If your family is anything like mine, pizza orders are in your usual rotation of dinners. My family has pizza night every Friday, but even if you have it on occasion or save it for busy nights or hosting gatherings, it is a staple in most households. And these days, it’s becoming an expensive staple. If you’re feeling the rising price of this delicious dough, cheese and sauce meal, read on.
Coupons
Of course, the first place I always suggest to look for pizzeria savings (or any savings for that matter) is coupons. The big chains offer these frequently. I am very familiar with Dominos coupons and rewards, as this brand remains one of my childrens’ favorites, in spite of being surrounded by some of the world’s best pizza here on Long Island! Whatever your taste, always check the site, the app, even the store window or counter for coupons. A local pizzeria near me offers 10% off on a regular basis if you can provide a receipt from another shop in the plaza where they’re located. Coupons vary, but anything is better than paying $25 and upward, as the prices seem to be rising along with everything else these days.
Rewards Programs
Not all of us like the mainstream chains, right? So if you are in a great area for pizza and want to order quality pizza from a local pizzeria, you can still save! Even if your favorite pizzeria doesn’t offer coupons or discounts, many of them will offer rewards. Say for every ten you order, you can pick one up for free. Or you get to accumulate points with each order which can eventually be redeemed for a free or discounted order. The app Slice is very helpful for this, though watch out for the fees that go along with it and ordering from pizzerias that do not participate in Slice’s reward program. These savings may be limited compared to other luxury items, but you can find them if you look for them.
Groupon
You’d be surprised by how many small mom and pop shops promote their business through Groupon. Pizzerias are no exception! One of my local favorites offers a great meal deal through Groupon on occasion. For the price I’d pay for two pizzas, I can get an entire feast and a gift card to apply to the next pizza order. Now that I’m writing this, I’m wondering why I haven’t done this lately. I highly recommend searching by your zip code, even trying a new pizzeria if you find it listed there. You never know, it might be your new favorite!
Carry Out
Not that we don’t love and want to support our delivery drivers, but one way to save is to skip the delivery. With delivery, you have to wait longer to indulge in your delicious pizza anyway! Why not take the short drive to pick up a pizza for yourself, saving the cost of a tip tacked on to the cost of the pizza? Save those deliveries for the days you really don’t feel like heading out the door, but by going out for it whenever you can, you’ll find the savings quickly add up.
Skip the Toppings and Specialty Pizzas
This one may be hard to swallow, but toppings have really started adding up. A plain pizza is entirely satisfying if you ask me (and even moreso when you register the price). If you really don’t want to sacrifice your toppings, why not just limit it to one side of the pizza to save? Half toppings still get you that taste but for half the price. The same goes for specialty pizzas like margherita and Sicilian (some of my favorites), which tend to be pricier than your basic red sauce pizzas.
Have other suggestions on how you save on pizza? Please leave a comment! I am always up to new ways of saving.