Inexpensive Dating Ideas
Dating and saving money. For many, the two concepts don’t equate. There’s an automatic reaction for most when suggesting the two together that the person paying is trying to be “cheap” and the resulting date will naturally have the same feel. Contrary to popular belief, however, dating doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun, entertaining and memorable. It doesn’t even have to take a whole lot of extra preparation time. What it does take is a little imagination and breaking from the typical date routine. You have to be willing to think beyond dinner and a movie and be willing to try something new for a change. Here are 15 inexpensive dating ideas: 10 for anyone plus 5 for the adventurous.
Natural Scenery: The beauty of nature is all around us and it doesn’t cost a dime. Whether it’s a trip to the beach, a walk in the forest or a search into a cave, it can be done together for practically nothing. Take the time to find the natural scenic spots in your area and utilize them for your dates.
Sports: If you and your date are both athletic, sport activities together can be a great way to spend your time. Play a set of tennis, jog in the park, toss a Frisbee about, play catch with a baseball or football or shoot some baskets. Whichever you choose, you can spend quality time at minimal cost and get some exercise in, too.
Picnic: Picnics are great for dates because they can be taken along wherever you plan to go for the day and they cost a fraction of going out for a meal. They also can be made as casual or as romantic as you want. Take a casual picnic meal, add some cheese & wine along with a red rose and the picnic instantly takes on a romantic feel.
Historic Places & Buildings: It seems the only time people go looking at the historic landmarks near where they live is when visitors come from out of town. Many of these historic or culturally significant spots have no or small entrance fees and make a great place to go on a date. You also get to learn more about the area you live.
Meal/Evening At Home: Cook up a meal at home and spend the evening watching movies or some other activity such as a board game. The meal most likely will be better than at a restaurant and the evening will cost a fraction of what going out to dinner and a movie would cost. Cook the meal together to spend even more time together, or do it yourself as a special surprise.
Memory Album: Take your camera or purchase an inexpensive disposable camera and make a day of taking photos together. Make a theme for the day if you want or just take any crazy photo that comes to mind. Once finished, get the photos 1 hour processed and create a memory album together for the day that will live on forever.
Museums: If you have museums in your area, they can be an excellent place to enjoy an inexpensive date. Admission prices are usually reasonable and often they have discounts for those attending a number of events over the year.
Learn A New Skill: Gather some information on a skill you always wanted to learn and spend a day practicing it together. It could be a day of learning card tricks, learning how to juggle or learning to make bird calls. Any skill you have always wanted to try can make a fun and interesting date.
College Events: If you live near a college or university, utilize their resources for your dates. Guest lectures, music recitals, art exhibitions and plays are common and are often free of charge. The quality can be excellent and the variety enormous.
Hobby Together: you can set a regularly scheduled date if the two of you have a hobby you both enjoy. You can look in the local community newsletter to see if there are classes being offered in something that interests both of you. These classes are usually quite inexpensive and the two of you can enjoy a few hours each week together learning something new.
For those who are looking for an inexpensive date with some adventure involved, here are five more options that are sure to make the evening memorable:
Local Thrift Shop Date: Plan a date someplace where there are a lot of people. Before going, head down to the local thrift shop together. Once there, specify a small amount of money to purchase clothing or accessories for the other and both head off in different directions. The goal is to find items the other has to wear for the rest of the day/evening within the price specified. The entertainment is seeing the reaction from all the people who see your new outfit as you wander the crowded area.
Follow Them Date: As the two of you meet, you look around and pick somebody out on the street. The date is to follow that person where ever he or she goes. Once that person has stopped or you can no longer follow them, pick another person to follow. Your bound to have loads of laughs as you attempt to stay with your designated guide.
Scavenger Hunt Date: When your date arrives, have him or her make a list of what he or she considers to be 20 unusual items. Once the list is made, the date will be to try and find as many of those items as possible.
Truth Or Dare Date: Pick some spots in your area to visit, but play truth or dare along the way. It doesn’t really matter where you go since the entertainment is doing the various dares that the other gives in addition to telling all the truths.
Bag Of Dates: Put each of the dates I just mentioned, plus any others that you come up with, onto a separate sheet of paper and place them in a bag. When your date comes to the door, have him or her reach inside and choose a piece of paper. Whichever one is chosen is your date for the day/evening.
