Free Dates Your Wife Will Love
The following is a guest post from Bob. Bob shares his thoughts on Christian Personal Finances at his blog, ChristianPF.com.
Alright, I can’t guarantee that she will “love” all of them, I mean what kind of guy would I be if I completely understood women? But, I am sure that she will at least love some of them, depending on the type of lady you have.
By “date” I am referring to anything you can do alone for a couple hours with your wife/girlfriend. If you have kids, you might just have to bite the bullet and pay a sitter for a couple of hours, but at least the date itself can be free!
I have found that creativity is often the source of the most fun and it doesn’t cost a thing! On the other hand you can often spend a lot of money doing the same-old-thing and not have any fun. These are a few ideas that have worked for us.
1. Have a photo shoot | FREE
Grab your digital camera and start driving around town together and stop at scenic locations and start taking pictures of each other. Be goofy. Be creative – think like an artist, don’t just take the same old fake smile centered pictures. Get out of the box and take some weird pictures! Take 100-200 pictures and go home, download Picasa, pick your favorites and stretch your creative muscles even more by adding various effects to each picture.
2. Have a movie marathon | FREE – $5.00
Of course the library is great for books, but most libraries now have an extensive selection of DVD’s as well. Go pick out a few of your old favorites, or sign up for a starter plan at Netflix, then swing by the grocery store and pick up your favorite snacks. Turn off the lights, grab a blanket and cozy up for a night in the great indoors.
3. Go house shopping | FREE
Even if you aren’t in the market for a new house, just go browse anyway. There is just something fun about the home-browsing process. Pick a developing area and check out a few of the display homes. Make a list together of the things you like and don’t. This is also a great way to get some design ideas and to find layouts that you may want in the future.
4. Go play a sport together | FREE
Play basketball, tennis, soccer, catch, ride bikes together, rollerblade, or anything else. It is fun, you get to breathe some fresh air, and most of them are great exercise as well. How is that for multi-tasking?
5. Plan a vacation | FREE
As I write this I am counting the days to my next vacation. You could almost argue that the anticipation up to a vacation provides as much enjoyment as the vacation itself. So why not start planning one? Even if it will be two years away, it is still something to look forward to and will get here sooner than you know it. There are a million vacation related sites to get your brain churning and help you get ideas. Once you figure out where and when, start budgeting for it!
6. Dinner and dancing at home | FREE – $30.00
Make a playlist of your favorite slow songs and let them start playing. You can then cook your favorite meal together, put out some candles, the fine china, and have a relaxing and romantic dinner together. Once dinner is over, leave the dishes until the next day! Slow dance and think about each other like you did when you were dating.
7. Go on a picnic | FREE – $20.00
I can still remember the first picnic I went on with my wife (girlfriend at the time) and it was so fun. I made us her favorite type of sandwich, got her favorite chips and drinks, packed a basket up with food and blanket and we headed to our favorite park. We found a great secluded location right next to a stream that ran through it and threw our blanket down. We ate, relaxed, and talked for a while. We then wandered around the park and I played her a couple songs on my guitar. Guys you may laugh, but girls love it!
8. Play a game together | FREE
Find an old board game in the closet. Scrabble, Checkers, Chess, Yahtzee, Monopoly, or anything else you both enjoy. If you don’t have the boards themselves you can play online.
9. Go camping | FREE – $50.00
One of the reasons I love camping is because all the distractions are (or should be) left behind. You can sit under the stars next to warm campfire and just talk to each other for hours. It is just a great cheap way to break out of the monotony of the daily grind. If you don’t have a tent you can get one for as cheap as $25 at Walmart. Sleeping bags can be as cheap as $10. Pack a cooler and hit the road.
10. Go for a moonlight walk | FREE
If you have a beach near you, I am a little bit jealous, and you should go there – often! If you are an inlander like the rest of us, you just need to find another place. But even a subdivision sidewalk will do. There is something very romantic about walking around at night, especially under the moonlight. Tell your spouse all the things you love about them and walk slowly.
I would second a walk, any kind of walk. Gives you some mild exercise, time to have a nice conversation and gets you out of the house.
I love the photo shoot idea!
You know, sometime just the gift of time is all you need. I see very little of my husband, unless I’m sleeping next to him. And, while his sleeping form is adorable, it’s often not enough. I treasure when I get to have adult conversation with him, despite the environment. Hint, hint, guys.
