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Frugal or Free dates
With 5 kids, my husband and I have a limited budget for dates. I set aside $5/week though sometimes I need to dip into our date money if we order take-out for our entire family. Because of finances and our busy schedule, I started a list of free and frugal date ideas, not all of which need to happen at night.
- Sport bar like Dave Busters with games like skee ball
- Keep an eye out for Groupons and Living Social Deals. You may be able to score an unusual trip like skydiving.
- Spend a day in a shore town with ambiance like Cape May.
- Find a local diner and just order dessert and a cup of coffee.
- Batting Cages
- Surprise your husband with lunch at work
- Buy gift certificates on restaurant.com when they’re marked down 75 to 80%. You can buy a $25 Gift Certificate for $2.
- Driving Range
- First Friday in Philly or your local town/city
- 2nd Saturday in Media or your local town/city
- Pack a lunch and go for a walk & picnic in the woods
- Chanticleer Garden in Wayne
- Take a cooking class together
- Head to a sporting event you both like
- Putt Putt Golf
- Bowling
- Head to a bookstore, have a cup of coffee & just look at the books
- Dessert and coffee at Panera’s
- During the summer, check out the free concert series at your local park.
- My husband and I went to Eastern State Penitentary in Philly and it was awesome!
- Check out local summer festivals.
- If you want to go out with friends, have the kids go to one house and pay 1 babysitter and then stay at the house without the kids. You can do a movie night, dinner, just hang out. Bring food & drinks for a cheaper date night than going out.
- Eat breakfast together at a local restaurant. Breakfast is usually a cheaper meal than dinner.
- Do a tour of the local historical spots in your town or city. Usually these are free or only charge a dollar admisssion.
What’s your favorite free or frugal date idea?
Time to Link Up Your Fabulously Frugal Posts!
Because I love meeting new people and sharing, this post is linked to:
Taking a Time Out Thursday, Thrifty Thursday, The Mommy Club, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Thrifty Thursday, Your Green Resource, Frugal Tip Tuesday
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great list! My husband and I love going to a coffeehouse for coffee and dessert and to listen to some live music! I am marking some of these down:)
Lauryn recently posted..An Abundance Radishes – Week 12 of Our Winter CSA
Thanks for hosting and helping me out with my link.
You have a nice list, I will have to check that out if we ever find a babysitter again. heehee
Jamie at Prepared to Eat recently posted..Buffalo Chip Cookies
I have been looking for low cost ideas. My favorite for cold nights are to visit free library programmings. I know it sounds corny but there are great author events, workshops etc in the Philadelphia area.
Rachee recently posted..Movie Monday: The Lone Ranger
oo, I love these tips! DH and I are avid movie buffs so we do that. But last week the ONLY thing playing for grownups that we had not seen (or wasn’t 3.5 hours long) was that stupid zombie love story so we WERE going to do the sands. Sadly our date got snowed out, but you have some awesome ideas!
Gina B recently posted..Review: Eco Princess Shampoo & Conditioner
Great ideas! We like using our museum memberships without the kids sometimes. It’s a whole new perspective when you’re there on a date versus tending to the kids!
Alissa recently posted..Thrift Store Finds – Vintage Owl Bank {link-up}
We love exploring our own city. I also have had “go on a grown-up picnic” on our to-do list for a while.
Julie @ The Family CEO recently posted..Save Money on Filing Your Taxes
Great ideas! We rarely get out on a date…but we spend lots of time together!
Heather recently posted..Cheribundi with Lunch, Please? {Giveaway}
Thanks for joining the Frugal Tuesday Tip this week. Your list is great. Viewing your hometown as a tourist might was immensely gratifying for us when we did get visitors — we could play “see it or don’t see it” quickly. http://juliecache.com/2013/02/11/frugal-tuesday-tip-mardi-gras/.html
Julia @ juliecache.com recently posted..Reviewing your frugal week
That’s a cool idea! I could do that with the kids this summer, and create a photo book of our trips at the end.
You know what we have started doing? Roller skating as a family.
Every Tuesday night there is a local roller rink that offers $2 Tuesday. We all have our own skates (kids have gotten them for previous b-days or Christmas and hubs and I have a pair too). It is the best, cheap family time ever! (And we get a workout!)
Crystal & Co recently posted..THE MOMMY CLUB: SHARE YOUR RESOURCES AND SOLUTIONS #83
What a great idea! I need to see if we have that type of program in our area.
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