Taking T-Bones for All They're Worth

If you live in the Southern NH area, you probably know about a small restaurant chain called T-Bones. They have locations in Salem, Derry, Hudson, Laconia, and Bedford NH as well as 2 sister restaurants - Cactus Jack's - in Manchester and Laconia. Their menu has tons of variety, all their food is made to order (you can modify it however you want), the prices are reasonable, and the food even tastes pretty darn good.

Those that know Steve and I know that a) we're planners and b) we like to look for the best possible bang for the buck. Enter our annual taking of T-Bones - with this year being the most lucrative one yet. Here's a comprehensive list of how you too can take T-Bones for all they're worth.

1. Sign Up for the Paybacks Program: This is T-Bones instant win for people who go there 2-3 times per year (maybe 4 depending on what you get). For every $100 you spend in food you get a $10 coupon for use at a future visit. Oh yeah - it's also free to sign up.

2. Pay Attention: Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas (and also at occasional other points to raise money for charity) T-Bones offers a deal where for every $5 in gift certificates you purchase you get back $1 in gift certificates. Free T-Bones money. Also, this year I paid attention and caught that for the first time ever, and for a limited block of time, T-Bones was allowing gift certificates purchased to go towards Paybacks points. This means for every $100 in gift certificates purchased - $10 coupon back. If you need to buy a gift for someone this is a great way to make $5-10 in free gift certificates for yourself OR do what we do (since we don't know many other people who go to T-Bones) and get yourself free T-Bones money. This leads to number three...

3. Be Prepared: If you like T-Bones/CJ's, and you know that you and your significant other are going to go on dates or want to go out to dinner at some point during the year, plan ahead. Each year Steve and I have in our annual budget anywhere from $200-300 that we block off to pre-purchase our date nights to T-Bones. With their $5 in GCs get $1 deal, this means we're guaranteed $50-60 in FREE T-BONES MONEY by planning ahead. This year, we were able to do $300, which means we've got $360 in gift certificates AND (remember what I said about this year's limited time Paybacks offer?) another $30 in Paybacks coupons which means we've got $390 set aside for our date-nights and emergency "Don't Eat At Home Tonight" funds.

Ridiculous? Yes. Amazing? Also yes. For those that didn't catch the math on that - for $300 in gift certificates we got a 30% return on our investment and almost $100 in free food at T-Bones by planning ahead.

Oh... I'm not done yet.

4. Don't Forget Your Calendar: T-Bones has an annual calendar that has coupons for each month of the year. These coupons are each good for one appetizer, one dessert, or one kid's meal and have a value of up to $9.99. Now... here's the thing with the calendars: they are available right after Thanksgiving and they typically go pretty fast. If you don't get them the first week after Thanksgiving, there is no guarantee that there will be any left - so make sure you get out and get them!

But wait! This year there's more!

Remember I said that we bought $300 in gift certificates? We found out about a super-secret added bonus last night. This year, when you buy over $100 in gift certificates, you get a dual spice pack containing the T-Bones House Seasoning and the Cajun Seasoning blend they use at Cactus Jack's. Inside the pack is also a recipe card containing the recipes for NH's Best Burger and Cajun Fish Fillet.

There you have it. That's how you take T-Bones for all they're worth. If you've never been to T-Bones or Cactus Jack's, we highly recommend it because the food is great and the waitstaff are usually super friendly and attentive. Then if you like it, we've given you a guide for how to get the most bang for your buck when you eat there.

Enjoy.

The 2008 Annual Pull