Date Night Deals

February 25, 2014May 12, 2014

If you are trying to live a frugal life, dating can be the worst.

Especially when you’re married and want to keep the magic alive, it’s hard to have a limited amount of funds to spend with your sweetie. I’ve (recently) taken this as another chance to get creative and find ways to save money and still have fun.

Before I share some of our date night ideas, I will admit that Fred and I are still working on this. We’re still learning how to date on a budget and still have fun. We have a little date night envelope where we give ourselves $50/month to spend. That’s only $12.50/week, which doesn’t leave us a lot of options, so we’ve done some trial and error to find out what’s worth spending money on and what we enjoy doing on dates.

Our normal date night is Tuesday night, so here are some fun deals that we’ve found for this night of the week:

1. Menchie’s

On Tuesday nights, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt has a buy one get one free (in the Langley stores, you need to check your local Menchie’s to see what nights they have BOGO). So tasty and affordable!

2. The Clova

This is our local “cheap” theatre. On Tuesday nights tickets are only $5 and you can buy popcorn for $2.50 if you bring your own container. We’ve had so much fun seeing some movies that we like or movies that we wouldn’t have considered seeing at full price. (The best week was “Frozen” and “Catching Fire” on a $5 ticket night! #boom)

Most cities have a cheap theatre or a drive-in, so do a bit of research to find out what fun little family place you can find! (At The Clova the owner sometimes tells jokes before the movie – what could be more fun than that?)

3. Half-price at Colossus

For those of you in the lower mainland, Colossus offers half-price admission on Tuesdays.

This is great option for us because we don’t have $24 for both of us to be admitted to a movie, but we do have $14.50 ($7.25 each). Our theatre doesn’t offer matinees, so it’s out of luck for us if we want a more frugal option for ticket prices – that’s why this Tuesday thing is great! We can go to the “real theatre” without breaking the bank.

Here are some frugal ideas that work any night of the week.

4. Little Caesar’s Pizza

Sometimes you just want to order a pizza and have a night at home, but this can also be pricy. Our favourite is to get a pepperoni pizza and crazy bread for less than $10. Score!

We usually pair this with an evening in where we watch a movie and just spend time together. (Bonus: It’s also great because it means that I don’t have to cook dinner those nights!)

5. Picnics

Sounds cheesy, but this is actually a really fun date night. You can have a picnic in your living room for a more solitary date night, or you can find a nice park or beach to have sandwiches (or leftovers) and spend some time together talking.

This can be simple (sandwiches at the park) or more planned and romantic (chocolate-covered strawberries, music, candles, and a little note or gift for your significant other). It’s up to you!

6. Groupon Deals

Some of you have likely used Groupon to find some savings (if not, you should check it out). This isn’t always the best way to find deals, but sometimes you stumble upon something fun. One time we went to a corn maze/petting zoo/got a pumpkin for $10 at a local farm. Really fun day for us! (See pic to the left)

Other fun things you can find are coupons to restaurants you wouldn’t normally try or events that you might not consider going to unless you have a coupon. This is a fun way to explore some options in your city without paying full price! Just make sure to read the fine print before you buy any vouchers.

Sometimes, like tonight, we don’t do anything out of the ordinary and just stay home and spend time together (this week we’re both sick). It’s good for me to remember that dating (especially when you’re married) isn’t about how much money you spend or what you do, but it’s about getting to know someone better and spending quality time with them on a regular basis.

Now it’s your turn! What are some of your date night deals or frugal date ideas? Leave a reply below!

Disclaimer: None of these companies or products paid or compensated me at all. I’m just sharing my favourite date night places and deals and added links for your convenience.

Comments (13)

Katana says:

February 25, 2014 at 6:06 pm

squee how cute are you two!

