How to Have a Great Date for Less Than $50
Since I run a frugal blog, my friends talk to me about money quite a bit. I find it pretty fun to walk them through one thing or another when it comes to ways they can save money. On the other hand, I do get quite a bit of flak from my friends for the way I choose to live. As a frugal person at heart, I do my best to enjoy life to the fullest while spending as little as possible. This includes setting a monthly spending limit for myself and my fiancé that my friends often cringe at. Two of the biggest questions we get in these conversations is, "How do you have any fun?" and "Do you ever go on dates?"
Well, I'm here to tell you that it really doesn't cost a ton of money to have fun; and yes, we do go on dates! As a matter of fact, we spend quite a bit of time on dates; they just happen to be incredibly frugal dates. Here are our favorite strategies:
1. We start downtown.
I don't know about you, but I'm personally a food freak; and Ana, my fiancé, is, too! We love trying new foods, or revisiting memories of foods we've experienced for the first time together. So, the first stop is obviously food -- food carts to be exact.
Food carts are relatively cheap, and in my opinion, they're a lot more fun than standard restaurants. With food carts, you've got the opportunity to try food from all around the world without breaking the bank. We used to try a different cart every time we went downtown, but we've been so much that we've exhausted all of our options. Then, last week we took one more look and found a new cart, Love & Whisky, on its opening day!
We had the fish taco ($4.50) and Frisco Burger (around $7). Both of the dishes were absolutely amazing. They were actually so good that Ana and I made a pact to make sure Love & Whisky was the first stop on our day dates for at least the next few times. Best of all, we both ate amazing food for under $15!
2. We take a hike.
After eating, where does everyone usually go on a date? Everyone wants to go to the movie theatre. You know, that place where you can buy a soda for $5.50 or a bag of popcorn for $8. Those high prices are clearly not my cup of tea. Instead, we enjoy the beauty of nature. The specifics will vary depending on where you live, but for us, that often means a visit to Sauvie Island. There are hiking trails, beaches, farms and more, as well as wildlife and fishing. You might even see a bald eagle. You can get all of this for just the cost of a $5 parking pass.
Another option is the Portland waterfront, which offers a long, beautiful walk with an amazing view of the river on one side and beautiful city skyline on the other. And it's free!
3. We break for dessert.
After all of the hiking, we're back to being hungry. So, off to dessert we go. Although we've been here three years, we still haven't found what we would call our "home dessert destination." We'll go to Voodoo Donuts here and there, but most of the time, we're on the hunt for something new. So, the price of desert is never set in stone, but is usually under $15 for the both of us.
4. We head home.
After all of this is said and done, we're both usually a bit tired. So, we'll generally stop and grab a movie from Redbox for just $1.30, which is much less than the price of theater tickets. We then enjoy it on our 50-inch, 3D television that our frugality enabled us to afford.
Well, there you have it. Don't get me wrong, once a year we might spend somewhere between $500 and $1,000 on an extravagant date. However, to do so, it's important that we keep other areas of our spending in check. That includes making sure that the dates we usually go on are low cost. With my Portland experience as a guide, I'm sure you can do the same wherever you live. The key to a frugal date is to think of the things you enjoy, and then think of unusual ways to do them while spending as little as possible.
