Rachel Cruze: 14 Cheap Valentine’s Day Date Ideas
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and if you’re worried you don’t have enough money for a lavish celebration, you’ve come to the right place. In a post on Ramsey Solutions, money expert Rachel Cruze shared some of her favorite inexpensive ideas for Valentine’s Day dates.
From walking through a garden to cooking dinner together, couples can enjoy a romantic Valentine’s Day without experiencing sticker shock the morning after. Swap out a more expensive date night for one of these practical, sweet Valentine’s Day date ideas.
Read: 9 Frugal Secrets I Learned From Growing Up Poor
Related: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000
Enjoy Dinner and a Movie at Home
Going out for dinner and a movie on Valentine’s Day gets expensive quickly if you add up the cost of the meal, drinks, movie tickets, refreshments, transportation and getting dressed up.
Cruze recommends taking a thrifty approach by making dinner at home and watching a romantic movie together on the streaming platform you subscribe to.
More: Should You Buy Groceries at the Dollar Store?
Go for a Drive
Pick a sweet destination, like a park to walk around or the site of your first date together, make a playlist of songs about love and drive there with your special someone. If you want to save money on gas, Cruze recommends driving to nearby destinations rather than those that are too far away.
Enjoy a Game Night
This is a classic cheap date idea and one that is always lots of fun. Go through your game closet and play classic board or card games together. You can also play video games you enjoy together, if you have games and a console at home for it.
Visit a Museum
Take your Valentine to your favorite — or their favorite — art museum to view classic and contemporary artwork together.
How can you cut ticket costs? Cruze recommends reaching out to your local library to see if they offer any coupons or free culture passes.
Go for a Walk or Hike Together
Taking a walk or hiking is a great, inexpensive way to spend quality time with your special someone and get both of your hearts in shape.
Stroll Through a Garden Nursery or Botanical Garden
If you live near a garden nursery or botanical garden, treat your loved one to a leisurely visit spent enjoying the stunning flowers and getting in some cute couple photos together.
Window Shop for Dream Home Furniture
Go for a walk through a promenade or down a boulevard that has lots of furniture shops, and window shop for dream home furniture together.
Make it playful, and point out all your favorite items — no matter how silly they may be. You might window shop for a massive chandelier or a tiki bar you’d add to the backyard: whatever you want! Be sure to take a pro tip from Cruze and let the salesperson know you’re just browsing, not buying.
Cook Dinner Together
Pick out your favorite dinner, which can be fancy or lowkey, and cook it together in the kitchen with some of your romantic music playing in the background.
Look at Old Photos or Watch Old Videos
Spend Valentine’s Day taking a trip down memory lane. Look at old photos or watch videos together of special moments throughout your relationship. From your first date to your wedding, there’s so much to look back on with a smile and feel lucky you found your person.
Go on a Picnic
If the weather is nice, pack up all the ingredients you need to make a charcuterie board — which you can pick up at Aldi or Trader Joe’s — add a bottle of wine and a blanket, and head to the park with your Valentine for a sweet picnic outdoors.
This Valentine’s Day date idea is contingent on your forecast, so it may not be feasible for every couple to go outside. However, Cruze said you can also have a picnic at home by the fireplace.
Get Coffee Together
Visit your favorite coffeehouse to pick up lattes for two, and enjoy them in the shop or while taking a walk together. There’s likely a line in your monthly budget for coffee, and this date night — or morning! — idea makes perfect use of it.
Go Stargazing
Drive to a spot where you can easily see the stars, bring along a blanket and some pillows and look up into the night sky together. Make a cute game out of it by trying to spot various constellations.
Visit an Arcade
Do you live near an arcade? Take game night to the next level by visiting a retro arcade with your sweetheart.
Play some of your favorite throwback games together, but just remember to keep an eye out, Cruze said, on how much you’re spending to play.
Do a Thrift Store Challenge
What’s a thrift store challenge? Cruze said you visit a thrift store with your special someone and spend $10 each, looking for and buying a gift you think they’ll love. This is a Valentine’s Day date win-win: gifts and a cute date!
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