*photo from shockya
how do you budget for romance?
we are on a budget. we use cash only, and try to stick to that budget like glue. at the same time, we have to carve out quality time in our busy week to spend together, building this marriage and keeping romance alive. to keep the budget in sync with the dates, we have to get creative. our latest discovery is a dollar movie theater about 4 miles from our house. we will never be the first ones to see a movie, but that is ok. we went out to a movie, shared popcorn and a diet coke, and paid less than $10 total. the regular movie theater costs $10.50 per person here in dallas, $13.50 for 3D. that is crazy talk. that means we would be spending $21 for 2 hours entertainment without any snacks. no thanks. i’ll take the dollar theater any day.
here are a few more of our budget date ideas:
share a bucket of balls at the driving rangeoutdoor concerts (bring a picnic)the zoomini golfhikingrent a movie at homebike ridesfield trip to ikea 🙂walking through christmas lights (in dec., obviously)
share a bucket of balls at the driving rangeoutdoor concerts (bring a picnic)the zoomini golfhikingrent a movie at homebike ridesfield trip to ikea 🙂walking through christmas lights (in dec., obviously)
what are your cheap date night ideas?
riding the mckinney avenue trolley through west village to downtown, sitting on a pier at white rock, dessert and drinks at our celebration restaurant The Porch, dancing to live music at The Mansion
A couple of years ago we started getting gift cards for restaurants from family as part of our Christmas gifts. We’ve come to really appreciate those more than ever. Last year I think we rec’d 3 different cards for different places for like $25 each card. Thats 3 dates right there, baby!And we’re water drinkers so unless a certain place includes drinks with your meal, we just get water(that alone saves alot..or enough to put towards dessert!:))
SO now when family members ask what we’d like for Cmas we make a point to mention how nice those gift cards really are(oh and the stipulations they’d originally given us was that if they gave us the gift card, they were the ones who wanted to babysit our two girls while we went out on our date.) So we’ve never had to hire a sitter either!
We get some sandwiches and quesadillas from the taco stand down the street and eat them while we watch our favorite shows on the internet 🙂 We do this every Friday.
Total cost: $4
(Movie theaters in Mexico cost $5 per person, and Wednesdays are 2 for the price of one. There’s a more expensive, super luxurious one too, which costs $8 per person… crazy movie ticket prices are one thing I do NOT miss about the States!)
i love those ideas!
betsy – i’m definitely trying the trolley and the pier picnic.
h*n*p – giftcards will be added to the christmas list. that is genius.
laura – i’m super jealous of the mexican movie ticket prices.
Our simple ‘date’ nights are geared towards quality time no matter the ‘event’. Last night it was sitting in the hot tub, after a rainshower watching the deer play in the backyard. Walking hand in hand around the farm. Riding the gator around the neighborhood or through the pasture to watch the calves playing. It really IS about just spending time together!
I LOVE Redbox rentals for $1 for movies.
And we even enjoy reading a book (aloud or our own) sitting in our chairs out in the backyard til it gets too dark to see. LOL or building a fire in the firepit.