I think having a date night with your spouse is the MOST important thing you can do to better your marriage. Most of us, OK all of us love to dress up and to go out on the town. You can still do it, just be a little creative. Here are a few less expensive dating tips.
1- trade baby sitting with another couple
2- plan ahead of what you budget is that night
3- got to the park and have a picnic or a BBQ with friends
4- float the river
5- go sledding (make sure there snow :)
6- bike to your restaurant
7- go hiking
8- go to a shooting range
9- bowling
10- Craig favorite is going to Taco Bell and the "Dollar Movie"
11- Game night with friends
12- send you kids away and have dinner and a movie at your home, it's nice and relaxing!
Here are some ideas that people have e-mailed me. PLEASE comment on some of your favorite dates. Thanks for all your help!
18 comments:
love it!!! I know I need help on the creative side... i'm already cheap now i just need a little 'posh'. love you!
our favorite "cheap" date is to go to Costco and have a hot dog and a drink for $1.50 each, then go to Barnes and Noble and look at books and magazines for a few hours....
we've done this a million times.....
then if we're feeling rich, we stop at TCBY for a yogurt after....
Aubs; remember years ago my fmaous old saying..."you can have fun shoveling sh--"! For those of you who may be reading this.....I will explain. One night for YW we helped clean some barn stalls for a family who needed help. Of course all the young women were whining. Bottom line....we had a blast. I used that saying as my children were growing up.
So....a bright idea....let's see. Take turns coming up with an idea. You come up with a cheap idea one week...your spouse is in charge of the next week. Make it fun....kind of a competition, and see who can come up with the best date....and remember....you can have fun doing anything!
Most
I think a lot of times we are lazy and want to be entertained instead of entertaining ourselves! This means we gotta be a little silly, outgoing and maybe doing things that are different. A few ideas that Craig and I have enjoyed in the past are: picnics, hiking up to jump creek and buying 101 Romantic Date Ideas, by Laura Corn. ($23 kind of pricey, but it gives you a bunch of ideas, some cheap, no cash and some expensive. They also have some fun kissing ideas and coupons. And each date is a suprise to your spouse. i don't know about you, but I love planning things for Craig w/0 him knowing.)Like Mom said take turns and if you try something totally unique and crazy maybe he'll follow your lead!
When we lived in Texas, one of our favorite things to do was to share a babysitter with our dear friends, the MacLean's. We would dump all 6 kids (we had babies 4 days apart, but I don't think we ever left the little ones . . ) at one house and get a bite to eat and then go back to the "quiet house" for a movie or a game of cards. Fortunately for us, our favorite babysitter was the oldest of 6 kids and could easily handle our gang!! Clearly, we paid her more than we would have for just one family, but I think we still saved a few bucks . .. .especially on being able to just go back to one of our houses .. .. rather than blowing a wad on a fancy restaurant and a movie . . or whatever!!! Great idea for a blog, Aub!! Miss you guys!!
Kathider
It's all about Redbox and Filberto's baby, yeah!
Love this blog idea Aubri!
Something fun on a date night or week night can also be to make an invitation for your spouse for a "slumber party", leave it somewhere for them during the day, and then rent a movie, have popcorn, set up sleeping bags by the tv, etc. after the kids go to bed.
We've even set up a faux-camping night for the kiddos on the back deck and added a tv and snacks for them which got them to settle in for bed early and left Josh and I with a precious quiet night inside.
What a great idea for a blog! We are totally in your same boat! We lost everything, and then even were able to lose more than that, so we decided to try our chances in a much much more secure industry........MUSIC in Nashville, Tennessee!!!:o) So now, instead of speculating with homes, we are speculating with songs.:o) I TOTALLY know how you are feeling Aubri! You aught to see our sweet rental!:o) We have a folding table to eat on, and the kids have "cool, see through" dressers. (Rubbermaid). It is so fun being poor. We furnished our entire house for $300! WALMART ROCKS!
Hugs,
Kerri
Girl in your same shoes (Payless Shoes)
this is awesome Aubri! You rock!
Cheap date? Make up a great picnic with extra movie snacks, find a great spot overlooking the city, watch a double feature..the sunset and a movie.
Cheap date huh? Hmmmmmm.... I got it. An old dirt road, Blanket of stars, Radio on, a couple of sleeping bags and pillows, Wal-Mart Lingerie, and a Truck bed with some good shocks. Who's Comin' with me? Stone
So I don't know you, but I found your blog on my sister Kat Serra's blog...I love the idea of this, so I added your blog to my page, because I know all my friends will love it too... anyways, I don't have any new date ideas, but I can tell how my husband and I make $$ for dating, entertainment, etc... My husband Doug started giving plasma, which is $30-$35 per time...he can go twice a week, and they pay him in cash, so that it the only money we use for entertainment...so we get $65 a week for fun, and its guiltless spending because its cash...Giving plasma only takes 45 minutes, so its fast money and he can do it when he has time...anyways, im excited to keep reading your blog.
xoxo, Rebekah Peterson
How about just going "parking." I think that is still free.
I love the idea of your new blog! Anyhow, I think we live in a pretty cool town, especially in the summer, with lots of free fun, Alive after Five, rollerblade or bike the greenbelt, hit up the hotsprings (alhtough this isn't as cheap anymore with the price of gas), Hyde Park Street Fair, all the other little mini fairs around here, and one idea I stole but love the sounds of... Go to a second hand clothing store together and select an outfit for each other without the other knowing what it is. Exchange outfits, and change into them. Go out for an inexpensive romantic dinner (this could be Taco Bell) and find out how merciful (or not!) the other is.
Hi there - I so love your blog and the whole concept. I too lost my job last year - I was in the Escrow industry in California for twenty years and now I'm happy to say I'm not. I started my own business this year and I'm cleaning houses - I couldn't be happier no matter how much money I'm not making:)
Anyway - cheap date idea.....a little wine tasting in the Temecula Valley (coupons used of course, lots of tastes, little money spent)a little bread and cheese and you have yourself a great lunch/dinner on a Saturday afternoon...and then maybe a redbox flick at home!
I'm putting your blog under my list of favorites on my blog - keep em coming!
Lori
www.lorikins.blogspot.com
So you don't know me but I got the link off of Melody's blog and I am so excited to read this. We are exactly in your same shoes. It is hard being broke, but at the same time we are so happy.
As far as cheap dates go we don't get out much with 3 really young children, but when we do we are lucky enough to get free babysitting from family. We are also big redbox fans. We signed up to get their free codes on Mondays. You can't really beat a free movie!
My other advise is to watch for coupons. We got our whole family into the cheap theater for free last weekend.
ps. I LOVE your braclets!
New Dating Ideas generally require a prospective member to provide personal information, before they can search the service provider's database for other individuals using criteria they set, such as age range, gender and location. Most sites allow members to upload photos of themselves and browse the photos of others.
Nice information and I'm interested. It is extremely helpful and beneficial to your readers.Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic.
Healthy Dating
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