Article 4 In a Series of Articles on How To Go On a Cheap Date

Do Chores Together

Okay, nobody likes to take out the trash or do laundry.  But, they have to be done.  One fun date idea that is absolutely free is to do your chores together.

In the morning, go over to his house and together do the things he hates to do.  That may mean mopping the floors, doing the laundry, or just picking up the living room if it hasn’t been done in months.  Do it together with a smile in a spirit of fun.

Then after a leisurely lunch somewhere cheap, go over to her house and do the things she doesn’t want to do.  That may mean fixing the leaky faucet or doing some yard work. 

When you are done, treat yourselves to a nice dinner.

If you do the chores together, you will get a sense of what the other person wants or needs in a partner.

You will also have more fun than if you did these tasks alone.

Don’t make this a “regular” date though or you might end up resenting having to do the other person’s work.  As a once a year event, it can be a lot of fun.

Plan a Vacation

Okay, so you are broke and can’t afford to go to Paris.  But, there’s nothing stopping you from checking a few travel books out of the library and planning a trip.  When you get together and dream about the journeys you would like to make, it will bring you closer together.

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You can make any “rules” about the trip you want.  For instance, some people like to plan a vacation that might actually be possible.  They have fun making choices among alternatives to stay within a budget.

Other people take a “if I won the lottery” approach and stay at the best hotels and eat at the best restaurants.

Planning a vacation can be a fun way to spend the afternoon.  But, don’t be surprised if it spills over into other discussions for the next few weeks.  One of you will see a news feature about a museum in the city you’re planning to visit and want to “add” it to the “itinerary.”   The other may hear of a great restaurant that they just “have” to “eat” at. 

You can plan a weeklong vacation to a specific city or a longer vacation covering more space.  A month with a Eurail ticket or a driving trip covering the National Parks of the west are two ideas.

Go House Hunting

Do you like to see the inside of other people’s homes?  You can always go on the holiday home tours when they are offered in December, but because these are often fundraisers for charities, they tend to be expensive.  A cheap date (that you can do year round) is to go “house hunting.” 

Now, you’re not going to be seriously considering any of these houses.  To make it fun, visit houses that are outside your reach.  When you go in, you can marvel at the fact that someone actually put a bidet in the bathroom or wonder what it cost to have a stained glass window installed. 

Plan your furniture and figure out what works of art you would need to buy to make the space complete.  Figure out which imaginary child would get what room.  Plan the parties that you could have at the home.

This kind of “dreaming” can work for other events as well.  For instance, you can go dream car shopping.  If you dress well enough, you may even be able to convince the car salesman to let you test drive your dream car.