Love hurts, especially when it comes to your wallet. Even the classic dinner-and-a-movie date can be pretty pricey when you add up all of the components: parking, food, tips, tickets, popcorn—oh my! I've come up with a list of five dating standards and their wallet-friendly alternatives, so you can keep your bank account intact while spending time with that special someone.
1. Instead of a restaurant: Cook. My cooking skills are severely limited, so for a long time I avoided cooking-centric dates. But there are a few simple dishes that even I can accomplish, namely the three P's: pasta, pancakes, and pizza. For pasta, grab some Scooby Doo-themed mac and cheese to indulge in your nostalgic side, or arrange for a plate of spaghetti and meatballs for some
Lady and the Tramp action. Pancakes are fun to make as a couple—I love to add candy-aisle ingredients like Reeses Pieces. And a frozen pizza is a great thing to toss in the oven while you focus on more pressing matters.
2. Instead of a bar: Make your own drinks. Yeah, everyone can pour rum into a glass of Diet Coke, but you can elevate your at-home drinking to a classier level with minimal cost and effort. Pick up some grocery store mixers—my favorite is piña colada mix—to jazz up your liquor, or pop open a cheap bottle of wine for some mood-setting libation. I've even known some friends to add their own salt rims and garnishes to D.I.Y. drinks.
3. Instead of the movies: Watch stuff at home. When you're dating someone, you're making a promise to share things: promises, hopes, DVDs. I'm mostly concerned with DVDs here. There's nothing like the beginning of a relationship, when you can spend hours showing each other your favorite movies and TV shows. And when that gets old, swap DVDs with your roommates and friends to expand your collections exponentially.
(Also: I honestly can't pimp
Hulu.com enough. My boyfriend and I are currently halfway through the second season of
Arrested Development, which has been high on cut-offs and Carl Weathers, and low on cost—free, actually. And if you're not at that "we're dating" stage yet, a 13-inch laptop screen is a fabulous excuse to snuggle up, if only to get closer to Michael Cera.)
4. Instead of Broadway: See a school play. Staying in is nice and all, but sometimes going out with someone actually requires
going out. That's where student theater comes in—it's an entertaining and affordable way to fulfill your out-on-the-town fix, whether that means getting dressed up for a musical or enjoying a standing-room-only avant-garde performance. If you live in a college-dense area, your selection will virtually match that of professional theater, and many of the shows will be just as well-produced. Just do your research, and keep in mind the level of the performers (majors vs. non-majors, undergraduate vs. graduate students). And, students: If you want to see a show for
free, offer to review it for your college newspaper, then call the theater in advance to arrange for a pair of press tickets.
5. Instead of shopping: Browse. Shopping isn't necessarily a beloved date activity—nobody wants to watch their special someone try on sweaters for an hour—but browsing non-clothing stores can make for a surprisingly good time (just watch the IKEA scene from
500 Days of Summer and you'll know what I'm talking about). Book and music stores are a natural way to explore each other's interests, and "just browsing" is the perfect cover for some pre-birthday or -anniversary reconnaissance. And don't forget about stores you love to hate: a former flame and I once spent a good 30 minutes mocking the Obamaphernalia at Urban Outfitters.
How do you keep dating fun and affordable?
Comments (11)
Hahah you, my friend, are awesome. "attend to more *PRESSING* matters" lmao! but yes, i do like your suggestions! especially the school plays. :D
1-3 is stuff I've done. Good ideas ^__^ It's also nice to take walks on the beach and stuff.
going to the park is free, just takes a little gas. we have a bonfire pit in our backyard so summer nights we sit by the fire... there's always outdoor concerts and and art shows and stuff like that in the summer that are usually free. I'm pretty good at being cheap.
@snapeful@xanga - Hahaha thanks, double entendres are like my second language
@pretend2fly@xanga - Ooh a bonfire pit, that sounds really nice! Do you ever make s'mores?
@sarah - haha asking a pregnant woman if she makes smores! are you kidding? lol i SOBBED one night because we were having a bonfire and i forgot marshmellows. haha.
When my husband and I first started dating, I was still in school and working tons of hours. He was working even more hours paying down debt. Neither of us had money - and even less time! We used to go for a 2 hour walk every night. That was about the only time we saw each other. But it was fantastic, we got to know so much more about each other than we ever would have had we spent the time in silence watching movies!
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - Aww, that's cute! I just moved to NYC so I expect to be taking a lot of walks with my guy :)
@pretend2fly@xanga - Hahaha fair enough.
The first one is the best idea.