Save Your MoneyJuly 13, 2020August 3, 2020

Here Are Some Cheap And Fun Date Ideas

Even though the world is still currently on lockdown, people are always trying to see each other. However, going on a date can be quite expensive. The days where you can spend $20 for two people at a theater are long gone. Therefore, it’s more common for people to try to find activities that are both and cheap. It is important to note that spending a lot of money doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a better time. However, what is some of the cheap and fun date ideas that I speak of? We will go through a few of these date ideas. Therefore, when the pandemic is over, you can safely take your significant other out on these cheap but fun dates!

Go On A Picnic

Since summertime is practically here, going on a picnic is an excellent way to save money. However, make sure to be safe and keep your distance between the people around you. Don’t know how to plan a picnic date? Well, I’d suggest using google. Googling “best parks to picnic at” will return a ton of examples. Furthermore, many parks have ratings. Their rates are based on a few factors. First, the overall experience that people had at the park. People want to go to a park that is both open and has many amenities. Second and probably the most important factor is the cleanliness. A clean park is crucial.

Gather some necessities like cooler, thermal bags, and blankets. After that, find a good park, fine a nice spot/bench, and have a picnic. Doing this will save you money on an otherwise expensive meal/date. Furthermore, you get a nice scenery and a more intimate date. Definitely consider this date.

Drive-In Movie

Next on our list is a drive-in movie. However, this option can be cheap, depending on how you go about the date. Relative to regular theatres, drive-ins have cheaper ticket prices. Furthermore, food prices tend to be a lot cheaper. This is due to the fact that they aren’t a major chain. Theatres such as AMC or Cineplex are large and have a near-monopoly on the industry. Therefore, they are able to increase the price of products such as popcorn exponentially.

Every drive-in theatre is different. However, I’ll use the closes one to me as a reference. The closest drive-in theatre to me is called 5 drive-ins. Here, the theatre screen two movies after each other. This means you’ll pay for a $10-$12 tickets. However, you’re getting double the value out of it.

In a regular theatre, tickets can be more expensive. The food can be expensive (albeit cheaper than regular theatres). However, it is not uncommon for people to bring their own food. I’ve seen people bring snacks, drinks, and even full meals to these drive-in theatres. Therefore, if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to seeing a movie, this is a great choice.

Hiking

Hiking is one of my personal favorite date ideas. Furthermore, I believe it to be a top tier outdoor activity. This is due to the fact that it incorporated two things that I love, summer and fitness. You and your date will be getting exercise, saving money, and enjoying the scenery. Similar to the section where we talked about going on a picnic, you can check what the ratings are for hiking trails. Higher ratings are dependent on factors such as scenery, and length of the trail, to name a few. If you’re in the Greater Toronto Area, there are a few really good hiking trails that you can check out!

Above are a few high rated parks and trails that you can google. For example, if you look at the reviews for Bestview Hiking trails, you’ll see that the reviews reflect the scenery. The fact that there is a body of water near, multiple paths, and that it is extremely clean. Lastly, going a hike is probably one of the best ways to take nice pictures. Whether it’s a candid picture or not, you can get a nice background shot.

Bbq

Barbeques are always fun. However, they aren’t always cheap. When hosting a barbeque, there are a lot of factors that need to be accounted for. These things can potentially add up to a lot of money. For example, if you’re fully hosting the party, both socially and economically, you’ll spend a large amount of money on resources.

Plates, food, drinks, cutlery, clean up, and other necessities. However, since you’re on a date, you only have to supply for one person. This is also the perfect time to hone in on any cooking skills you may have. You have the opportunity to create a nice dinner, atmosphere, and it can be super intimate. Furthermore, you can do other activities after the barbeque. The possibilities are endless.

Paint Date

A rather unique and extremely fun date is a paint date. Therefore, this is a great date to take your significant other on. On a pain date, you arrive at a store and pay a set fee. After, you’re given a canvas, paint, and necessary utensils. Now, it’s time to let your imagination take control. The sky is the limit and you can paint whatever you want. To some, this might sound boring. However, don’t knock it until you try it.

Another great aspect of paint dates is that you really don’t need to go anywhere. Of course, there are stores that offer everything you need. However, you can also host a paint date at home. You can get everything you need from your local craft store or Walmart. Having the date at home has its advantages. One of the main advantages is that you can host multiple paint dates from your purchased supplies.

Lastly, there are different types of craft games that you can do. You could even do a spray paint date.

Stay Date

Simply put, a stay date is when you don’t go anywhere. You stay at home, watch movies, play games, make food, and just enjoy each other’s company. However, great about stay dates is that you can do a few of what we already named. Such as picnicking, and paints. However, there are other ideas that you can do. A few of these ideas are baking, board games, listen to music, video games, karaoke, and basically anything else that you can think of at the moment. This is, of course, probably the cheapest date idea. Considering the fact that unless you’re buying supplies, you’re making a date out of everything in your house.

Board Game Cafe

The last on our list is a board game cafe. I honestly am a huge fan of these places. Not only are they cheap (a few dollars per hour), but they can have a wide variety of games to play. From monopoly to exploding kittens, they have it all. Another advantage is that board game cafes can double as a restaurant. Often times, they’ll have a kitchen and servers that come to you and take your order.

Naturally, there will be menus at your tables where you can decide on what you want to eat. Once you order, the food will come without you having to get up and get it. Furthermore, some board game cafes are LLBOs, this means they’re licensed to sell alcohol. Take a date or a group of friends to a board game cafe can be and usually is a lot of fun.

If you live in the Greater Toronto Area and are looking for a list of the best board game cafes, you can follow this link.

Shameed Chris Khan

Shameed is just a man on a mission to help those around him gain financial success. Obsessed with writing about all things finance, this GTA native is constantly learning and sharing his experiences with others.