Art gallery openings are free and even have snacks! Credit: robokirby/Flickr
My little brother confided in me that having a girlfriend is squeezing his budget. When he was in college, she often picked up the tab. But now that he has his degree and is working, it’s his turn to take her out. “Eating out is expensive!” he told me. Um, yeah.
Part of the problem is that because of their work schedules, the evening is the only time they can get together. In my budget for a new college grad I allotted $20/week for fun and $30/week for food. That is not enough to eat out every night. So how are two twenty-somethings to find fun without spending a lot? I brainstormed this list of 9 dates.
1. Get a Netflix subscription for $10.69 per month, including tax. This “one DVD at a time” subscription gives you about 3-6 DVDs per month, depending on how quick you watch and return each disc. The two of you can fill your Netflix queue with movies and TV shows you pick together. Cost: $2.50 per week.
2. Get moving. Pull on your sweats and go for a run together. Nothing like seeing your sweetheart break a sweat to drum up romantic tension. If you don’t run, try another type of exercise like, biking, swimming, or Ultimate frisbee. Cost: free.
3. Go on a night hike. Experiencing a park at night is a completely different than seeing it during the day. Leave your flashlight off and let your eyes adjust. Can you believe how many sounds your ears hear? Make sure the park is open after dusk and that you know the trails well. Cost: free.
4. Find an art gallery opening. Free snacks, wine, and music are par for the course at galleries opening a new art show. Dress neatly and make a game of window shopping for art. If you had the money, what one piece would you buy? Where would you put it in your house? What was the artist trying to accomplish? Cost: gas to get there.
5. Go out for dessert. Pick up scoops of ice cream instead of going out for dinner. Or better yet, pick up a pint at the grocer and split it at a park or the beach. Cost: $6.
6. Free museum night. Most museums open their doors to the public for free one night a month. Find out which night it is and make a date. Cost: gas to get there.
7. Volunteer together. Finding a place to volunteer in the evening may be challenging, but ask around your local pet shelters or library. Cost: gas to get there.
8. Game night. Invite friends over to play board or video games. Provide a few snacks, like chips and nuts. Cost: $5.
9. For more ideas, check out my frugal Valentine’s Day date ideas (which can be used year round) and check out my original post with ten cheap dates.
How do you take out your sweetie without going overboard?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
buy groceries and cook something at home together
visit the movie theatre at the library or other cheap second run theatres. Our library offers free movies every Wednesday night.
bake cookies together
watch some TED talks then discuss the topic that was presented
check the local community guide to see about free community events
attend a guest speaker/lecturer at the local university
@Tamara Cool ideas. I never thought about watching TED talks and then discussing it. A book club would also be a great frugal activity, though I know my little bro wouldn’t go for it.
Honestly, $20 a week in a major city wouldn’t get you very far. I’m assuming he’s in a suburb?
My budget for my husband and I was more like $60 a week for entertainment when I was in the city.
While nights in with entertainment are fun, nights out are what you want when you’re younger. So here’s my suggestions:
1. Join Goldstar or a like service if you have it in your city. We regularly go to plays that cost only service fees ($4-8 per person), and they have a regular list of things under $10/person to do that you can subscribe to.
2. Join Film Metro or other like organizations to find out about film screenings. Sometimes its luck of the draw to get one, but my husband and I saw The Social Network last year before anyone else for nothing, and at least ten other movies I can think of off the top of my head.
3. Flip the night dates for breakfast. Its hard to get up early, but an early breakfast date is sometimes the best way to start the day! Sometimes people say the only time they can get together is the evening, but that’s because they hate getting up or they want to drink when dating. I understand that, but honestly, I tried it and its a lot of fun. Doing pancakes on a Wednesday morning at 5 am before work makes Wednesday go a whole lot better!
4. In the area I’m at, casinos have a happy hour where if you play $10, you get free drinks and munchies for the hour. Might be worth looking into.
