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

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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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!