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When you think of a date, what immediately comes to mind? Is it fancy restaurants and a show at the theater? Maybe dinner and a movie? If you’re on a budget it may seem like a date for you and your partner is just not a good idea. That’s where you’re wrong. Have you and your partner read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman to see what your love language is? Well for my husband and I both, quality time is our primary love language. Even if quality time isn’t your main love language, it’s still very important to make time for your partner without distractions (whether the distractions are kids, pets, or work). Carving out some time for the two of you alone is a great way to connect and catch up. And what’s even better is that a date doesn’t have to break the budget.
Here are some fun budget date ideas:
Have an old school throwback date or double date. Think about:
Pack a picnic and eat at a public park, arboretum, or even in your backyard.
Make it a challenge- this is at least a 2 date series. Assign one partner to cook dinner and the other to make dessert. Each has the same spending limit, say $10, and that has to pay for all ingredients for two people. Then on date two of the series, switch who’s in charge of dinner and dessert. See who is more creative and how delicious a meal can be even though total for one night you spent $20 for meals for 2 people.
Search for free events in your area. Does your town or city have an email or app with a list of upcoming events? You can often find free or low cost events that you might not have known about otherwise.
Go for a walk or appropriate skill level hike (for me, that would be a beginner hike) to enjoy your surroundings and explore some new places near home.
Ask a friend to create a scavenger hunt for you both. It can be things you can find on Main Street in your town or city, things found in a free museum, or anything else you can come up with.
There are lots of budget date ideas and they can still be fun. You just have to use a little imagination. When you think back on your dates, I bet you’ll remember the random field day double date you had more than dinner and a movie. Just because it costs less, definitely does not make it any less important to you. Comment below to share some of your favorite
budget date ideas and give others inspiration.
So this year for Valentine’s Day instead of going out for a fancy expensive dinner at a crowded restaurant, the hubby and I got chipotle takeout and ate it together at home. We’re both quality time love languages too AND chipotle take out used to be one of our weekly dates way back in the beginning of our relationship. Now that we own a house on weeknights we typically eat at home. So this was a fun treat and allowed us to spend time together! And believe me it was wayyyy less expensive 🙂
What a great idea! I love that you focused on what was important to you both instead of the typical Valentine’s Day. It makes it so much more meaningful.