15 Cheap (Or Free) Date Ideas!

Being young and married, Mike and I have found what we believe is the PERFECT balance between young, fun life and married, "boring" life. (Although I would never consider even our most "boring" moments, boring at all!) (But sometimes I do just want to come home and go to bed at 6pm.)

When I got married at 19, yes I said 19. I was so excited but I knew I was giving up the rest of my college years that otherwise would be filled with late night parties, group dates, girls nights, dances, and all of those other things that comes with being in your twenties and single.

Turns out I made the right choice. (I always knew I had but I think some people thought I was crazy.)

Now Mike and I get to do all of those things together. We go out with friends all the time and while sometimes it's our other married friends, other times it's our single friends. It's great because we get to re-live our dating time when we're out with them. It's not like we've been married for years to everyone else in the group. Some of them don't know us from Adam and they don't realize we're married until half way through the night.

Some of our favorite dates to keep things young, spontaneous, and fun are:

1. Urban Spoon: It's an app and you should really check it out. You shake it and it gives you a random restaurant in your area. You can set filters but how much money you want to spend, location, type of food, etc. Whatever it says you have to go to!
2. Arcade Night:  We have a nickle arcade here in town. Just buy $5 worth of nickles and you have a cheap, fun date night. Get competitive or find some hidden talents!
3. Dollar Theater: Show up at the dollar theater and buy two tickets to the next movie no matter what it is. You could end up in the latest thriller or action flick or see a re-run of Cinderella. Either way, it's random and you'll walk away laughing. 
4. Late Night Foodie Runs:  Sometimes just randomly going out for a milkshake right before closing is all you need. Who needs to go to bed right at 11? Stay up later and grab a greasy cheeseburger from your favorite fast food place. 
5. Pizza in the Park: $5 Little Caesar's Hot and Ready are a staple in our house. Sometimes we stop at the park on our way home and eat it under a tree. It's something to mix up the monotony of a dinner table. 
6. Late Night Drives: Mike and I used to go on drives all the time when we were dating. It was our escape from roommates. Now we like to go about once or twice a month. We drive up the canyon or just around down. Holding hands usually, jamming out and singing like crazy other times. 
7. Working Out: I never thought I would enjoy working out with Mike. Needless to say, my D-1 football player hubby out shines me in fitness. I decided to go with him once and it was amazing! I was more motivated and he gave me tons of encouragement and pointers! 
8. Sporting Events: We have a friend that plays rugby and we've been hitting those games regularly. It's so nice to be out in the sunshine and doing something different. It definitely beats cleaning the house and it's a good break!
9. Geocaching: If you haven't heard of it, you've got to check it out! Click here for details! It's basically the best, never ending scavenger hunt!
10. $10 Gourmet Dinner: We love heading to the grocery store with $10 and finding the most fancy, multiple course meal as possible. Up the amount if that seems too small that way you can add in dessert. It's fun to see how creative you can get. 
11. Dancing: This was something I had been wanting to do for a long time so Mike wrote and signed a contract promising me dancing! I love to dance and, while I wish I was better, it's just fun to get out there and make it up as you go along. We found a community rec center that offers a dance night with a lesson for the first 30 min to an hour. 
12. Swimming: I love to play in a pool! I'm no world record swimmer but I love to jump in and play. If you can find a place or hey, even an apartment complex that will let you in, then you are set! 
13. TV Series: Find a show you'll both love, or maybe convert him to one you love, and get lost in the story of the characters. Mike and I have done: Park & Rec, Lost, Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries (yes, I talked him into that one!) 
14. Park Games: Mike and I went out to a park near our house and played Frisbee for a couple of hours. We love throwing the football around or just walking around outside. You'll be surprised at how much you love doing this!
15. Rent a Puppy: This has become a really big thing where we live. You rent a puppy for a few hours. They drop them off and pick them up. No feeding, no commitment, etc. Mike did this for my birthday and we LOVED it! Read more about on my BIRTHDAY POST!
    

What do you enjoy to do when you're trying to save money and keep your love life thriving?