101 Free or Cheap Dates Ideas for 2024!
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Spending time with your special someone doesn’t have to break the bank. We gathered up a whopping 100 cheap date ideas to help keep the romance alive without busting your budget!
Free & Inexpensive Date Ideas
If you’ve been around here a while you know that I’m all about saving money and living debt-free. When we were working to get out of debt we had to get creative with our date night ideas. We learned that with a little creativity you can have a blast without spending a fortune (or spending anything at all in many cases!)
I’ve compiled a great list of 100, yes 100, fun and cheap dates night ideas, (and some are totally free date ideas!) most should be under $20 (depending on where you live.) So no excuses this weekend-go out with your honey and have some fun!!
Outdoor Dates
- Hiking-Find your nearest state or county park and spend some time outdoors together. Hiking is the perfect activity to be active and still be able to have great conversations!
- Pick seasonal fruit or berries-Summer is perfect for picking blueberries or strawberries, while fall offers pumpkin patches and apple picking!
- Rock Climbing-Get adventurous and find a local rock climbing area or indoor climbing facility. You’ll challenge yourselves and make great memories in the process.
- Fly Kites-Flying kites is cheap and surprisingly fun, you’ll feel like kids again! It makes for guaranteed laughter, I promise!
- Camping-Pack your tent and find the nearest local campground. Make s’mores around the campfire and sleep under the starts for a date night to remember.
- Visit a Farmer’s Market
- Go Stargazing does it get more romantic?
- Watch the Sunset together grab a blanket, pack some wine and cheese and choose a great spot to watch the colors of the sunset
- Have a picnic pack your favorite foods and pick a picturesque spot
- Have a bonfire and make S’mores
- Rent a tandem bike and go for a ride
- Go Canoeing or Kayaking rentals are very affordable
- Play Frisbee
- Take a day trip to a lake, beach, state park, or mountains enjoy the beauty of nature near where you live
- Go sledding
- Go fishing
- Try geocaching
- Build a snowman
- Take a slow walk around your neighborhood holding hands just enjoy each other’s conversation and maybe take a walk down memory lane
- Visit a local park or playground and play like you’re 8 again!
- Go snorkeling if you are near a beach or lake
- Have a water gunfight
- Feed ducks at a lake
- Take a run together
At Home
- Board Game Night-Gather up your games and make a night of it, better yet make it a double date and invite friends to join in.
- Exercise together
- Have a Netflix TV Series Marathon
- Poker Night
- Cook a new, exotic recipe together
- Work on a Puzzle together
- DIY Fondue at home
- Have a Shrimp Boil
- Have a Redbox movie marathon
- Bake cookies together
- Have a candlelit dinner at home
- Write a Bucket List together dream up adventures you’d like to share
- Have a themed cuisine night at home-Italian, Mexican, etc
- Have an at-home romantic spa night-bubble bath, lotions, you get the picture!
Under $20
- Rollerskating – indoors or out!
- Bowling – look for discount nights!
- Minor League Baseball– less expensive than the major leagues but still so much fun!
- Paint your own pottery
- Attend a Wine Tasting (or have one with friends-everyone bring one bottle to share!)
- Happy Hour move date night earlier and get a discount on your cocktails!
- Go out for Ice Cream
- Attend a showing at a Dollar Theater check your theater for discounted showings
- Go to the Arcade and play video games there’s nothing like some old school pac-man!
- Play miniature golf Putt-putt or mini golf is fun and inexpensive
- Ride Go-Karts
- Play at the Batting Cages
- Play Laser Tag we did this recently and I had side stitches from laughing so hard, it was a blast!
- Go to a Fair
- Attend a Matinee Movie another case of how moving the time of your date can help you save cash!
- Visit a Winery take a tour and try the wine flights after, they are usually quite affordable and a great way to taste test the wine
- Play pool (billiards)
- Take a Ballroom Dance Class, many studios offer your first class free
- Attend a High School Football game cheer for your local team!
- Go to the circus
- Play tennis you can often find very inexpensive rackets on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace if you don’t already have them
- Go horseback riding
- Play bingo at a Bingo Hall
- Attend a show at a comedy club earlier shows are often less expensive than late night shows
- Go to a drive-in movie
- Visit an aquarium
- Take a class at a community center and learn a new skill
- Go to the Zoo
- Tour a brewery. Like the wineries, they often have inexpensive flights to taste their different brews
- Go to a carnival
- Take a cooking class together
- Go out for breakfast at a local diner breakfast is less expensive than a dinner date most of the time!
- Enjoy a cup of coffee at a coffeehouse and people watch
- Have your palms read
- Go to a driving range
Around Town
- Volunteer together
- Tour Open Houses in your area – for the House Hunters lovers!
- Browse Art Galleries
- Attend a local Community Concert
- Go Thrift Store Shopping spend some time finding treasures together! Flea markets are another fun place to explore.
- Find a local Historic Tour
- Attend a Community Theater Performance
- Swim at a community pool
- Attend a “Free Day” at a museum most museums have monthly or quarterly discounted or free admission days, take advantage!
- Take a walking tour of a nearby town or city
- Sing Karaoke fun and free!
- Visit a local farm or petting zoo
- Visit a Botanical Gardens
- Visit the library and browse books/read together
- Take a Scenic Drive together make sure you stop to explore anything interesting you come across!
- Go garage sale hopping
- Test Drive your Dream Car
- Tour a local factory
- Attend a local festival check your newspaper for things happening in your area
- Attend a poetry reading
- Look at travel books at the bookstore and plan a dream vacation
- Attend an Open Mike night at a local coffeehouse or bar
- Help out at a local animal shelter together
- Go window shopping at stores you can’t afford
- Attend a lecture at a local university or college
- See a local band play you might just find the next big stars!
- Walk around town taking silly tourist-y pictures
I hope you found some inspiration in this list of free and cheap date ideas…did I miss any fun dating ideas? Leave them in the comments! You can also look at my money-saving DIY Gift ideas as well!
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That’s an interesting point of view, impressive!
No matter where you live, there’s usually a good, free summer concert going on. Plan a date around it, and soak in both the music and the summer rays.
These all sound really fun! I haven’t flown a kite in years so I’d love to do that with my hubby this spring.
https://missmillmag.com/relationships/8-cheap-date-ideas-your-boo-will-love/
What a great list! The hubs and I try and do date day or date night at least once a month and this list makes me realize how inexpensive really fun dates can be! Love it!
We try to go out a few times a month if not weekly but paying for childcare for three kids gets expensive so I try to think up inexpensive dates!!
Definitely bookmarking this and sending it to the Boyfriend Unit!
These are awesome!! I’m glad to find a list of so many–there is got to be at least a few things he’ll want to do with me on here!! Thank you so much!!
Did I see “Exercise” on the list? I do like walking or running with J but not for date night! 🙂 He would think garage sale hopping is his own version of hell, but on the other hand, I could take him to a HS football game and he would be in heaven! haha.
your blog is getting famous! i just nominated you for the liebster award on my blog 🙂
Aw, thanks so much Jennifer!!
great list… this is very pin-able 🙂
Thanks Jamie!!
Great ideas!
I LOVE this!! With baby on the way we need to make time for date nights!!
Thanks Laura Beth!! See you in a few days!!
What a great list! Now we have no excuse!
Can some jelly!! Hehehe. That’s what we did last night, although I had to yell at him to come in from the living room and help me. It was still fun! My favorite things: Go to Home Depot and plan your next project or paint a room together! I’m so predictable… This was fun list though! Thanks for the inspiration!