I’m currently unemployed, and my husband and I are getting into a bit of a rut. We don’t have money to go out to dinner, see a movie, go to the bar, etc. I’ve been trying to come up with cheap date ideas (spending an afternoon at the local pool, flying kites, cooking together, going to the museum, etc.), but I’m trying to come up with more ideas. We (well, more specifically, I) need to get out of the house more, but we don’t have the means to do what we used to do.
You’ve already got my favorite, cooking together, so I’ll have to go with hiking & picnic. Or board games can be a fun way to fill an evening, if you own them already, or can borrow one from a friend. I have a fondness for Settlers of Catan.
For free movies, check your local library.
This is a bit more risky, but reading aloud used to be entertainment for the whole family. Is there a book you both might like?
Go for a hike/bike/walk/play catch/toss frisbee/etc at the local park or trail.
Maybe do some simple volunteer work? Help kids with homework at the library or wherever, put in a few hours at the local animal shelter (playing with puppies and kittens will soak the stress right out of you) - some of that can be done together.
Dig around for free performances; you’ll often find schools and stores with free plays or music or comedy.
If your taste runs towards games look for places where you can go play cards/chess/random board games - game stores, coffee shops, or host 'em yourself; it can just be the two of you or maybe you’d like to have a few friends over to play bridge or charades or whatever.
Check your local newspaper for local free concerts and out-door movies. Those are happening all over the country right now.
Also, another great cheap date is the picnic. Find some outdoor location you’ve never or rarely been to, pack a few sandwiches and a bottle of wine and go hiking. You might get some outdoor nookie in the process!
Every museum and cultural center has Free Days as well.
My first thought was board games. My friends and I used to get them from second-hand stores and have fun with figuring out what to do in lieu of missing pieces or making up the rules if they weren’t in the box any more.
Coffee shops was another one. The local indie shops usually have some games, or open mic nights, or even musicians on the weekends. Pretty cheap entertainment for a couple cups of coffee.
Is there a local Park District? Many of them have local community based classes, programs, or single events that are either free or really cheap.
Do you have a university in your town? One of the ones I attended almost always had something going on that was either free to the public or very cheap . . . concerts, lectures, art exhibits, and so forth. Some of these things were admittedly rather lame but some were truly exceptional in terms of entertainment and/or educational value. It might be worth poking around at your local university’s website to see what kind of things might be listed under the “public events calendar,” or whatever it might be called. Anyway, it’s a thought. Beyond that, I find that I would just be repeating what others have said in this thread.
Also, best wishes to you and your husband. I happen to know what it’s like to be financially challenged. Hang in there.
If you can’t afford to go out to dinner, have dinner at home, then go out for dessert/coffee. You each get your own coffee, you get one decadent dessert to share. You get alone-time in a place that’s not the same ol’ four walls, you feel like you’ve indulged in something, and you haven’t spent a fortune.
People-watching is always good, too. When my hubby was under-employed (and I was a SAHM), we would tag my MIL to babysit (hey, free babysitting!), and we would go to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. We’d just stroll around, holding hands, watching people. At some point, we’d usually spring for some frozen yogurt. Cheap, fun, good bonding.
Movies can certainly be costly, but if your schedules are flexible enough, most movie theaters offer super-low pricing early in the day, especially during the week. I know our local theater has the “AM Show”, which is any show before Noon. Admission is $3.00. We tend to take our own snacks, which really cuts down on the cost of going to the movies! In fact, even though we’re not broke any more, we still usually take our own snacks (though we will now buy a large soda to share from the concession stand). Even if you can afford those scalper’s prices, they’re still hideous!
And remember, some massage oil, a few candles, and an afternoon of hot monkey-sex is cheap!
My wife and I bought an earphone splitter, so we can both listen to the laptop at the same time. Then, we watch dvd’s or Internet movies in the bedroom with popcorn, drinks, snacks, etc. I lay a towel down underneath to catch crumbs.
We head out to the local parks. There’s one with a huge off-leash dog area where we’ll take some cold drinks and sit around watching the puppies play, one where we go to toss frisbees, and 2 others where we play disc golf. Aside from the $1 parking fee at the first park, it’s all free with loads of fresh air and sunshine!
We have a nice farmer’s market where there’s live music, tubthumping, tons of purebred dogs being walked around, etc. It makes for a nice, carnival-like outing. If we can resist the urge to buy things, it’s just the cost of gas to drive to town.
We also live at the borders of a very nice park. We’ve had lots of lovely dates walking the trails there, riding paddleboats, hanging over the edge of the covered bridge to watch the river, etc.
Back when we were young and broke, we passed many an evening mall-walking. We would people-watch, window shop, plan our future, occasionally splurge for a cookie… That particular mall often had craft shows, so we could wander among the booths and marvel at or mock the offerings. It was all in a safe, climate-controlled environment. (We were living in FL and walks outside at night = me as mosquito buffet.)
Geocache! (google it) It’s like a huge organized scavenger hunt. All you’ll need is a car, possibly a map, and a GPS. Fellow geocachers hide boxes all over the country and provide clues to the spot, along with GPS coordinates, and your job is to go find them. My brother has been doing this for years. We’ve discovered some great places, even in our own city, that we would have never found on our own.
If history interests you, go explore your local cemeteries. Many are beautifully landscaped and are great spots for picnics. The older, more humble ones are my favorite, but I’ve rarely met one that didn’t intrigue me. You can piece together when epidemics occurred or marvel over infant mortality rates or wonder what Hattie Sue had going for her that she was able to land four husbands…great stuff for dates!! Check out a book on local history from the library beforehand so you can refer to it.
Drive out to the country and star gaze. Just bring a blanket or two and some bug spray. My friends used to do this all the time when they were in college. Best time is in the fall after harvest. They’d just drive to some random farmer’s farm after full dark, pull over and lay down in his field. I’m pretty sure some pot was also involved, but you asked for cheap suggestions.
Make good use of your local parks. If there’s one with a lake, rent a row boat and show off your manly pecs. Or rent a paddle boat and paddle to an island for a picnic lunch. Feed the ducks. Sign up for their newsletter if they have one – many have free hikes/talks with the naturalist.
Go to county fairs or church festivals and people watch. Or go to the horse races on a beautiful day (most let you in free now) and just bet the minimum or not at all.
In the winter, turn off the tv and build a fire. Then get a jigsaw puzzle (local bookstores usually carry good quality ones) and start solving! Sounds lame, but jigsaw puzzles are great for dates because they keep your eyes busy, but you’re still able to carry on conversations. The only other thing you’ll need is a good light.
If you enjoy the theatre, make it a matinee instead of an evening performance and save 25% or more. Check out local theatre groups instead of professional ones.
Is there a farmer’s market nearby? They often have prepared food offerings for cheap, or samples of bread and such. And you can people watch, or buy fresh veggies and stuff for cheap, then go home and make dinner together. It’s a pretty good time. (It’d be a better time if the ones around here didn’t get going so early in the morning, but whatever.)
