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You are here: Home / Couples / 55 Frugal Date Ideas for Couples on a Budget

55 Frugal Date Ideas for Couples on a Budget

April 24, 2015 | 22 Comments

I recently started a new series on the blog called Monica’s Two Cents where I answer questions from my readers.

A few weeks ago, I kicked off the series with a question about what to do with your old credit card.

If you have a question for me, I would love to hear it. You can fill out the form on the Contact page or send me a message via Facebook or Twitter.

Today’s question was posted in the comments of Amy’s Journey to Financial Freedom. Here it is:

“Amy’s story highlighted that new relationships or even an on-going one can get you into financial debt. So how do you stay frugal during the early stages of a new relationship when there are lots of temptation and desire to go out all the time?”

– Ursula Petula Barzey

Whether you have a new interest, a long-term partner, or are married to your best friend, I think we can all agree that we want to enjoy our dates without the risk of blowing our budget.

This is a big topic for my husband Mike and me right now because we have recently committed to going on at least one date each month without the kids. It is sad to say that we have not been on many kid-free dates since our son was born almost four years ago.

We feel that being consistent with this is important for our relationship so we are committed to changing that fact. Starting in March we have been enjoying dating each other again.

It is definitely easy to fall into the habit of dinner and a movie. That can get old after a while, not to mention expensive.

Monica's Two Cents

So I have put together some ideas for dating your partner without breaking the bank. I have broken them down by category. Bookmark this post so when you are ready to plan your next date, you can easily find a few options that might work for you.

Some of these ideas are free and some will require some cash. For those ideas, use sites like these to find discounts:

  • Yelp Deals
  • Groupon
  • Living Social

Mike and Monica on Tour

Enjoy the Outdoors

With the sun becoming less shy this time of year, we are looking forward to getting outside more.

If it’s nice where you live, soak up some sun and get some fresh air with these ideas:

  1. Go for a hike
  2. Go on a walk through an eclectic neighborhood, downtown, or on a trail
  3. Go rock climbing
  4. Plan a picnic
  5. Go for a bike ride
  6. People watch at a public place
  7. People watch and come up with silly conversations for what they’re saying
  8. Drive to the beach, lake, or river
  9. Go to the driving range
  10. Enjoy a game of mini golf
  11. Practice your aim at the shooting range
  12. Take a dip in an outdoor pool
  13. Enjoy an outdoor concert
  14. Visit a local festival
  15. Go on a walking tour
  16. Peruse the local farmers’ market
  17. Walk through a public garden

Go Out on the Town

Sometimes you want to get out of the house but prefer to stay indoors.

Get your date night (or day!) on with these indoor ideas:

  1. Window shop at a mall or local boutique and specialty shops
  2. Go for ice cream
  3. Go out for dessert (my favorite!)
  4. Check out a new coffee shop
  5. Go rollerskating
  6. Go iceskating
  7. Visit a rock climbing gym
  8. Partake in a game of laser tag
  9. Pretend you’re in combat with a game of paintball
  10. Go on a bus tour
  11. Take a dance class
  12. Take a cooking class
  13. Take an art class
  14. Take a dip in an indoor poolMike and Monica in 3D Theater
  15. Visit historical landmarks
  16. Visit a 3D movie theater
  17. Go bowling
  18. Play a game of pool
  19. Volunteer together. Find a local non-profit that needs help on VolunteerMatch
  20. Visit a museum on free or discounted days
  21. Visit an art gallery
  22. Act like tourists in your town and check out someplace you’ve never been
  23. Find more ideas for your town from TripAdvisor.com

Kick It at Home

Don’t want to go anywhere?

Enjoy yourselves at home with these options:

  1. Find a craft or DIY project on Pinterest and tackle it together
  2. Rent a movie from Redbox
  3. Watch a movie or TV series on Netflix
  4. Make homemade pizzas
  5. Bake together
  6. Make a fancy dinner together
  7. Play board games or card games
  8. Take turns practicing massage techniques
  9. Camp out in your backyard. Get the BBQ or campfire going. Grill up some burgers and make s’mores. YUM!
  10. Make it a theme night
  11. Practice speaking another language to each other
  12. Learn something new together
  13. Look at old photos together
  14. Take relationship quizzes like the 5 Love Languages profile
  15. Just talk. Daydream out loud and ask each other interesting questions

Free Download

Here’s a Challenge (and a Free Download!)

When Mike and I were first married (before we had kids), we were both working full-time and looked forward to spending our weekends together. But we had a hard time coming up with ideas on the fly that didn’t involve eating out and spending lots of money at the movie theater.

One day we decided to come up with a plan so we wouldn’t be void of ideas on the weekends. We wanted to keep things fresh and have some spontaneity in our new marriage.

