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Over the last few years I have perfected a number of ways to save money on takeaways – and I want to share them with you!
I’m a fan of takeaways. Who isn’t right?! I love being able to just pop online, order some tasty food and put almost no effort in. However, what I don’t love is that a takeaway just blows our food budget for the week!
Sign up for new customer deals
If it is your first time using a brand then they often have new customer deals. Here are a few of my favourites:
Uber Eats – £10 off a £15 spend for new customers. Just use code eats-hb3izm in the Uber Eats app.
Deliveroo – £10 off across 4 orders. Minimum order value of £20 to use this. Click: roo.it/katys-gevr
Costa Coffee – 200 points (£2) when you sign up using the Costa Coffee app and code BORJN (that’s an O not a zero).
Look out for discount codes
Look on deals websites for discounts. Websites such as Hot UK Deals and Voucher Codes often have an array of special offers. For existing customers too.
Brands such as Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo may offer discounts on their social media pages from time to time too. These have become very rare in the last year or so, as their popularity has increased with more people staying home, but it is always worth a quick scan before you place your order.
Check those leaflets that come through your door. Yes – those annoying usually poorly designed ones. Sometimes they have GREAT deals for local takeaways in particular.
These leaflets often have exclusive collection only deals or they may have meal deals that aren’t offered online. By calling up you may be able to save a fortune – or get more food for your budget.
Look online for collection only discounts. Many restaurants, chains and independents, offer discounts if you collect your order. You may only save a pound or two, so weigh up any petrol/time costs.
Check your local takeaway, and those chain ones, to see what bargains they offer. Our local Chinese does a 5 dishes for £15.00 night, on a Tuesday. Sesame prawn toast is on the menu and this has to be one of my favourite dishes!
This is a total bargain and usually represents a saving of £8-£15 depending on the dishes chosen. Best of all – FREE delivery! Dominos offer Two for Tuesday and a lot of the other chains seem to have exceptionally good bargains on Tuesday in particular as well.
Save money on takeaways – alternative ways to save
Cut down a little or share a few dishes. You’ll save some calories and get to try some different food too.
Make the most of any minimum spend discounts. Sometimes you may need to add an extra dish and then your total will reduce by 20-30%.
For example; if you’ve spent £19 and add a £2 dish your £21 of food may come down to around £15. Bargain! You CAN freeze leftovers or just take them to work the following day for a simple lunch.
Be sure to check out *TopCashBack and *Quidco. They offer a range of different cashback amounts, depending on if you are a new customer or not.
Many restaurants, particularly Chinese and Indian ones, have nights where they run a buffet. Often you can stop by and fill up a container for a set amount.
This gives you a chance to trial lots of dishes for the price of just 1-2 dishes. Our local Chinese restaurant does this and their takeaway food is REALLY expensive so this is a complete bargain.
How to get FREE takeaway food:
Why not *give mystery shopping a try? Now you’re not always guaranteed to find a takeaway when you want it, however, with some forward planning you can find something nice.
We have a popular (expensive!) burger chain in our town and they have takeaway mystery shops at least every couple of months. The fee is usually small, £5-8 but there is a reimbursement for the purchased food too, which means we can get a free meal for the two of us, or just spend a couple of pounds if we add sides!
Ways to avoid takeaways while taking it easy still
Sometimes I really want to get a takeaway but I realise that they are a bit of a waste of money and they make me feel all bloated and sluggish the following day.
If I have a little motivation, but can’t be bothered to cook then these are the options I tend to choose from:
Buy a meal deal at the supermarket
You know the ones! Dine in for £10, 4 dishes for £10 etc. Open the pots, decant them into a dish and put them in the microwave or oven. Simple. T
It takes minutes of effort and you still have a decent dinner. With minimal effort. But less expense too. I often think that these are a middle ground.
A nice break from cooking, without spending quite so much. Also, the food is often high quality and you can get alcohol for your £10!
Keep some nice frozen meals in
Keep your freezer stocked up. Each week at shopping buy yourself an emergency meal. Or just a really tasty meal for a lazy night.
Stuffed crust pizza. Chicken dippers. Lasagne in a box. Whatever it is keep an ’emergency’ meal in. You never know when you may be short on time or effort unexpectedly.
Save money on takeaways – avoid them altogether but cook something delicious
If you are full of motivation and just need a kick up the backside then THIS IS IT! Get yourself an e-book of recipes, such as *this great Fakeaway one, and cook up a storm. I’ve made a few recipes from this book, and loved them!
I’ve got a whole host of great recipes, here are some of my favourite fakeaway style ones:
Bacon mac and cheese pasta bake made with air fryer bacon
Air fryer tortilla chips for nachos – nacho cheese sauce
Chicken fajita triangles and not forgetting my post on what to serve with fajitas
Why not knock up a homemade pizza? It really takes NO time! You could even cheat and use tortillas – here is my recipe for tortillas! I love to make air fryer pizza when I’m in a rush too!
If you have lots of time free then why not try out some of my favourite slow cooker recipes to avoid the lure of the takeaway!
Pulled pork in the slow cooker
Beef keema curry in the slow cooker
Sausage cassoulet in the slow cooker
If you enjoyed this post I’d love it if you could pin it on Pinterest!
Joraffe
Sunday 30th of July 2017
One item that I just can't resist and cannot make properly myself is sweet and sour chicken balls, so I like to order them in occasionally - I do make my own rice to save money though!
katykicker
Sunday 30th of July 2017
Oh they are SO good from the takeaway aren't they!
Angela
Wednesday 19th of July 2017
We are awful for takeaways in this house, and really need to stop resorting to them when we can't be bothered to cook. Some great ideas there, must look out for deals.
katykicker
Wednesday 19th of July 2017
Thanks so much Angela - hope it can help you save some money at least.