How to spend less without getting less on food and travel

Personal finance expert Jean Chatzky offers tips to save money on everyday expenses from cellphones to cars. Here are two money-saving strategies you can start using today.

Food

The next time you're headed out for dinner, spend some time online first. Just as you can get discount gift certificates for stores, you can do the same for eateries at restaurants.com.

Generally, $10 will buy you a $25 gift certificate. Read the fine print for limitations. Next, sign up to follow your favorite restaurants on Twitter and Facebook; many will use those channels to shoot promotions your way, as Chili's did by offering 10% off gift certificates this past Father's Day.

Or, if you want to see what restaurants are offering deals on a particular night, several sites including dineoutcheap.com and eatdrinkdeals.com aggregate the deals from Groupon, Living Social and other group buying sites on one page.

As for those nights you're cooking at home – or making a shopping list for the week – start with a trip to recipe.com, which cross-references recipes with information on what's on sale that week via an online coupon or discount at your local store.

Travel

When you're flying, take alternate routes and consider making a stop, says Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News.

Flying from New York's JFK airport directly to LAX is often much more expensive than going from LaGuardia, another New York airport, to Chicago to L.A.

“It's counterintuitive,” he says. “But going from LA to Phoenix to Hawaii saves money.”

As for hotels, they've gotten as fee-happy as airlines, Greenberg notes. But many of their fees can be negotiated away advance of your stay. Call the hotel directly (i.e., not the 800-number) and ask for complimentary breakfast, free parking, and the other amenities you know will be on your list.

Free parking alone saved Greenberg $62 a night on a recent stay at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco.