Dating on a Budget.

Times are tough and every­one is start­ing to feel the eco­nom­i­cal crunch in all areas of their life. Dat­ing can be expen­sive but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some ideas for romance on the cheap

Roman­tic Dinner

For­get the expen­sive win­ing and din­ing and the $150 restau­rant tab. Instead take your date on a beach pic­nic. Pack up a din­ner, grab a bot­tle of wine, blan­ket and head to the near­est beach. Watch the sun set together while shar­ing a bot­tle of wine and din­ner. It’s roman­tic, pri­vate and  your date will be impressed. Try pick­ing up din­ner from Trader Joe’s or cook your­self. If you’re not near a beach try a local park or lake.

His­tory and Excercise

I love Los Ange­les, espe­cially Down­town LA, I think it’s just beau­ti­ful. It also has a lot of his­tory. On http://​lacon​ser​vancy​.org/​t​o​u​r​s​/​d​o​w​n​t​o​w​n​/​i​n​d​e​x​.​p​hp4 you can down­load a walk­ing tour of Down­town LA. Admire the intri­cate archi­tec­ture, impress your date with your knowl­edge of LA (be sure to do your research first) and best of all get some exer­cise in by walking.  Stop at Grand Cen­tral Mar­ket for a cheap lunch and check out The Angel’s Flight. From Novem­ber to Jan­u­ary they have an ice skat­ing rink in Per­sh­ing Square, skat­ing is $6 and on some days free! This would be my per­fect date, hint hint.

Screw Tick­et­mas­ter

Con­cert tick­ets are pricey and Tick­et­mas­ter has about 20 ser­vice charges. When the weather warms up there are many out­door con­certs and shows. Look up some that may be in your area, a good place to find some is on www​.metro​mix​.com Dur­ing the sum­mer they have free shows at The Grove in LA. Also check out a local cof­fee shop for a jazz night.  If you’re feel­ing extra brave try a dive karaoke bar and ser­e­nade your date over a few cheap beers.

Edu­ca­tion With a View

The Grif­fith Park Obser­va­tory is a great place for a date, admis­sion and park­ing are free. I’ve been on a few dates here and the best time to go is at sun­set. You have an incred­i­ble view of the entire city and on the fourth of July it’s a giant fire­work show. They have lawns where you can pic­nic or you can eat at the cafe. There is plenty to do and lots of exhibits. Google some con­stel­la­tions before and impress your date while stargazing.

Make Like Danny and Sandy

At Pacific The­aters Vineland Drive-​​In 443 N. Vineland Ave in the City of Indus­try you can see a movie for $8 a per­son, no one will block your view, you can talk to your date through the movie, bring your own snacks and the back seat is mere inches away from you. They show first run films and the nos­tal­gia comes at no extra charge.

Some other great ideas:

• Vol­un­teer together for a cause you both believe in.
• Daily free wine tast­ing and tours at San Anto­nio Winery
• Visit a local Farm­ers Market
• Take a class together. Dance, cook­ing, writ­ing, etc.
• Rent a kayak for $15 in Long Beach
• Go on a hike
• Have a board game night
• Go for a beach bike ride
• Play a sport together, surf­ing, ten­nis, bas­ket­ball, etc.

Related posts:

1. Dat­ing Recipes: the Artsy Cul­tural Date Thing.
2. Dat­ing Recipes 101: Beyond the First Date
3. Online Dat­ing: Get­ting Out of the Inbox.