Fun Cheap Dates: They Can Be Done.

If you plan a date effectively, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Read about Mary’s fun, frugal date with her husband, which included discount movie theaters, street trolleys, and quaint local bars:

My husband is an expert at finding inexpensive, yet super-fun dates to take me on. While a lot of people think being a “cheapskate” is bad, I’m of the opinion that if you save money in one area of entertainment, that’s money that can go towards MORE FUN. And more fun is never a bad idea. The most recent “on the cheap” date we went on started off with a trip to the discount movie theater (the theater that shows movies that are no longer being shown in the regular theaters.) We watched “Daybreakers”, which was ok. It’s a movie in the obscure “vampire apocalypse” genre, and being a fan of horror, we liked it. To save on money, my husband got the candy at the grocery store first and we snuck it in, (yeah, I know, you’re not supposed to do that, theaters make all of their money on concessions, etc, bla bla bla. I say, WHATEVER!) We also shared a large popcorn and drink combo, which comes with free refills of both drink and popcorn (I don’t think that one is forbidden). After the movie, we went to a cozy little tavern in the quaint area of our city known as “Midtown”. The name of the establishment is the “Poor and the Hungry”, and that’s appropriate, since it really is the best, cheapest hang-out spot in the entire metropolitan area. We ordered a $5 pitcher of beer as soon as we got there. Bob, the incredibly nice owner of the place, was working that night, so we chatted with him for a while. Then we played a few rounds of 25 cent pool. After paying the tab, we got two $2 “unlimited access” passes to ride the trolley which runs from Midtown to downtown around. The trolleys are authentic, original 1940’s trolleys, so it’s always fun to take a ride and imagine what it was like to ride these same trolleys around town 70 years ago. And if you get a pass to ride as long as you want, it’s really a great deal. For nearly free, we went “sightseeing” in our own city. By the time the trolley dropped us back off at the tavern so we could drive home in our car, we’d had gobs of fun for under $30. If you’re looking to plan a cheap date, here’s my advice: 1) check out what’s playing at the discount movie theater 2) always be on the lookout for fun, yet cheap, hang-out spots 3) make sure the person you’re taking on the date knows you’re aiming for frugal fun. And if they have a problem with that, don’t change your date plans; change your date partner.