Want Free Cracker Barrel for a Year? Propose There ASAP

You can score your share of free food -- if you're willing to make a giant commitment.

Some people think Valentine's Day is overwhelmingly cheesy. Others, however, enjoy celebrating their special someone, and are willing to rack up a sizable credit card tab in the course of showering their partners with gifts and fine food.

But maybe you're someone who's not necessarily drawn to fine dining. Maybe casual chain restaurants like Cracker Barrel are more your speed. If so, there's nothing wrong with that. And if your partner feels similarly, you may want to plan to have your Valentine's Day dinner at your neighborhood Cracker Barrel -- especially if you have near-term plans to propose.

A great time to pop the question

For some people, there's no better time to propose marriage than Valentine's Day, or in the vicinity of that holiday. After all, why not take that plunge when love is already in the air?

If you go that route, you might set yourself up for a ton of free food -- provided you're willing to pop the question at a Cracker Barrel location. The restaurant chain is apparently on a mission to encourage long-term commitments and coupledom. It's running a promotion that will award five lucky winners with the opportunity to score free Cracker Barrel meals for a year.

To qualify, though, you must get engaged at a Cracker Barrel location between Feb. 10 and 16. You must then post a video of your Cracker Barrel proposal to Instagram and include a caption explaining why you decided to propose at Cracker Barrel specifically. (And if the answer is "to snag free food," well, there are worse reasons.)

Now, the following should go without saying, but getting engaged for the express purpose of being able to snag free food at Cracker Barrel for a year probably is not your best bet. There are many more appropriate reasons for going that route, including loving your partner, having similar goals, and, oh yeah, actually having the desire to get married. 

But if a near-term marriage proposal is on your radar anyway, and you love Cracker Barrel, then hey, you might as well see if you can snag a year of free meals along the way. Given the way inflation has made dining out so expensive, and has caused so many consumers to raid their savings accounts, that's a nice break to capitalize on.

Other ways to score freebies on Valentine's Day

Maybe you're not quite ready to get engaged to your significant other. Or maybe you are making plans to propose, but your neighborhood Cracker Barrel just isn't your ideal background of choice (go figure). 

The good news is that Cracker Barrel is advertising an offer for a free dessert with the purchase of two entrees from Feb. 10 through 14. Your dessert choices will include the chain's famous Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake or Biscuit Beignets. This offer, however, is for customers who dine at the restaurant only.

If you're not planning to celebrate Valentine's Day at Cracker Barrel, well, worry not. The chain will no doubt release future promotions that give you the ability to score free stuff. And ideally, those opportunities won't hinge on having to make a lifelong commitment to someone.