New Parent Magazine's "Bargain Babe" shares tips on how to dine out cheaply, which includes utilizing Restaurant.com for discounted gift certificates.

Half of diners say they’re spending less at restaurants this year compared with last year, and 80% are cooking more at home, according to market research firm Mintel. With tables empty and tabs smaller, restaurants are looking to fill seats by cutting prices and tweaking menus.

The temptation is hard to resist -- sign up with Restaurant.com, and every week the site e-mails you codes that take 60 percent and 80 percent off the price of gift certificates for thousands of restaurants across the country.

Restaurant.com has created a new "Dinner & Movie" promotional package, a business-to-business effort to get businesses to buy promo packages that can be passed on to consumers.

Restaurant.com, which has more than 11,000 partners, mostly independents, recently expanded its online-coupon service to include chain restaurants, supplying systemwide custom reports so brands can track offers for specific locations or all their units. Casual-dining chain Ted’s Montana Grill has been the site’s test multiunit partner since June 2008, and Phillips Seafood and Sagebrush Steakhouse recently signed on.

#19.  Eat out for less. If you’re craving a nice dinner out, stop at Restaurant.com first.

Before hitting the beach, firing up the grill, and watching the fireworks, you might want to consider stocking up on supplies—or a new wardrobe—at one of the many July 4 sales this weekend.

For starters, check whether your favorite restaurants offer any deals. At Restaurant.com, you can get steeply discounted gift certificates to thousands of eateries.

Restaurant.com CEO Cary Cheissick was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in the Midwest.

Website Restaurant.com bills itself as a matchmaker between local restaurants and customers. Participating restaurants sell deeply discounted meal vouchers on the site in exchange for getting more people through the door.