Copyright (c) 2004, by Jeffrey Strain
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About The Author
Jeffrey Strain has published hundreds of money saving articles and the creator of the Daily Money Saving Challenge Program. He is the co-owner of http://www.savingadvice.com — a website dedicated to saving you money.
savingadvice@gmail.com
Tags: budget, dates, dating, friends, love, personal finance, relationships, romanceMaster Your Thoughts and Change Your Life
You’re full of it! Now, that’s not a very gentlemanly way to begin a conversation, is it? Bear with me a moment and let me explain.
Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Abundant living is Extraordinary Living. The good news is that it is available to everyone regardless of their race, face, or place. One of the keys, to living an extraordinary life is learning to control our minds and what we allow it to be filled with. In fact our minds may be a primary key to the whole process.
Someone much wiser and more spiritual than I got us thinking about all of this nearly 2000 years ago. He was the Apostle Paul. He said in one of his ancient writings in scripture that we could “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). I don’t know how you feel about it but that is a pretty powerful thought. But how does this kind of renewal happen?
One of the ways we begin the process of renewing our minds has to do with attitudes. Do you know that attitude is a choice? Our choices of attitude, either good or bad, eventually become habit. Eventually that habit creates a pattern of living that affects our whole life. Positive attitude - positive life. Negative attitude - negative life. So it’s very important to get our attitudes right from the beginning so that our life patterns are also right. Sometimes, though, this is all easier said than done.
Usually our trouble is that we all allow the circumstances of life to affect our attitudes rather than letting our attitudes affect our circumstances. Being controlled by the events of our lives is kind of like riding a rollercoaster. Life becomes a series of up and downs - of steep climbs and dangerous free-falls. We all know that life is full of ups and downs. “That’s life,” we say. And it’s true. But how do we keep those circumstances from controlling the way we think? Let’s go back to Paul for our answer.
The great apostle prayed in Ephesians 3:19 that his readers might be “filled with all the fullness of God.” One of the grand goals of Christianity and the source of extraordinary living is to fill ourselves with God. The word for “filled” generates the idea of being dominated by something. If you are filled with rage, then rage will dominate your life. If you are filled with love, then love dominates your life. If you are filled with joy, then joy dominates your life. When you are filled with God, then God himself will dominate your life. So the question of the hour is, “What are you full of?” Maybe a better question might be, “What are you allowing yourself to be filled with?”
I keep referring back to Paul because I think he is a stellar example of someone who was able to control his mental attitude mostly because he was filled with the fullness of God. Reading his following words clearly prove my point:
I havebeen in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. {24} Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. {25} Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, {26} I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. {27} I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. {28} Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. {29} Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? {30} If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. {31} The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. {32} In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. {33} But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands
2 Corinthians 11:23-33 (NIV)
What makes this account even more stunning is that Paul also wrote in Philippians 4:11 that he had “learned to be content in all things.” How could he do that? It seems he chose to have a positive attitude. His ability to follow through with this positive choice hinged on the fact that he was filled full of God.
Do you want to gain control over your thoughts? Here are some practical tools to get you thinking in the right direction:
1. Change what you think so you can change the way you think.
Perhaps the first step, then, in mastering your thoughts is simply to choose to change what you allow yourself to think. This in turn changes the way you think, which leads to a more positive and constructive way of living Extraordinary Living. This may mean changing your reading habits or the entertainments you view.
2. Evaluate who you are thinking with?
Someone once said “you can’t soar with the eagles when you’re scratching around with the turkeys.” How true that is. The reality is that some people can be so negative and critical that if we spend too much time around them, we can begin to act like them ourselves.
3. Maintain a positive perspective.
One time a small boy was pretending to be a professional baseball player. He affirmed, “I’m the greatest batter in the world,” after which he tossed the ball in the air and took a swing as it descended. “Strike One!” Before tossing the ball in the air a second time, he again affirmed, “I’m the greatest batter in the world.” Again, the boy swung at the ball as it rapidly descended. “Strike Two!” A third time the boy stated, “I’m the greatest batter in the world,” and tossed the ball in the air for the third time. Once again the boy swung and missed. “Strike Three!” As he gathered up his glove, baseball and bat and headed for home he said to himself, “Well how about that, I’m the greatest pitcher in the world.”
