Pretty much everyone loves to dine out. You get great food, you don't have to cook, and my favorite part... you don't have to clean up! It can get expensive, though. Really expensive.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the average American spends $2,668 a year eating outside the home, and that's just the average.  Dining is a big social activity, too, so if you have an active social life and dine out with friends regularly, plus you pick up takeout for dinner a few nights a week and buy your work lunch most days, eating out can become a much bigger chunk of your monthly budget than you'd like it to be. Unless you're a gazillionaire without a care, it pays to have a few money-saving tricks up your sleeve when it comes to dining out. Here are my top ten favorite ways to slash my bill.

10) Ditching Dinner

Go out to eat during less popular times, and you'll pay less. Many restaurants have separate menus for breakfast and lunch that have cheaper prices than the dinner menu, and often a lot of the same dishes. Go out for an early dinner before 5pm, and you may find yourself ordering from the lunch menu and saving money. My personal favorite is the happy hour tactic: A lot of restaurants have a happy hour menu with much lower prices than their regular dinner menu. Happy hour menus are usually full of appetizers, and that leads me to my next tip...

9) An Appetizing Alternative

Make a meal out of an appetizer. Appetizers are usually less than entrees, but they're meant to be shared, so they're usually plenty filling if you're the only one partaking. Order a dinner salad with your hot wings or shrimp cocktail, and you've got a great meal!

8 ) Do the Splits

You may have noticed that restaurant meals are usually huge, especially at chain restaurants. Take advantage of this by splitting your meal, and the check, with someone. My husband and I often order an entree along with a salad to share. It fills us up just fine and we save money. Some restaurants will charge you to split an entree, so watch out for that when you employ this tactic.

7) Live for Leftovers

Like I said above, restaurant meals can be really huge. Pick an entree you wouldn't mind eating for lunch the next day, just eat half of it, and have the rest boxed up. Your wallet and your waistline will thank you.

6) Ax the Extras

Drinks, dessert, and appetizers can really add some bulk to your bill. As a former waitress, I can tell you that I lived for the tables who ordered tons of extras like sides of guacamole, extra shrimp, another round of beers, and appetizers to share. I loved it because it made their bill bigger, and therefore, my tip! Have water with your meal, skip the appetizer, and have dessert at home. Your waitress won't be over the moon, but the price of your meal won't be either.

5) Flight from Fancy

It's fun to go to a restaurant that's nothing like home. Mood lighting, plush seats, and starched tablecloths are definitely a treat, but a fancy ambiance can mean higher prices. Slum it a little on the atmosphere and you'll save cash. As the mom who usually dines out with an exuberant toddler, I can say I feel more comfortable in a more casual space anyway.

4) Brave the Buffet

At most buffet restaurants, you can't take leftovers home, but you can still get more for less. Find restaurants that have a salad bar. My husband and I frequent a local pizzeria that has a salad bar, so we can get away with ordering a smaller pizza and loading up on salad, which is healthier for us anyway!

3) Get Opinionated

Check the bottom of your bill. Many restaurants offer the opportunity to take an online survey in exchange for coupons and deals. Even in the absence of a formal offer, many restaurants will send you coupons if you offer praise or complaints in writing. Yelp.com, a website that allows users to review and share favorite restaurants, has exclusive "Elite" events for dedicated users featuring free food and drinks from local merchants. I'm a Yelp Elite, and every couple of months I go to an event and not only get a free date with my husband, I also discover new restaurants and foods. Yelp also does giveaways and sends emails featuring deals and coupons for local eateries.

2) Clip Coupons

Look in your local paper for coupons to your favorite eateries, and look online before you go out. Chain restaurants often have coupons you can print out. If you're taking your kids out, Chuck E. Cheese's coupons will come in handy, and restaurants like Round Table Pizza and Applebees have printable coupons online. Just take a little time to seek out coupons before you eat out. It really pays off!

1) Work the Websites

Websites like Restaurant.com sell "gift certificates" for restaurants at reduced prices. I use quotation marks because they don't work like real gift certificates in that you have to spend a certain amount of money to use them, but they definitely save money on the bill. For example, I just bought a $25 certificate for $10 from Restaurant.com. I had to spend at least $50 to use it, which is what I did. So, I got $50 worth of food for $35. I also like Groupon.com, where you can purchase coupons for restaurants in your area, usually at around 50% off. They send you deals they think you might like (based on a profile you create) every few days, and you can buy the ones you're interested in. I've used Groupon to try out some restaurants that would otherwise have been out of my comfort zone pricewise.

What are some of your favorite ways to save money when dining out? I'm always looking for new tricks, so please share!