We wrote out a bunch of ideas on little pieces of paper, threw them in a fish bowl (one of the centerpieces from our wedding reception), and took turns each week picking an item from the bowl.

We listed specific places we could visit, including hiking trails, landmarks, and restaurants.

I challenge you to break free from the rut of dinner and a movie for your next date.

In order to help, I have put the ideas on this list together in a free download that you can print and cut up to create your own assortment of frugal date ideas. (If you don’t have a fishbowl lying around, a small gift bag works great, too!)

I’ve also included some blank spaces so you can add ideas specific to your preferences and location. 🙂

I hope you take the challenge! Let me know how it goes.

If you found this article useful, please share it with your money-conscious friends.

What About You?

Participate in the conversation. What frugal date ideas do you have? How do you keep your dates fun, exciting, and low cost? Share in the comments below.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Our Debt Free Family
Our Debt Free Family

Team Our Debt Free Family is the administrative WordPress user account for Ourdebtfreefamily.com. Our Debt Free Family is a premium classic personal finance blog. Our mission is to inform, educate and help you get out of debt.

Filed Under: Couples, Monica's Two Cents, Saving Money

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About Our Debt Free Family

Team Our Debt Free Family is the administrative WordPress user account for Ourdebtfreefamily.com. Our Debt Free Family is a premium classic personal finance blog. Our mission is to inform, educate and help you get out of debt.

Comments

  1. Ursula Petula Barzey says

    May 2, 2015 at 4:26 am

    Lots of great ideas. I particularly like the outdoor stuff which I can definitely do now that it’s getting warmer!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      May 3, 2015 at 10:33 am

      Thanks, Ursula! We’re looking forward to getting outdoors more now too!

      Reply
  2. Steve Economides says

    April 25, 2015 at 5:36 am

    Love the fishbowl idea. You guys rock! Keep leading the way to family, fun and frugality!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 25, 2015 at 9:00 am

      Thanks so much, Steve! That means a lot! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Marlynn [UrbanBlissLife] says

    April 24, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    Fun ideas!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 25, 2015 at 8:56 am

      Thanks, Marlynn! Glad you like them!

      Reply
  4. Tracy Rempel says

    April 24, 2015 at 3:34 pm

    I really like this post! We just took the Love Languages test recently. Good stuff. We also like to borrow cultural passes from the county library system for free adventures to museums and parks around town.

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 6:10 pm

      I love that idea! So resourceful! I love that! I’ll have to find out what my library offers. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Havalah says

    April 24, 2015 at 2:43 pm

    these are really fun ideas, I’m pinning them!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 6:02 pm

      Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and found the ideas of useful. 🙂

      Reply
  6. pechluck says

    April 24, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    What a great list! I definitely fall into a rut of similar set of activities, so it’s good to be reminded of other things to do and branch out!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 6:01 pm

      Thanks, Pech! I’m glad you liked the post!

      Reply
  7. Justin Barclay says

    April 24, 2015 at 11:22 am

    I LOVED these! Just being together makes it all worth it.Thanks Monica!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 5:59 pm

      Thanks, Justin! I totally agree!

      Reply
  8. alipdx says

    April 24, 2015 at 8:57 am

    These are all great ideas! One thing we did that saved a lot of money was have the high school student watch our three kids after they go to bed at 7 for a flat rate of $20 per night. She doesn’t have to do anything since they’re already in bed, and we can go out for several hours without having the 15-18 per hour for a sitter hanging over our heads. It’s been great.

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 5:55 pm

      That’s a great idea! I need to find a responsible high school student to watch the kids. Right now we just rely on family. Once the kids go to bed, it’s great study time for the babysitter!

      Reply
  9. chelsea @ the new wifestyle says

    April 24, 2015 at 8:29 am

    i totally love the one of looking at old photos too! my husband and i love to do this while we are traveling (on our phones) because it makes us feeling closer and appreciate the memories we are making currently too!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 5:54 pm

      Glad you like that idea! It’s great to remember how far we’ve come in our relationship.

      Reply
  10. Danielle Berger says

    April 24, 2015 at 8:28 am

    Aw, I love the idea of looking at old photos together! I’m such a nostalgic sap, haha! These are great ideas. Thanks for sharing, cheers!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 5:53 pm

      It’s great to reminisce about when we first got together, but I also like looking at pictures of us as kids and learning about each other’s childhoods. 🙂

      Reply
  11. Lindsay Ingalls says

    April 24, 2015 at 8:27 am

    Great Ideas!

    Reply
    • Monica Louie says

      April 24, 2015 at 5:51 pm

      Thanks, Lindsay!

      Reply

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