Published: 10 January 2016

Arby's might be the single biggest generator of fast food mailer coupons, at least in my neighborhood. Every time I turn around there's another. What's more, the Arby's staff is kind enough to not even ask for the coupon. They are probably so used to giving discounts they just automatically hit the button. In any event, this week we'll attempt to wade through a roller coaster of coupon prices for the standard Roast Beef Classic sandwich. This is the base sandwich at Arby's with bread and meat (and optional Arby's sauce of course). 

For the first quarter of 2015, you could get four Roast Beef Classic (RBC) sandwiches for $8.88. This coupon expired in April. $2.22 each is decent, and the rack rate is $2.99, but this sandwich is so simple it's often overshadowed by its fully-loaded siblings. As a result, the sandwich is sold more often in bundles than individually, almost slider-style. In that light, $2.22 seems a bit high.

Read more: Looking Back at a Year of Arby's Roast Beef Classic Coupons

Published: 03 January 2016

Continuing the grand experiment to look at a single fast food menu item coupon price over the course of an entire year, we have another one from Carl's Jr. This time we'll look at their core sandwich, the Famous Star with Cheese.

Like the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, things stayed pretty much status quo for the first half of 2015 discount-wise, with a $3 discount off the purchase of two sandwiches or $4 off two combos. The second discount sounds more generous because you are saving $2 off each "meal" rather than $1.50, but they are getting you to buy two sets of fries and drinks. Let's keep our experiment focused on just getting a discount off the primary menu item. These fries and drinks are a distraction. Still, the perception is a bigger discount.

Read more: Looking Back at a Year of Carl's Jr. Famous Star Coupons

Published: 27 December 2015

The following article is from contributing writer Sean Markey, an Ireland-based freelance writer

The Irish fast food industry has changed a lot in the last six months. As Ireland’s more built-up areas become increasingly melting pot-like, it was only inevitable that the emerald isle would become infused with all manner of different cultures. Of course, the most exciting thing about new cultures is the delicious new flavours that they bring with them. One of the biggest populations of ‘new Irish’ people are from China and perhaps the greatest gift the Chinese people have brought to Ireland is the spice bag.

A spice bag is a simple enough recipe containing chicken (usually shredded and lightly battered), chunky fries (known colloquially as ‘chips’) and a mixture of red and green peppers, all jumbled up together in a bag. The ‘magic’ so to speak comes from the special blend of Chinese herbs and spices which is infused liberally on all of the ingredients. While this blend differs slightly from outlet to outlet, the main ingredients are always the same; chili and salt, which gives the dish a spicy and mildly tangy flavour.

Keep on reading!Meet the Spice Bag

Published: 22 December 2015

At the beginning of 2015 I thought it might be an interesting experiment to collect a year's worth of those fast food coupons that appear regularly in the mail. In my neighborhood, the two most frequent fast food restaurants to send out coupons are Carl's Jr. and Arby's. These two, by far, outshine any other fast food chain. Between those throwaway newspaper-style circulars and the more glossy ad inserts, I get 2-3 from each chain every month. It's crazy. So I waded through a stack from each chain and followed a few popular fast food menu item prices as they changed over the course of the year. Here is the first report on the experiment following the Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger (the WBC).

Things were pretty consistent during the first half of the year, with the WBC coupon remaining Buy Two Get $3 Off through the beginning of July. Note, this is already a big trend in recent times where you have to buy two items to get a discount. You'll see that there are still deals to be had on single sandwiches, but it is obvious that the fast food marketers are getting creative with various offers in an attempt to squeeze as much margin out of each menu item while still giving a perception of value. For the purpose of this exercise and for clarity, let's call this $1.50 off each WBC.

Read more: Looking Back at a Year of Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger Coupons