Somewhere along the way, dating became expensive.
Dinner.
Drinks.
Parking.
Tickets.
Dessert.
Transportation.
And suddenly two people have spent $175 trying to determine whether they actually like each other.
Romance doesn’t require a reservation.
Whether you’re newly dating, married, rebuilding your finances or simply tired of spending money every time you leave the house together, there are plenty of ways to enjoy each other’s company for free.
Yes. Free.
Here are five.
1. Become Tourists in Your Own City
How much of your city have you actually explored?
Pick a neighborhood, downtown district, public art area or historic section and walk it together.
Take pictures.
Read historical markers.
Window-shop.
Find murals.
Visit public spaces you’ve driven past a hundred times.
Make up ridiculous backstories about buildings.
Take turns being the “tour guide” even though neither of you knows what you’re talking about.
The point isn’t the destination.
It’s doing something different together.
Bonus challenge: Each person has to find three interesting things the other person has never noticed before.
Cost?
Zero dollars.
2. Have a Picnic With Food You Already Own
Before someone says groceries aren’t free, we’re talking about food already sitting in your kitchen.
That sandwich was going to be eaten whether you sat at your kitchen counter or underneath a tree.
Pack leftovers.
Fruit.
Chips.
Sandwiches.
Fill reusable bottles with water.
Grab a blanket.
Head to a public park.
Put the phones away and actually talk.
You don’t need a charcuterie board with imported cheese arranged like an Instagram photo shoot.
Nobody needs a decorative fig.
Eat the turkey sandwich.
Enjoy your person.
3. Take a Sunset Walk
Nature has been providing free date-night lighting since the beginning of time.
Use it.
Find a safe walking trail, park, beach, lakefront or neighborhood and plan your walk around sunset.
Talk about something other than bills, children and work.
Ask each other questions.
What’s something you want to do before the end of the year?
What’s one place you’ve always wanted to visit?
What was your favorite memory from childhood?
What’s something you’ve changed your mind about?
Long-term couples sometimes stop discovering each other because they assume they already know everything.
You don’t.
People evolve.
Keep meeting the newest version of your partner.
4. Create an At-Home Movie Night From What You Already Have
You don’t need movie tickets.
You probably already have access to something you haven’t watched.
Pick a movie.
Turn the lights down.
Pop whatever snacks are already in the pantry.
Put your phones somewhere else.
And here’s the important part:
Treat it like a date.
Don’t fold laundry.
Don’t answer work emails.
Don’t spend 47 minutes scrolling through streaming services saying, “I don’t care. You pick.”
Pick the movie before date night.
You can even alternate who chooses.
One person’s movie choice may be questionable, but marriage requires sacrifice.
5. Take a Dream-Life Drive or Walk
This one can be surprisingly fun.
Choose an area you’ve always wanted to explore and simply drive or walk around together.
Look at houses.
Talk about where you’d live if money weren’t a consideration.
Design your imaginary retirement life.
Would you live near the beach?
Buy land?
Move abroad?
Travel in an RV?
Live downtown?
Open a little bookstore?
There’s something intimate about dreaming together without immediately requiring every dream to become a five-year strategic plan.
Some dreams should simply be fun.
The Best Part of a Date Is Supposed to Be the Person
Expensive experiences can be wonderful.
Take the vacation.
Go to the restaurant.
Buy the concert tickets when your budget allows.
But don’t accidentally train yourselves to believe quality time only happens when money is being spent.
If removing the restaurant, event and entertainment leaves two people with absolutely nothing to say to each other, that may reveal something worth exploring.
Dating is supposed to create connection.
Connection is still free.
Sometimes the best date is two people walking through a park, laughing about something nobody else would understand.
And fortunately, laughter doesn’t come with a service charge.
What’s your favorite free or nearly free date idea? Drop it in the comments so another couple can steal—I mean, borrow—it for their next date night.Discover more from Connected Woman Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
