Living Local — Saving Money on Food in Las Vegas: Two Examples

I’ve struggled with how to do posts on the countless methods to save money on food in Las Vegas. Trying to compile a definitive list would be exhausting to read, much less attempt, and it would include methods I have never personally tried.

Instead, I’m picking a supermarket and restaurant that I patronize regularly to show you what works for me — and might work for you no matter where you live.

Vons

Vons is my favorite grocery store, as I can walk there and back from my apartment. I shop two or three times a week to pick up fresh food, especially vegetables. Like many large grocery chains, there are a variety of ways to save.

I’m a member of both their discount clubs. Vons has two separate ongoing discount schemes, Vons Club Card and a “Just4U” phone app. The first is very simple. You just show your card or type in your phone number (or ask the clerk to run the counter card) to get a gaggle of discounts. The phone app requires a bit of a learning curve, but it’s well worth the effort (and serves as a row-by-row shopping list).

I check out extra discounts either through the app or email or reading signs in the store. Vons offers a one-shot pharmacy promo. Transfer an ongoing prescription to their store and receive a $25 gift card per prescription after three refills. Plus Vons (through Just4U) frequently offers third-party gift cards giving either extra Reward points or an outright discount. I purchased $100 gift cards for Staples and Regal Theatres, both of which I’ll use up in the next year. The total Reward points from those two purchases saved me $35.

I play Monopoly.  Every spring, Kroger-owned stores nationwide (which includes Albertsons and Vons in Las Vegas) holds a Monopoly pull-tab promotion. Every shopper is offered at least one pull tab and large shopping trips can get you as many as 40-50. Each has four “game markers” for large prizes (which I find a waste of time, though I do keep track of them) and either a coupon ($.50-$1 discount) and instant win (usually worth $1-$5) or a code to enter online to earn reward points. After some “optimal” analysis, I figured each pull tab is worth about 17 cents depending on how you redeem them. So far I’ve saved $60 through the promotion.

Before you scream “penny pincher” at me, let’s look over last week’s grocery receipts.  I purchased $66 worth of groceries, but through Vons Club (-$14), JustforU (-$8), and Monopoly Rewards (-$35), my actual cash outlay was nine bucks.

Outback Steakhouse

An Outback Steakhouse is only 1.5 miles from my home, a nice 30-minute walk (or short bus ride). I like their menu, plus I know a lot of the regulars at the bar. As with Vons, I use a three-prong discount strategy.

Outback offers a 10% AARP discount. Remember, you can join AARP if you’re over 50 and you don’t have to be retired.

In December, purchase gift cards that come with special discount cards worth 20% of the purchase. The discount cards have to be used in a 30-day period, but the gift cards are good for at least a year.

Outback is part of the Dine Rewards Club. Spend at least $20 on food (not alcohol) three times and get $20 off your fourth meal. Sometimes I add carry-out to get the food bill to $20, but I find the club user-friendly. The fourth-meal discount can be also be used at the Bonefish Grill.

Three Final Notes

• I began this post by saying “two establishments I patronize regularly.” I’m all for experimentation, especially with Las Vegas restaurants, but even John Curtas’ Eating Las Vegas stresses the importance of getting to know a core group of restaurants well.
• Go to the website of any restaurant, shop, or entertainment venue that you plan to visit at least two or three times this year and sign up for their email program. Set your email reader (Outlook, eM Client) to sort the incoming mail into specific folders and you’ll have a great resource to check special deals, especially last minute.
• Remember that the restaurant is giving you the discount, not the waitstaff. Add back the discounts to the bill before computing the 20% tip.