Frugal Date Ideas | Free and Cheap Dates to Take Yourself (or Loved One) on – EP 21

We all want to enjoy quality time with our significant other, but how can we do this on a budget?! Today we’re talking about nurturing our relationships and our bank accounts. We search the internet, and discuss our own tips on getting out (or staying in!) to enjoy fun and memorable dates with your love!

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Notable Notes:

  • What the Internet has to say: 
    • This article from StyleCaster brings us 31 FREE date ideas. From exploring free activities in your area, to planning fun get together’s with friends, there are certainly some creative ideas worth trying here.
  • What Jen and Jill have to say:
    • We like tip #8, which is enjoying a beach day – this can be done inexpensively and even in land-locked areas by finding a nearby lake with a bit of nice shoreline!
    • Tip #13 recommends visiting an open house, which we definitely think is a fun way to spend an afternoon. Jill has taken this a step further to recommend boat and RV show rooms 🙂
    • We agree with tip #25 which recommends playing old school video games – even those least interested in video games can get on board with pacman!!
    • One of our favorite ideas was #5 which is geocaching – the adult (but still child friendly) version of a treasure hunt! PLUS this is how Travis proposed to Jen!! (aww ;))
    • We don’t recommend #15 Messy Twister – unless chocolate is involved.
  • What the Internet has to say:
    • This article from The Krazy Coupon Lady lists 23 cheap and free date ideas. There are some great tips on ways to get high end items/services at a fraction of the cost, and links to websites to start planning your own romantic dates and getaways.
  • What Jen and Jill have to say:
    •  We like that this article listed frugal date ideas in addition to free date ideas – there should be money in the budget to go out, but we certainly do not always need to spend top dollar! 
    • #5 cook together – we agree that this can be a great way to bond, create a new experience, and work side by side.
    • We like idea #14 which gives ideas on getting cheap tickets to local sporting events. Because there’s so much baseball (Plus minor leagues!)
    • We love that this article recommends playing together, Tip #21 suggests playing outside – we like frisbee, badmitton, volleyball, or simply playing ‘catch’!
    •  Check out tip #4 which recommends groupon for purchasing couples massages – this is a great way for a luxury date on a budget!
    • #16 go to a ‘you-pick’ farm – look into farms in your area allowing you to pick and pay for what you have harvested. This is a nice “two for one” date in that you can enjoy time at the farm, AND go home and make something with your bounty!

BILL OF THE WEEK – If you want to submit your bill of the week visit frugalfriendspodcast.com/bill to leave us a bill

  • Thanks so much Jenna for sharing your frugal tips! We love to learn new ways to save on gym costs – and what a great date idea to do a yoga class with your significant other!

General Rules to Live by and Other frugal date ideas:

  • Jill 
    • Invest in something small that will provide multiple enjoyable and memorable dates (i.e. small motorized raft for a summer-times worth of boating and picnics!)
    • Explore yard sales and thrift stores together, with a set spending limit in mind
    • Work on a project together, or volunteer together
  • Jen 
    • Combine something you have to do with your partner. Running, Don’t do something free that will cause you to spend money elsewhere (ie. taking a walk and ending up buying a $4 coffee, just bring your own.) 

Other Exciting Things:

  • Have you joined The Frugal Friends Book Club!?
    • This month we’re reading The Year of Less by Cait Flanders. We have a thread in our Frugal Friends Facebook group where we’re talking about all our frugal reading. If you haven’t joined, head to frugalfriendspodcast.com/group to jump in on the conversation!
  • AND get your library cards out because next month we’re reading Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez.

But wait – there’s more! If you want a copy – we’re giving them away for free! For every 5 reviews we get this month, we’ll give away 1 copy of the book, no limit!

    • To enter to win; leave us a review on your podcast listening device (not just itunes), take a screenshot of the review, and send it to frugalfriendspodcast@gmail.com
    • We’ll select the winners for this book at the end of the day September 30th

Thank you so much for hanging out with us today! Hit the subscribe button wherever you’re listening to this episode and we’ll come at you every Friday with more frugal goodness. Until next week!

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