Rachel Cruze: Hacks To Save on Chipotle and 4 Other Takeout Spots

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There’s no getting around it, food has gotten expensive. The best way to save money is to meal plan, buy groceries and cook the bulk of your meals at home. But we all know that eating your own cooking can get boring after a while — not to mention time consuming. 

You don’t have to completely give up takeout meals to stick to your budget. In a YouTube video for her podcast channel, “Smart Money Happy Hour,” Rachel Cruze discussed a few ways she saves money at her favorite restaurants. Here are two easy hacks that will help you save while still enjoying your favorite takeout spots.

Look for Special Deals

The first hack Cruze mentioned is Olive Garden’s Buy One Take One deal. This was a temporary promotion that offered a free takeout meal when you bought a meal in the restaurant. Unfortunately, the Buy One Take One promotion is no longer available — but it’s just one example of special deals you can find at your favorite restaurants. 

Before you decide where to go for lunch, quickly look up your regular spots. See if they are offering any promotions like a buy-one-get-one deal, discounted meals or early bird specials.

Divide and Conquer

The next hack Cruze discussed is choosing meals that can be split in two. She named a few restaurants that are perfect for this.

Subway

Subway’s footlong sub can easily become two meals. Eat the first half now and take the other half home. It might be more expensive upfront, but it’s cheaper than buying a six-inch sub and paying for another meal later.

Cava and Chipotle

Both Cava and Chipotle let you build your own bowl. If you’re going to either restaurant with a friend or partner, Cruze recommended building one big bowl and splitting it instead of buying two separate meals.

Consider the price difference: Say your usual Chipotle bowl costs $15 (using California pricing). You could pay $30 to get two bowls or add an extra scoop of meat and pay around $21 for one extra-large bowl. 

Blaze Pizza

Blaze is a build-your-own pizza chain with huge custom pizzas. Because you can customize your ingredients, you can make your pizza as budget friendly as you want, then split it with a friend or save half for another meal. 

This can also be a great solution for families. Two large pizzas at around $15 to $25 each can easily feed a family of four with leftovers.

Other Takeout Hacks

Although Cruze only named a few tips in her podcast, there are plenty of ways to save money at chain restaurants and takeout spots. Here are some examples.

Rewards Programs

Starbucks has one of the most popular rewards programs of any chain restaurant. It’s free to sign up and download the app. Then you’ll earn points every time you go to Starbucks, which you can redeem for free drinks or meals.

This idea isn’t exclusive to Starbucks — ask your local coffee shop if it has an app or stamp card so you can take advantage of your daily caffeine stop.

Birthday Freebies

Have a birthday coming up? Tons of restaurants offer special birthday deals, including Applebee’s, Chipotle, Benihana, Ihop, Dairy Queen and more.

DIY

Don’t pay extra for guac. Instead of adding onto your meal at Chipotle or another restaurant, take your food home and see what you can add yourself. Make or buy your own guacamole to top off your bowl or keep chips and other snacks in your pantry instead of buying the meal deal. 

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