number are purchased – incentive to spread the word and get friends to buy.
• Scoutmob  – This site is quite different from the others. While the previous sites serve several major cities across the US, Scout Mob is exclusive to Atlanta and run by locals. You do get a deal emailed to you daily, but you do not purchase anything. If you like the offer, you send it to your phone. According to the site, doing so is like a “virtual pinky swear” that you will redeem the coupon shortly thereafter. I just signed up for this site so I haven’t tried it out first hand yet, I’ll provide feedback later.
• Atlanta on the Cheap  – If you’re interested in finding out about all the deals I listed above but don’t want to flood your inbox, this is the place for you. It lists all the daily deals along with some other tips.
• Circle Concentrics Loyalty Program – Concentrics Restaurants – Murphy’s, Parish, One, Two, Tap, Bakeshop, Room, Lobby – has started a loyalty program. Long story short: with a visit to one of the restaurants, you get 10% off your meal at the next Concentrics restaurant (in no particular order). With each visit, your discount increases by 10%, and when you try the last of the eight, you get a free meal! There are some restrictions (such as: does not apply to alcohol) but overall it sounds like an affordable way to try all of the Concentrics restaurants.