Date Ideas That Won't Hurt Your Wallet

I know that planning great and interesting dates can be fairly difficult when you do not have a lot of money to spend. I feel like it has been perceived that great dates can only be obtained by spending a great deal of money, but that is not always the case! You and your significant other can find cheap alternatives to fancy dates by getting creative and catering to

both of your interests. Any date can be enjoyable as long as you are together! Scroll down for some inspiration for your upcoming dates!

1. Movie Marathon
A great and cheap option for a date is to have a movie night and binge watch a TV or movie series. Talk to your significant other and figure out what movies you want to binge watch. You can also grab some snacks and candies from your local convenience store to share. The best part about this date idea is that you can do it from the comfort of your own living room! This is a great option for when you want to spend some relaxing, alone time with your significant other.

2. Picnic Date
A cheaper alternative to going to a fancy dinner is to head to a park or beach for a picnic. Grab a picnic blanket to lay out and soak up the sun with your significant other! You can also make your own lunch, grab snacks, and bring that for your meal. This is a great way to have a meal together without the expenses of paying a bill! A picnic date is a good way to relax, snack, and just talk with your partner while still getting out of the house! (A plus: if you go late enough at night, you can stargaze as well!)

3. Board Game Night
For the couples who rather spend a night in, this idea could be a great option for you! Pick out some of your favorite board games and play however long you want! You can also grab card games from your local Target or Walmart. This allows you to stay in and still have something fun and exciting to do. This can occupy you both for hours while connecting with your partner.

4. Painting Date

Another great date idea is to do an “art night”. This is a way to get creative with your significant other! Grab art supplies like colored pencils, sketchbooks, paint, and canvases and paint for your date! You can paint whatever you’d like and can even make it a competition. Personally, I think a fun idea would be to create a work of art together. You paint one section and hand it off to your partner to paint another section, and keep going till the painting is complete. This allows for hours of creative fun, where you both can listen to music and spend quality time together!

5. Going to a Museum

Going to a museum can be a cheap date where you can both get out of the house! This is a great way to get dressed up and spend the day out. Most museum tickets are around $15 so it won’t hurt your wallet. Pick a museum of your choosing, whether it’s a history, art, or science museum. As long as you and your significant other both agree on the type of museum it allows you two to share an interest and learn about it together!

6. Baking Date

For the couples with a sweet tooth, this might be a great date idea for you! Heading to the grocery store to grab ingredients to bake something together. This can be a fairly cheap date depending on what you decide to bake. You can also grab icing and decorations to decorate the cookies or cake you make. Then you get to eat your yummy creation, so it’s really just win-win!

7. Mini-Golfing

Yes, this is a clique date idea but can be the most fun. For the couples who rather go out and do something this is a great idea. Mini-golfing is fairly cheap so you don’t have to worry about spending too much money! There are also glow in the dark mini-golf places to go to, so it could also give you two a great photo opportunity. You and your significant other can also keep track of who's winning for some lighthearted competition!

8. Arcade Night

Another date idea for a night out is to head over to an arcade, which is a personal favorite of mine. You and your partner can split the cost to play games. This is a great way to kill time while still having something fun to do. I guarantee that you will be so distracted with the fun games, you won’t even realize hours have gone by! A romantic plus for the date is to win a prize for your significant other.

9. Spa Night

A great way to spice up a night in the house is to do a spa night! Pick up your favorite face masks, under eye masks, and a few snacks and start the spa night. Put on the face masks and relax with your significant other. A relaxing and cheap way to spend some time together, while getting some skincare routines done!

10. Going to a Sports Game

For the “sporty” couples, this can be a great option for you. Depending on the sporting event you want to go to, this can be not too expensive. For example, cheap tickets for baseball games can be around $20! Pick your favorite sport and go watch your favorite team play. This can be a fun outing where you can get alcoholic drinks (if you are 21+) and some yummy snacks!

There are so many options for dates, but these are just a few ideas. You can also come up with your own dates and take some inspiration from the list above. Get creative and cater to both of your interests and I’m sure it’ll be a great time. The important thing to remember is that no matter how cheap or expensive the date is, it won’t matter because you will be with someone you love and care about!