7 cheap date ideas

Digital Vision/Getty Images
Digital Vision/Getty Images

A lighter wallet is no excuse to turn date night into a luxury. Get out of your sweatpants, put down the cold pizza, and check out these budget-friendly date ideas that will get you off the couch and into each other's pants.

1. Get on thin ice. Depending on the weather, head to an indoor or outdoor ice-skating rink - it's the perfect excuse to hold hands, "accidentally" fall on top of each other, and grab a cup of hot chocolate and cozy up to each other to keep warm.

2. Grab a cup of coffee and check out a local coffee shop's open mic night. You might luck out with a great show, or you may find a mixed bag of angsty guitar solos and bad poetry - either way, you'll have something to talk (or laugh) about on the way home.

3.
Check the play and musical schedules at local colleges and high schools. Schools usually have a spring and a fall show, and it's a great way to see a version of your favorite plays and musicals for a fraction of the cost.

4. Look into the future. Go together for a psychic reading - practice your poker faces and spend the rest of the night talking about how funny - or eerily accurate - the reading was.

5. Play house - dress up in your most serious grownup outfit, and leave your tiny apartment to visit some open houses. Spend the day arguing over where you would put the love seat, debating the differences between eggshell and ecru paint, and giggling to each other about strangers' hideous decorating choices.

6. Dying to see a musical or play, but can't afford the tickets? Call around to see if you can buy tickets to the dress rehearsal instead-you'll pay a fraction of the price for the same experience.

7.
One man's junk is another couple's treasure. Grab your guy and see what you can dig up at local garage sales. Up your chances of scoring something great by going to the ritziest neighborhood in your area.

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