Cheap Date Ideas
Love Don't Cost a Thing: 98 Cheap Date Ideas
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Going on dates doesn't always have to mean draining your wallet at fancy restaurants. There are plenty of affordable and entertaining dates you can go on with your significant other. After all, it's really the time you spend with them that matters and not how much you're spending on the dates. Here are 98 cheap dates for you to try.
— Additional reporting by Emily Co
1 Cook family recipes for each other.
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2 Nostalgia movie night. Watch your favorite movies from your school years.
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3 Watch a free improv show.
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4 Go for a hike in a beautiful park.
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5 Picnic outdoors and prep delicious snacks to feed each other.
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6 Explore the farmers market together, and share some juicy fruits or tasty snacks to munch on.
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7 Tour a museum that neither of you have been to (preferably on free museum day!).
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8 Go to open mic night and sing your heart out.
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9 Visit a board game cafe and play games to your heart's content.
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10 Pal up with your partner for trivia nights in neighborhood bars.
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11 Create your own city tour, and visit historic landmarks.
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12 Pick a documentary, and discuss it after watching.
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13 Have a book club date. Choose a book to read together, and hold an intimate book club meeting when you're both done with it.
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14 Volunteer together at the pound, homeless shelter, or your favorite nonprofit.
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15 Go swimming together.
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16 Stargaze and try to name the constellations you're staring at with the help of an app or book.
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17 Watch birds and wildlife, and try to identify them with a book or app.
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18 Pick fruit from a farm, and find recipes to cook the fruit.
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19 Plan a trip together, and share pretty pictures and hot-spot descriptions with each other.
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20 Buy a travel book of your dream travel destination, and read it together.
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21 Visit the library, and read books together.
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22 Take a free meditation class together.
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23 Bike around the city.
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24 Bring $5 to the mall and see who ends up with the best buy.
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25 Rollerblade together or go to a roller skating rink.
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26 Try ice skating.
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27 Go on a free factory tour.
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28 Go bowling.
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29 Play a sport together.
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30 Make desserts for each other.
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31 Become a kid again, and play games at the arcade.
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32 Throw a fondue night, and experiment with unique ingredients.
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33 Go fishing.
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34 Watch a movie in a drive-in theater, and make a sundae or a root beer float to consume at home before going.
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35 Visit the zoo or aquarium.
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36 Go to a jazz bar.
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37 Build a jigsaw puzzle together.
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38 Go to a local festival.
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39 Visit a flea market or thrift store, and try to find things you can restore together.
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40 Walk around Ikea, and get a meal there after exploring.
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41 Miniature golf.
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42 Attend a tasting of your favorite liquor.
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43 Check out an art exhibit.
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44 Paint together.
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45 Try to fold challenging origami pieces.
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46 Design mugs for each other.
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47 Go to a playground, and exchange childhood memories.
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48 Visit a dog park with your dog.
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49 Attend a pet show or meetup in your area.
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50 Make a scrapbook of your best memories together.
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51 Practice photo shoots if one of you is into photography.
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52 Attend free lectures.
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53 Go to a book signing.
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54 Do crossword puzzles together.
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55 Take a dance class.
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56 Go to '80s or '90s night at a club or bar in your city, and dress up in clothes from that era.
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57 Paint ceramics together.
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58 Take a scenic road trip.
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59 Play video games from your childhood.
Image Source: Getty / 10'000 Hours
60 Go to an airport and watch planes take off together.
Image Source: Getty / Jodie Griggs
61 Make and experiment with cocktails. Come up with your own names for the concoctions.
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62 Take a ferry ride.
Image Source: Getty / Stacey Bramhall
63 Camp in your room, and make blanket forts. Make s'mores with your microwave. Tell ghost stories.
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64 Fly a kite together. Perhaps even make the kite together before flying it.
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65 Play truth or dare with each other.
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66 Go on a coffee date.
Image Source: Getty / Photo by Supoj Buranaprapapong
67 Visit movie locations in your city, and watch the movies after your tour.
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68 Go to the beach, and enjoy activities like building sandcastles and skipping rocks.
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69 Do a spa night at home, and give each other massages.
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70 Learn a new skill together from YouTube tutorials.
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71 Start watching a TV series together.
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72 Start a blog together.
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73 Go to the rooftop of a very high building and enjoy the view. Bring some sparklers to play with.
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74 Tackle an upcycling project.
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75 Write out your bucket list with each other.
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76 Admire the architecture in your city.
Image Source: Getty / Chris Tobin
77 Watch a play together. There are plenty of affordable plays hosted by colleges and local community groups.
Image Source: Getty / Izabela Habur
78 Pet-sit together.
Image Source: Getty / Sally Anscombe
79 Go to a dive bar, and challenge each other to a game of pool, darts, or shuffleboard.
Image Source: Getty / Witthaya Prasongsin
80 Go open-house-hopping together.
Image Source: Getty / Caiaimage/Martin Barraud
81 Check out an indoor rock climbing gym.
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82 Play in the snow. Make snow angels and snowmen. Start a snowball fight, and slide down a hill on a sled.
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83 Check out a local band.
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84 Redeem a daily deal together.
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85 Visit a candy store or ice cream parlor, and spend time talking and enjoying sweets.
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86 Watch a sports game together.
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87 Attend a poetry reading.
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88 Attend a carnival or local fair.
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89 Attend free mixers in your city.
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90 Explore a haunted house.
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91 Go on a bus or train and get off at a random destination, then spend time exploring that neighborhood.
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92 Make a pizza together with all your favorite toppings. Get creative, and attempt to make a dessert pizza.
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93 Watch a high school or college sport together.
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94 Go to a foreign film night. They usually host one at a school or the library.
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95 Volunteer at an archeological dig.
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96 Attend a Home Depot workshop.
Image Source: Getty / Christina Reichl Photography
97 Learn a language together.
Image Source: Getty / Klaus Vedfelt
98 Go geochaching together.
Image Source: Getty / PeopleImages
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Sheila Gim