Disciplining ourselves to maintain a positive perspective is one of the best ways to manage our thought processes. Napoleon Hill said that every adversity brings with it the “seed of an equivalent benefit.”
4. Expect the Best
Too often we go through life subconsciously expecting the worse. The reality is that when we expect bad things to happen, they inevitably occur. Rather than expecting the worse from people or circumstances, anticipate that the best will take place. And when it does, celebrate. And if it doesn’t, find at least one small thing to celebrate and give it all you have. The choice is ours, every single day, in what attitude we will embrace.
5. Quite the blame game
If there is one thing that can prevent us from Extraordinary Living, it is being shackled by bitterness, resentment and blame. So much mental and emotional energy is expended on defensiveness, self-righteousness, revenge and vindication that nothing is left for any productive output. The truth of the matter is that the only one suffering from the silent battle going on inside us is well, us.
Most of us have probably heard the analogy that holding a grudge against someone is like drinking poison ourselves and expecting the other person to die. In fact, it’s been said that a man who refuses to forgive destroys the bridge over which he himself must one day cross.
Choose today to forgive and then move on with your life. Do not let the past determine your present and your future. Take control today.
If we are to live life extraordinarily, we must take control of our minds. It begins with what we are filled with. Paul was filled with God and it changed the way he thought for the rest of his life. The same can be true for each of us. Master your thoughts and you’re guaranteed to change your life for the better.
Tim is co-author of The Abundance Principle: Five Keys to Extraordinary Living (http://www.TheAbundancePrinciple.com). He can be reached at http://www.AbundantLifeProject.com, or by emailing Tim@AbundantLifeProject.com.
Tags: attitude, friends, Habits, Mental, positive, successKnow Your Man Humor
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” ~ Victor Borge
“Good humor is one of the preservatives of our peace and tranquility” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas.” ~ John Cleese
Have you noticed that couples who laugh together remain together and seem incredibly happy? How can we better dissolve an argument or a marital storm but with a joke and some hearty laughter?
It is really sad when you tell a joke or make a witty comment and the other person doesn’t laugh. I know some people who lack this ability to laugh on demand. My friend’s wife is one of them. His theory is that she cannot appreciate humor because she is too dumb; she lacks the ability to comprehend the subtleties of language and situations. I think I agree with his opinion and will go forward by making a generalization, adding that those without a sense of humor are also a bore.
Laugh is always the best medicine. It has been said over and over again that laughter is healing. Laughter improves blood circulation and digestion, decreases stress, increases self-confidence and, by strengthening the immune system is indeed very healing. Not bad for such a simple activity. According to popular belief, we use 43 muscles to frown and opposed to 17 to smile. Unless you want to exercise your facial muscles, a smile saves physical energy while providing us with abundant cosmic ones. Your level of serotonin, the happy hormone, also soars.
If you need a crash course in the use of your laughter glands, the best triggers are comedies. There are some great movies, books, plays, etc. that will put you right in the mood. Try them out.
I particularly recommend silly but creative and intelligent comedies, such as the theatrical musicals “The Producers.” I swear, I have seen nothing funnier, or “Crazy for You;” the movies and everything else made by Mel Brooks; the operas “The Marriage of Figaro” and the “sequel” “The Barber of Seville,” the plays by Oscar Wilde, all books by Bill Bryson, all of Dave Barry’s writings, “I Love Lucy” reruns, etc. There are simply hundreds of things that will help you lighten up.
One little hiccup: don’t go on watching TV!
A Word of Advice
Ladies and Gents: Find a way to laugh everyday. Also, in the morning, look at each other and smile for one minute. This will be a great way to start your day. Also, exchange funny clean jokes with your email contacts. It is imperative to find time for one hearty laughter a day, at least. If you can laugh with each other, so much the better.
© Maria Moratto 2006
Want to have more abundance, health, time, love, fun, and blessings? Visit Prescription For Bliss at http://www.rx4bliss.com, sign up for the newsletter and receive a fr*ee ebook called “Happy People Are More Abundant!”
Dr. Maria Moratto is the author of “The Inspired Healing For Your Body, Mind, and Soul,” “The Inspired Healing Journal: Mending Your Broken Heart,” and “Attract Money Journal.” Visit her site to get fr*ee affirmation cards.
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