I'm a big fan of date nights. Just ask the man I force to be my date for every single one of them.
But, I also know money woes and tight budgets like the back of my hand, so I'm here to tell you, a night out doesn't have to cost the equivalent of your electricity bill. Or even your water bill.
Here are some cheap(ish) ideas for a night out with the guy or girl you liked enough to give up casual sex.
1. Go to Barnes & Noble, find a table or comfy sofa, grab The Book of Questions or similar book and get to talking to each other. Mike and I have done this before and all it cost us was the price of gas to get there. We did splurge for a coffee at Starbucks, but we shared that.
2. Subscribe to local blogs/websites that keep an updated calendar of events for your area. I get lots of free activity ideas this way. Festivals, parades, free fun runs, holiday festivities, free concerts in the park, etc. Granted, these are the kinds of things we enjoy taking Kyle to, but every now and then it's fun to walk hand-in-hand without lugging a stroller along.
3. Check out sites like restaurant.com or groupon.com for restaurant coupons. Additionally, sign up for restaurant mailing lists and special offers. Sign up with a separate email if you don't want your inbox to get flooded daily and then check in weekly to see what coupons you've been offered. Plan your date night accordingly.
4. Check out local parks or hiking trails. Texas isn't known for its hilly terrain, no, but even we have dozens of lakes and parks that offer really nice hiking and biking trails. Pack your own snacks and that date night ain't just cheap, it's free.
5. Cook! You don't need a babysitter for this one. Put the kid(s) to bed, get in the kitchen, and cook together. Maybe you do this often already, so make it special by making a dish or cocktail you've never tried before and then eat outside by candlelight rather than in front of the tv.
6. Go to a fancy restaurant ... for dessert. Eat dinner at home and then go upscale for dessert. The fanciest restaurants I've been to still have reasonably-priced desserts (under $10, even). Split the dish, which is better for your wallet and your ass.
7. Make it a date morning. We have a theater in town that has $4 movie tickets for the first showing of the day. Check out the older theaters in your area for similar matinee pricing. The theater will be empty, so there's no annoying movie talkers to ruin the previews, and your tickets will be more than half-off the usual cost.
8. Go to a farmer's market. There's something about the vibe at a farmer's market that can't be beat and there are samples everywhere. You can get away without spending a dime while tasting a bunch of delicious things, but go ahead and bring $5 in cash to buy something.
9. Take a brewery tour. This is such an inexpensive idea, it would stun you. For instance, most breweries give free tours with a (free!) tasting portion at the end of the tour. Even if there is a tour fee, it's usually cheap. It's interesting, you learn a thing or two, and you get snacks and beer at the end. Hard to top.
(Aside story: When Mike and I were in St. Louis a few years ago, we'd never taken a brewery tour before, so when we did the Budweiser tour, we kept asking where we paid. "Do we pay at the end?" "No, it's free?" "What's free?" "All of this is free." "We don't get it." And we didn't! We were so confused.)
10. Garage sale tour. We've been meaning to do this one for years now. Plenty of local papers have garage sale listings or, if you don't find luck there, just drive around the suburbs and look for signs. Get an early start (and an early babysitter) and you don't have to spend any more money than you want. It's fun to see how cheap shopping can be if you plan a little.
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What are your cheap date night ideas?