When you think of a romantic evening, you probably picture a candlelit dinner at a nice restaurant. However, going out to eat every week for date night can get expensive. It’s important to continue to date your spouse to keep your spark alive. But if you’re trying to pay down debt or meet other shared financial goals, there may not be enough room in your budget for fancy restaurant meals and excursions.
Luckily with a bit of creativity, you can plan fun date nights that will foster emotional connection on a budget. To give you some inspiration, here are five affordable date activities I love to do with my spouse.
5 Fun, Affordable Date Night Ideas
Have a Book Club Discussion
One of my favorite things to do with my spouse is pick a book to read from the library and have a book club style discussion about it. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and the library will have two copies so you can read the book at the same time. But otherwise, one of you can finish reading first and then let the other catch up before sharing any spoilers.
When we sit down for our mini book club, we like to make a mocktail and set out some snacks like cheese cubes, crackers, and cut up veggies with dip. It also helps to set a cozy mood. Turn on a fireplace if you have one or put a fireplace simulator on your TV. Dim the lights and get wrapped up in a cozy blanket. This isn’t the type of date night that we dress to impress for—we wear our comfy clothes and slipper socks.
I also like to print out a list of book club discussion questions to get the conversation flowing. If you pick books that have deeper, more serious themes, you can learn a lot about your partner from these book chats. It’s a great way to keep your emotional connection strong if you’ve been together for years. And best of all, it doesn’t cost any money.
Have a Car Picnic
As I’ve gotten older and achier, the idea of sitting on the ground for a picnic has gotten less appealing. So my spouse and I have started having car picnics. We find a scenic overlook to park at and we stay in our cushiony car seats while enjoying the view and some snacks. But I’ve also seen people pop open the trunk and fill it with blankets and pillows so they can lounge comfortably.
We bring along an assortment of finger foods like apple slices, cheese sticks, trail mix, and fig bars and call it “carcuterie” instead of “charcuterie” because we’re eating in our vehicle. Yes, we are dorks! But you could pack sandwiches and pasta salad or swing by the grocery store to grab some nibbles before finding a parking spot.
We also like to bring some car picnic activities like Uno, mancala, or a mini checkers board. You can even get a deck of deep question cards for couples and use those to spark a meaningful conversation. If you’re planning to picnic at a park, you could pack some sports equipment like badminton rackets or frisbee so you can run around and have fun together.
Eat Out on a Budget
Even if you can’t afford a three-course dinner, you may still be able to eat out on a budget. When my partner and I want to enjoy a more sophisticated date night, we head to one of our favorite restaurants and sit in the bar area. We try to minimize what we order to save money while still soaking in the nice romantic atmosphere of a restaurant. We can often split one or two happy hour appetizers or desserts for around $20 or $30. If you like to have a nightcap, save the drinks for when you get back home so you don’t have to order expensive liquor from the bar.
My partner and I also love fast food, which usually ends up being cheaper than eating at a sit-down place. We enjoy going to several different drive-thrus, getting our favorite items from each place, and having a little feast. You can even do a taste test and try the same type of food from different drive-thrus or fast-casual restaurants.
For example, you could compare fries from McDonald’s, Burger King, Arby’s, and Wendy’s. We’ve also done this with desserts and compared Blizzards from Dairy Queen with the McFlurry and Frosty from Wendy’s. Spoiler alert: Dairy Queen won.
Discount Day at the Movies
There’s a movie theater in our area that sells tickets for just $6 on Tuesdays. See if any theaters in your area offer discounts on certain days and sneak in a bunch of snacks in your purse. You can make some popcorn at home and buy some cheap candy bars from the grocery store so you don’t have to visit the pricey concession stand.
The Barbie movie also showed us how fun it can be to get dressed up for a movie. Try basing your outfits on the film you’re seeing using only the clothes in your closet or cheap thrift store finds. You could even choose each other’s outfits as a fun twist.
Plan a Travel-Themed Date Night
My partner and I don’t enjoy traveling because of all the logistical headaches that can pop up, like losing your luggage. But we love trying new food and learning about different cultures, so we’ve started planning at-home travel-themed date nights.
We’ll choose a country and put on an episode of a travel show from that location, such as Rick Steves’ Europe. We’ll also try to make a recipe from that region together. You can even put up inexpensive decorations to help set the mood. For example, if you’re “traveling” to Mexico, you could make and hang some papel picado.
It’s also fun to plan activities based on the location you’ve chosen. An influencer I watched surprised her husband with a sake tasting during a Japan-inspired date night. The more creative you get, the better your date night will turn out. If you need some inspiration, look up “around the world date” or “date night ideas” on TikTok or Google.
What are your favorite creative, affordable date night ideas? Let me know in the comments!
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Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance and lifestyle writer. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite money saving hacks or tinkering with her budget spreadsheets, she likes to travel, garden, and cook healthy vegetarian meals.
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