At the moment with the recession going on many of us are having to cut back on what we are spending.  One of the first things that tends to get cut is the amount of money we spend on going out ' to pubs, clubs, restaurants, the theatre etc.  It's important though to remember that we do all need to relax and enjoy ourselves because if we don't the stress builds up and everything becomes much harder to deal with.

One way of getting out and having some fun is to go out for a meal with friends, but to choose where and when you go based on what restaurant vouchers are available at the time.  At the moment many restaurants and eateries are doing special offers to try and entice more people to come in because they need to stay afloat in this hard financial climate too.

There are lots of different types of restaurant vouchers out there, from percentage off vouchers to ones where two people can eat for the price of one, and many more.  I've listed below a few of the types to look out for:

Percentage off ' These are usually 10% or more off and allow you to discount the meal by a specific percentage, be careful with these to make sure they cover all the meals you're buying not just a meal for one person.

A Fixed discount ' These are the sort for £5 off or £10 off.  These vouchers can be a bit variable as some will give you the amount off no matter what you spend, and others will only let you have that amount off if you spend over a certain amount in total ' such as £5 off when you spend £25 for example.

2 for 1 deals ' These allow two people to eat for the price of one.  Usually it works that you'll pay for the more expensive meal and get the cheaper one for free.

3 for 2 deals ' These allow three people to eat for the price of two.  Like with the 2 for 1 deals it's normally the cheapest meal that's the free one.

Free x when you buy x ' This sort of voucher means that if you buy one product, say a main course, you'll get another product, for example a desert, for free.

If there are a choice of vouchers, pick whichever one is going to get you the best deal ' if you wouldn't be spending £25 when you go in, then the £5 off when you spend £25 isn't actually going to help you spend less than you would normally, so if the same place is doing a percentage off voucher that might be a better bet.

Also worth looking out for, are special deals where certain meals are cheap on certain days, Ikea for example often do special deals like this and while not purely a restaurant, it is a great place to go for lunch with friends very cheaply.

Useful Websites

http://restaurantvouchers.org.uk/

http://restaurant-vouchers.angelfire.com/