When summertime rolls around you’ve got tons of great options for frugal dates with that significant other. Better still, the beautiful weather is a great excuse to do these things and not look “cheap” if it’s still one of your first dates and you’re trying to impress. To be honest, cheap or not, these are my favorite 3 summer dates.
1- Do something near something with water
If you’re near the beach, then you go to the beach. If you don’t have a beach nearby then find the closest body of water to you and visit. It might be a lake, a river, or maybe some waterfalls somewhere. In any case, look it up and go there for your date.
Remember to pack a picnic and some sunscreen. The picnic will save you money and it’s romantic too! The two of you can take a couple of fishing poles and have some fun catching. If she’s not into eating fish then you can show her the art of the catch and release as a sport. (besides that’s less work you have to do cleaning the fish).
Another great thing about this is you can include alcohol on the cheap because you’ve packed it with your picnic. If you have a canoe, kayak or paddleboard then you can take those too to enjoy them. Really, anything you can do near the water should be considered.
2- Go for a bike ride
When’s the last time you went for a bike ride as a date? If you can’t remember then it’s been too long. There’s nothing nicer than seeing the sights while going around on a bike. You get to really take everything in all while rolling around at an easy pace.
It’s great fun and good exercise too. Be sure to pack a picnic and lots of water for the trip. You can stop by at a local park for your picnic and then continue on your trip. If you’re in a place that gets really hot in the summer then you should try and plan your bike ride in the morning when it’s cooler. The breeze while riding will keep you cool, but it never hurts to go when the sun isn’t so strong.
3- Do a free outdoor activity that your city is providing
Have you checked your local city or towns site recently for activities? If you haven’t then you’d be amazed at how many free activities they have set up for you to enjoy. The best part about all of this is that a lot of these things are free to attend.
Things like movies out underneath the stars, and music festivals. One of our nearby local parks has something every tuesday where food vendors come out and a live band comes to play. It’s free to attend, and great fun to check it out.
If live music isn’t your thing then maybe a free movie under the stars will do? That same park that does the music also has a schedule of summer movies that they play outside for everyone to enjoy. You can bring your own food and drinks (your own chairs too) and have a blast watching a flick outside. All for the cost of the gas to get out there.
Farmers markets can be great places to go too. Check online and you should see some info on those too. Don’t know where to look? Just google your town or city’s name and then city and you’ll get all the top results from google. If you live near Chicago for example then just google “Chicago city” and that top google result (or maybe the 2nd or 3rd) will probably be the official site for the city. Alternatively you can google “official Chicago city” and that should help you find the official site.