Emily,
Great point! Maybe sometimes it really can be that simple!
We’re constantly bombarded with pressure to blow every dime we make, but some of life’s best pleasures don’t cost a dime. Thanks for the ideas. I too really like the photo shoot one. I would add star-gazing as number 11. Simply laying outside on a gorgeous night while staring off into the cosmos is an awesome way to spend the night.
Good ideas – except in order to enjoy most of them, they require hiring a sitter… which then adds significantly to the cost
My wife and I love to go camping. We started doing this together back when we were newlyweds. It has endured as a common passion for several years now. The outdoors is a great place for us to spend time together as a couple.
@Staycee – Many families are fortunate enough to have family close by that will watch the kids for free. Grandparents are great for this!
If there is absolutely no way to get a sitter or have someone available to watch the kids then a lot of these activities are good family fun as well (depending on the kids’ ages). You may lose the alone time with your significant other but could make some great family memories in the process. A photo shoot around town could be an absolute blast with a couple of kids!
Those are great ideas! My husband & I went to a jewelry shop and pretended we were getting married again and looked at rings. That was a good one to really make a wife smile
After almost ten years married, it is fun to pretend that you are newlyweds. I am sending this link to my hubby 
@STaycee
you are right, I like the grandparent suggestion, but sometimes there just isn’t a way around it
@Amy
I love your idea, that seems like it would bring some of the magic back
fun article. i like the idea of the photo shoot.
Wow–thank you so much for the suggestions that I can pass along to MY husband!! After almost 20 years of marriage, he’s finally understanding that throwing money at something doesn’t please me nearly as much as simply spending TIME with me.
As for babysitting (we have 2 kids) we utilize babysitters, grandparents, and for FREE we trade babysitting with other friends who also have young kids…they can have a night out while we watch their kiddos and vice versa. Also, we adhere to getting our kids put to bed at the same time every night, including weekends, so frequently our frugal dates are right in our own home.
Great tip on the camping. My family and I camp and canoe for a week each September (trip is coming up in two weeks, actually) with extended family members on her side (about 20) and we spend maybe $200 total for the campsite, canoe rental, food, everything…it is a wonderful time, and we’ve done it for years. How many family vacations cost $200 or less for a full week?
Great post! I am inspired to think of more. How about “shopping” at a local art gallery (free); attending a high school football game (free); and making wishes and tossing pennies into a fountain (almost free!)
@Kim: I like the idea of a high school football game, and very timely with the new season just kicking off around most communities!
At various times in our marriage, we have found a tv show that we both enjoy greatly. The emphasis we place on spending that tiny bit of time together always results in a special little bond that entertains us, long after the show ends.
What a nice post! Although my boyfriend and I do various of these things at different times I like the walk idea the best. What it really boils down to is time spent together. Sometimes a rare commodity in this busy world!
great ideas! we like to spend sunday afternoons sleeping in and then eating a late breakfast and watching movie or catching up on TiVo
I love these ideas. Free dates are great! Stumbled.
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Dinner and Dancing at home? Yikes. I could cook dinner, but I would need some serious dance lessons.
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This is a great list! I like the idea of a photo shoot – something we haven’t done. The other day we played tennis, and that was a really fun time (even though she won – fair and square)…
Another fun fall activity is visiting a pumpkin farm. Not quite free, but a pretty cheap activity – and one that’s a fun way to get outside and do something a little different.
[...] 10 Free dates your life will love @ Frugal Dad. This was a guest post from Bob at Christian Personal Finance. All of these suggestions look like they would result in a wonderful and relaxing time! [...]
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love the photo shoot idea – i’m a photographer, so of course there are hardly any photos of me or “us” as a couple anymore!
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What a great list. I love number one! We just purchased a new camera and still need practice on how to use it. That would be a fun date.
I like the list, and my husband wants to know where the “10 Free Dates That Your Husband Will Love” post is.
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The high school football game is a great idea but definitely not free in my area. Took the family (wife and 2 kids) last week. $20 for the 4 of us to get in the gate and then $11 in a few snacks and drinks. We could have cut back on the $11 in snacks but that’s half the fun of watching high school football is eating a dog or pizza. It was worth the $31 for the family and many areas are probably cheaper to get in the gate.
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