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Jacquelyn says:

February 25, 2014 at 8:05 pm

I like this Beth. I like it a lot. Envelopes. Married. Dating. Budget. You got it. Sweet ideas

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- Beth says:
  
  February 25, 2014 at 10:15 pm
  
  Thanks Jacquelyn! Can’t wait to hear some of your ideas about budgeting as well. 🙂
  
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Todd Foley says:

February 26, 2014 at 10:40 am

We do many of these date nights as well! Two dates Kristen and I enjoy: 1) Going on tea walks at night around our neighbourhood. This one is next-to-free as we keep a pretty good stash of tea at home, and we have lots of travel mugs, so all it costs is time. This always gives us a good opportunity to chat and get some fresh air. 2) Going “house hunting.” Again, we’ll make ourselves some tea and then drive around nearby neighborhoods (or another town) looking at homes with “For Sale” signs in the front lawn, write down the name of the realtor and then go home and look up each listing online and see what the inside looks like. Some day we want to buy a house, so this gives us a better understanding of what homes are on the market, what they look like on the inside, how much they are, etc. Given how much we’d need for a down payment, it encourages us to stay on budget so that we can contribute to a “house fund” each month.

Great post, Beth. Keep them coming!

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- Beth says:
  
  February 26, 2014 at 10:46 am
  
  Thanks Todd! Great date ideas as well – simple but purposeful. Love it! 🙂
  
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Anna says:

February 26, 2014 at 11:12 am

For movies, Jeremy and I have started using Airmiles, since we tend to shop at Safeway normally and they often have Airmile bonuses on a few things we buy regularly, like cereal. 200 points gets you 2 movie tickets, 2 pops, and a popcorn. It’s great right now, since we can take Elanor with us without paying for an extra ticket until she hits 3.

We’ve never been that much into date nights as a couple; spending time together is the important thing and if we really wanted some focused time, going on a walk was our preferred activity. With an extra small person around, it’s nice getting to have time with just the two of us, so date night may become a more regular feature in our lives.

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- Beth says:
  
  March 1, 2014 at 12:03 pm
  
  Cool – love using airmiles or points to get something useful! Hoping you and Jeremy can find enough “couple time” even with your new little one in your life. 🙂
  
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Thea says:

February 26, 2014 at 1:10 pm

bike rides, walking the dogs, taking musical instruments to the beach with a bottle of wine… although I have to admit our favourite and most common “date” involves a chocolate bar and re-runs of The Office!!

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- Thea says:
  
  February 26, 2014 at 1:13 pm
  
  *In Canada a bottle of wine doesn’t usually come in under the “frugal” date night budget of $12.50, but in Chile you can get a very good bottle for $4 (and that’s for 1.5 litres!!).
  
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- Beth says:
  
  March 1, 2014 at 12:02 pm
  
  These are great ideas, Thea! The most important part of date night is spending time with each other, whether you’re out for dinner or in your sweats watching something together. 🙂
  
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CJ says:

March 18, 2014 at 10:13 pm

Francisco and I live in Nanaimo so we can head down to Departure Bay and watch the ferry come in and depart. We also have the seawall that is awesome to walk along.

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- Beth says:
  
  March 18, 2014 at 10:58 pm
  
  CJ – that sounds so nice, and romantic! Love that idea. 🙂 Thanks for reading and commenting!
  
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Christie says:

May 20, 2014 at 6:24 am

Graeme and I intentionally set our date night as Thursdays when museums and art galleries in Ottawa have free evening (4pm, to 8pm or 5pm to 9pm) admission. This meant that we ALWAYS had something to do outside of the apartment if we couldn’t think of something.

We also live relatively close to a large Cineplex theatre, so we’ve started going to movies on Tuesdays. The $50 gift card we received a few Christmases ago combined with a discount from my phone provider (2-for-1 movies not on the weekend from Virgin Mobile) means we can see new movies for practically nothing!

Generally, we don’t eat out much because it is just too expensive, and save having meals out for very special occasions. We do, however, go to Bridgehead (a local Ottawa coffee shop) for reading dates. They have a loyalty program so for every however-many drinks purchased, you get one free… plus, they give you around 25 cents off when you bring your own mug!

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