Ready to put some money back in your bank account? You've come to the right place.
When money is tight one of the first things to get crossed off the monthly budget is going out on the town. When my wife and I were reviewing expenses eating out was the first thing to go. And the record high gas prices in the past year only added to list of reasons to stay in and find other things to occupy our time. So if you’re looking to head out for a day or night and are in the market for some wallet-sensitive alternatives, check out this list of thrifty date ideas.
- If you really need to get out for a meal, checkout gift certificates from Restaurant.com. They offer highly discounted gift certificates to local restaurants. Make sure to read the fine print though, or even call the restaurant before you purchase to make sure you’re aware of any limitations that the gift certificates come with.
- What about dinner and a movie? A night at the movies can really hit the wallet hard, so go to a matinee instead. It’s a small change, but depending on the price it could be the equivalent of 2 tickets for the price of one! And as a bonus, now when you get something to eat after the movie, you’ll have more to talk about at dinner since you saw the movie first!
- If you’re looking for ways to save on a babysitter you may have a few options. Do you have any friends or co-workers with children with babysitting experience? What about other couples – have you ever considered exchanging babysitting with another family? You take their kids one night so they can go out and they do the same for you on another night. Exchange a little work in the form of a small body or two running around for a few hours for a night of relaxation. Or you can share a babysitter with another couple. If you’ve got more than two or three kids between you this might not be an option, but if you find the right person it could work just fine. And last, but not least, what about relatives? Grandparents make great babysitters and they’re more than willing to spend a few hours with their grandkids!
- Instead of heading out to dinner, stay in. My wife took on the challenge of coming up with home-cooked replacements for our favorite take-out meals. She makes mexican burritos, quesadillas and enchiladas and a fantastic lo mein. And the twist is that we like her recipes BETTER than the take-out meals they were trying to replace. So go find some of your favorite dishes and try them in your kitchen.
- I mentioned heading out to a matinee above, but a movie night at your house is always an option. You have lots of choices when it comes finding a place to get a movie for a friday night, but I bet you don’t regularly ask your friends to borrow DVDs. Why not? Everyone has a few movies that they own, trying exchanging movies with friends. Finding someone who has a different taste in movies can be interesting as well because it opens you up to discovering some new favorites.
Do you have a thrifty date idea? Add your comment below and share it with us!
A special thanks to my wife for keeping our family’s thrifty habits in line and continuing to inspire most of what you read here!
photo credit: HAMED MASOUMI
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
The baby-sitting exchange is a fantastic idea. I don’t have kids, but I plan to do something like this when I do. It is win/win for everyone.
We also trade off watching kids with our friends and this can save a bundle. We also save money by doing take out and bringing it home where we have our own drinks.
Scott – great point. I think a lot of people forget about that option when picking up takeout. The soda fridge near the register always seems easy, but those are the drinks that stores and restaurants sell at a premium!