5. Watch for good Groupons. Don’t spend unless you know you’re going to use them, but there are some good deals on there for date nights.
6. Pack a picnic and go to the local botanical garden. Many are less than $10 a person to attend.
7. Get tickets to the cheapest seats of a favored sports team. Sometimes its more fun just to be in the stands and have time with one another.
Also, look for a similar sport that costs less than the regular team. Like football? Try an arena team. Like Hockey? Try an American Hockey league team as opposed to an NHL team. Or try women’s teams, college teams, or minor league teams – all cost much less than the regular team!
8. Search out local wineries and other smaller tourist attractions. With bottles that are typically a lot less than traditional sellers and tasting rooms that are less busy, you can walk out with a few bottles for $20. (and sometimes, they taste better too!)
I also scour my local coupons that come in the mail for good restaurant deals and use those, too.
Its just, the cheap dates at home are nice and all, but after awhile, they feel like you’re just “at home” all the time. I like to get out of the house, even if its just to a local pizzeria for the $3 bread stick and marinara special and come back home for dinner.
@Connie Wow – these are great ideas! Thanks so much for commenting with all these tips.
How much did your girlfriend have to spend on your outings when you was going to college and she picked up the tab?
Im sure that you can both agree on a budget for fun and food.
Oh, one point to bring up! It is very rude to say that your girlfriend is squeezing your budget, when at one time, she was picking up the tab all the time!!!
@Debbie I’m thinking of doing another post on how new couples can talk about spending and saving money. It can be a touchy, even uncomfortable subject for many.
I disagree with you that it is rude to say she is squeezing his budget. He was squeezing hers before he graduated! I suppose I could have been more diplomatic about it, but I think squeezing is a reality a lot of us face!
I dont know where you live but I’m in Los Angeles County. On the first Thursday of every month there usually are free Art Gallery events in most major cities. All the galleries on 7th street in San Pedro, Ca are free to the public. There are about 8 of them. They always have completely new art to show for these events. There are drinks (some free & some a dollar or two) and free snacks (chips & even fresh popcorn). My friends DJs at one or two of the galleries, so it gets semi crazy with lots of dancing! 7pm – 11:45pm. So much fun for just the price of gas. If you arent in the LA area you can always google your area to see if there is something like this. Hope to see some new faces this thurs! <3
Our zoo is open late one night per week (admission is free and so is street parking), if you’ve got an independent baseball league near your city it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than MLB (free parking and cheap lawn seating), my town also has a lot of free music concerts during the summer months (municipal bands and local bands). A local grocery store has a cooking school attatched to some of it’s stores and they offer couples cooking classes that are reasonably priced.
Instead of Netflix, check out movies/DVDs at the local library-free with a library card!! Mine has up tp date movies that you can keep up to three for three days. Books & cds for two weeks.
@Gloria Great idea. I can’t believe I forgot to recommend the library for free and very cheap entertainment.
try culinary schools at local colleges….they offer fine dining at low prices! We did a gourmet group and had the guys vs girls cooking from ingredients we brought. With bogopod and groupon discounts, you can go out to dine 2-3x a month inexpensively. UCLA offers an extension movie course with not-yet released films and if you are a volunteer, you don’t pay!
google free museums and you’ll find a huge list that offer free monthly days. Use groupon/bogopod coupons for fine dining. If you sign up for a class, sometimes you can do it for free for volunteering to check in people–the UCLA movie class does that. Happy Hours have half price appetizers/drinks and are good for casual meals……
High Maintenance girlfriends are bad for the budget. Let this be a sign of what’s to come down the road. If she’s really a keeper, explain how you may have to do different activities right now. A relationship should be able to weather any financial situation in my opnion.:0) Just my two cents.
Go to the Target dollar bin and buy a bunch of little thoughtful gifts and hide them in her dorm or apartment with notes on them.
Look at old pictures together.
Fill out surveys online.;0)