Who loves to save money? Me too!!! For this week’s blog, I thought I’d share some fun and cheap dating ideas for us guys and gals who don’t have the moolah for fancy steak dinners and who are still paying off our student loans until the day we die. 😛

1. Exercise Together. Play a sport together. Shoot some hoops. Smack around a tennis ball. Take a walk (or run, if you’re more athletic than me). Or round up some friends for a game of Frisbee golf or volleyball.
2. Get Some Fresh Air. Take a hike. Walk on the beach. If you or a friend has a fire pit, round up some friends for s’mores and conversation.
3. Explore Your Neighborhood. My friend and her boyfriend have “tourist in your own city” days where they explore their city and its historical landmarks. What a fun idea!
4. Get “Lost” in a Nearby Neighborhood. If you have enough money for gas, pack a cooler with some lunch and explore a nearby neighborhood. Walk around, explore the sights, browse in shops, ask folks the best place to get an ice cream or a coffee, have a picnic in the local park.
5. Have a Picnic. Pack some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hit a nearby park or pretty place. Or pick up a five-dollar pizza from Little Caesars (one of my man and I’s personal favorites) and have an impromptu picnic. Feed the ducks. Breathe in the fresh air (and pizza – yum!).
6. Explore the Stacks. My friend and her husband like to go to Barnes & Noble and look at travel books together. What a fun idea! Just because you can’t afford something now doesn’t mean you can’t dream. (Sidenote: Last week, one of my friends and I had an awesome conversation about our dream houses. She inspired me to believe that one day I could have my own home! It’s amazing the power of dreaming!) Or each pick out a favorite book or two and come back and share them together. Who says Show-and-Tell has to end at kindergarten? You could even pick out a book for your partner, and then share why you picked that particular book.
7. Thrift-Store Fun. One day, while Instagram-stalking some celebrity’s page, I saw that she and her guy had gone to the Goodwill and given each the task of picking out an outfit for the other, with the stipulation that they would have to wear the outfit in public for a date. How fun is THIS? You could even choose a decade or pick a theme, like prom or Western-wear.
8. Go Garage Sale-ing. Put some coffee or tea in to-go mugs some Saturday and go garage sale-ing. You can find some amazing deals for a few dollars or quarters, and this is one place you can haggle, haggle, haggle. For a fun twist, give each other five dollars and buy each other a gift (not letting the other see it until the end of the adventure).
9. Make a Bucket List Together. This goes along with dreaming again. It’s really easy as we get older for stress and bills and adulting to push out the free, dreaming part of our brain. Make some bucket lists. What’s on your travel bucket list? Adventures bucket list? Here’s a good one for dating couples: What places do you want to explore in your city? I created a bucket list for my town that includes exploring all the local coffee shops, bookstores, and donut places (we have SO many delicious and quirky donut shops!). This is also a fun way to create more date ideas!!!
10. Make a Playlist. With services like Spotify, you can create a playlist free of charge. Per the advice of a friend, I created a “Happy Songs” playlist with some of my favorite songs, and when I’m having a bad day or need a pick-me-up, I fire up this playlist. How about creating a playlist together with your date of your favorite songs, or pick a theme like summer songs or love songs (if you’re mushballs—no judgment here!). You could even create your own individual playlists and share them with one another. You’ll learn a lot about each other when you share your favorite songs  and the stories behind them.

I could go on and on! Here are five more. Please share your ideas in the comments. 🙂

• Buy some crayons and coloring books from the dollar store (or borrow them from your little sis or brother), and color together. Or buy or borrow some Play-Doh, and make and bake some creations.
• Play a board game, or teach each other your favorite card game. Pop some popcorn, and invite your friends over.
• Read a book together. You can even literally read a book together, alternating chapters aloud.
• Volunteer/serve together. Serve pancakes at the homeless shelter. Sign up for your church’s next volunteer day. Do something nice for someone in your life who is struggling.
• Look up a star chart on your phone, and stargaze. We don’t spend enough time just marveling at God’s creation. Looking up at the stars, whether bundled up with hot cocoa or standing barefoot in the grass, reminds us of the amazing world we live in, that there is much more than just our problems, and that there is a creator who loved us enough to create such a beautiful world.

Have a great week!!! Share your favorite cheap and fun date ideas in the comments. If all else fails, there’s dollar tacos. You can never go wrong with tacos. 🙂