Cheap Dates
February 11, 2008 |
Cutting back on your budget does not mean you have to cut out your date nights, you just need to get creative. Here are some things we did when we were getting out of debt and had little money leftover for date night.
Check out a movie from the library. Put the kids to bed. Pop a huge bowl of popcorn, drink soda and watch a movie. Total cost around $1 depending on how much you paid for the food. (this was our most often used idea, and the cheapest)
Put the kids to bed and make a special dinner for the two of you. Even if you splurge at the grocery store, you can make a pretty nice dinner for under $10. Use your best plates, cloth napkins, and placemats. Light some candles and put on some music that doesn’t have to do with learning the alphabet or times tables.
Put the kids to bed and get take out from a Chinese restaurant. Once again, this can be very cheap. You can usually get take out for under $10.
I you have access to free babysitting, (trade off with another family) go to Starbucks and get a coffee. Even better if you can convince him to go to a Starbucks in a Target, then you can browse the clearance areas while you enjoy your coffee. Total cost around $10.
Find the local restaurants in your area. Everywhere we have lived (and I have lived up and down the east coast) there is always a mom and pop Mexican restaurant that serves great food, really fast, for really cheap. This is also true for Asian and Greek food as well.
Go to a place where you don’t have to tip. These places are sprouting up everywhere, Panera, Jason’s Deli, Chipotle, Baja Fresh, Potbelly, the possibilities are endless. My husband and I eat at Potbelly for under $13 including a bag of chips and drink.
If you live in medium to larger size city check out the free events. Many museums have a free night or afternoon one day a week or month. Many local parks sponsor free entertainment, concerts, craft fairs, etc…
Enjoy the great outdoors. Take a walk or bike ride together.
How about you, what are your ideas for inexpensive dates? Leave a comment and share your ideas.
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4 Responses to “Cheap Dates”
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February 11th, 2008 @ 10:03 pm
[...] For those of you who think I might have gone off the tightwad deep end, I plan on writing a post later in the week on how to have a cheap date. [...]
February 12th, 2008 @ 1:14 pm
I love this. There really should be no excuse not to have a “date night”. Just be creative=) By the way, I love your grocery goals on the side!!
February 13th, 2008 @ 12:25 am
These are some great ideas. In the summer my husband sets up the tent outside and it is like a little romantic getaway.
February 13th, 2008 @ 1:38 am
Not really a date idea, but we found out that IHOP you can take kids here for free on Mon and Thursdays, they don’t care how many free as long as you buy one adult meal. That makes it really cheap for us to go out sometimes!