Date nights get expensive fast… There is nothing more romantic than calling a date “frugal” though — so don’t.

Frugalizing a date doesn’t mean you’re being cheap. The reality: Dinner out for two, a couple of drinks (alcoholic or non), tip, and an Uber home (if drinking) and you’re easily $100-$150 in (more if you go to more elevated restaurant). Was it memorable or just another date out?

Even when you’re married, don’t stop dating. We still go out… But not every time, and not by default to a restaurant.

The frugalizer mindset applies here just like it does to FB Marketplace finds: figure out what you actually want out of the night, then see if you can get it for less. Most of the time, what we want is good food and uninterrupted time together. Neither of those requires a restaurant.

Frugalized date night ideas:

• Bike ride. Costs nothing, and you can talk the whole time.
• Park picnic. Sample menu: Fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil salad, sparkling water, or wine, beer, or a hard seltzer if you partake. Combine this with bullet 1 for fairly low cost (activity + food).
• River or lake day. Gas, sunscreen, packed lunch, and a cooler. For the budget, you control how bougie you want the food.
• Game night in. Drinks, dinner cooked (pick a theme) or ordered in (within reason- like Thai food or pizza). This is typically just food cost. Board games are on the shelf. Invite another friend couple over to double date!
• Movie night in. Make your own popcorn, candy, or a full-blown meal. Or use Costco movie tickets if you want the theater experience for under box office pricing.
• Potluck with friends – double or triple date night ideas ~ Budget-friendly ideas & satisfying. Everyone brings one thing, everyone eats well, nobody pays upwards of $40-$60 a head.
  • Loaded baked potato night
  • Spaghetti and meatballs or other pasta with garlic bread
  • Build-your-own pizza night
  • Build-your-own tacos, burritos, or nachos night
  • Brunch potluck (assign the items or you might get a weird assortment- could be fun to just see what happens though

Restaurants make money on the exact things that are easy to do yourself. Once you find your staples, a dinner in with good company beats most $80-$100+ meals out.

• Scallops and mashed potatoes. This is our guilty pleasure. Steak and scallops, or salmon and scallops can be interchangeable on the protein.
• Chicken parmesan or spaghetti night.
• Nacho platter. Beans, cheese, chips, jalapeños, sour cream or Greek yogurt, avocado or guac, and salsa. Jarred is fine, but the fresh pico from the produce section is worth the small splurge.
• English muffin pizzas, Papa Murphy’s take and bake, or a Costco frozen pizza when not feeling like cooking.
• Cook together, or make it a double / triple date. The cooking becomes the activity.

Know your dine-out splurge– make it occasional, though.

We don’t frugalize everything. Sushi is our go-to restaurant meal, because making it at home is expensive and a hassle, and all-you-can-eat sushi is a legitimately big thing in Nevada. Sounds strange to people who don’t live in the desert, but San Francisco and Southern California supply Reno and Vegas with plenty of top-notch sushi-grade fish. Thank you, resort and casino industry. We often agree to eat in and watch a movie with a sushi 4-roll or 5-roll special to-go and split it.

That’s the point. Pick the one thing worth paying for, then frugalize the rest. Special occasions still deserve the nice dinner out. But why wait for an occasion to eat something great?

What’s your go-to frugal date night?