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By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.

Trying to impress a new or old love can be an expensive proposition unless you are a highly trained frugalista. I know seven truly unique dates on a tight budget beyond the usual (taking a hike, walk, or bike ride, going to a flea market or farmer’s market, or having a picnic at a park or beach).

Here are my unusually cheap and romantic date ideas:

• Go letterboxing or geocaching. “Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices,” says Geocaching.com. Letterboxing is the same sort of game without the GPS. Chances are that neither your date nor you have done this great treasure hunting game.
• Visit a museum on one of their free days. All museums that receive government money must have at least one day a month that is free to the public. You don’t have to go to just your regular everyday museum. You can go to an off-beat museum like The Museum of Bad Art in Boston, MA, or The Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI or Fort Necessity (a hop skip and a jump from General Braddock’s grave) near Farmington, PA.
• Sign up to be extras for a movie shoot or TV show taping. Even in remote areas of the world, you can probably find ads for movie extras on Craigslist.
• See a minor league baseball game. Tickets to a minor league game are cheaper and you can get up close and personal. There are lots of fun activities like doing the wave and buying peanuts. Plus it usually is really easy to get in and out of the parking lot instead of sitting in a huge traffic jam. You might find yourself becoming a regular.
• Dine at a local culinary school. Excellent cuisine at rock bottom prices. Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, CA has a student run restaurant that offers both à la carte options and, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Chef’s Tasting Menu.
• Play a round of Frisbee golf, which is officially called Disc Golf. This is an actual sport with a professional association and world standings. Players throw a Frisbee into a series of goal nets. You walk a lot… just like golf.
• Go for a ride in a balloon. If you are in Southern California, here is one place to go for a balloon ride.
• Here are 10 more cheap date ideas from an earlier post on BargainBabe.com.

What’s your favorite frugal date?

Tagged: cheap dates, date ideas, disc golf, geocaching, letterboxing, minor league baseball, museum free days on Monday, April 5, 2010 · 2 Comments »