10 Cheap & Fun Date Ideas that are $20 or Less

Dating your spouse is hard. I honestly had never heard the words “dating your spouse” in a sentence until after I was married. It’s a phrase that didn’t come up in premarital counseling and wasn’t even thought of in the honeymoon stage.

Why? Because it’s not talked about enough. I thought dating was only for single people. I mean if you’re married then why would you have to date? Here’s why…

You picked your partner. Yay, congratulations! Wedding bells have rung, you drive off into the sunset towards your honeymoon Jamaica bliss. After that period is over, you may think those honeymoon feelings, cloud 9, can’t be spent a second without the other remain for the rest of your life. I hope they do!

Odds are, honeymoon feelings tend to slowly wear off. They can come back during periods of your marriage but aren’t constant every second of the day. Life reminds you that you have a 9-5 that you can’t quit or 6 week old baby that you have to feed every 2-3 hours. There’s a bank account that reminds you that your living paycheck to paycheck or a new diagnosis of a chronic illness that has changed your life forever.

While you love your partner, there’s life stressors that can get in the way of your marriage. Dating your spouse helps rekindle those feelings and reminds you of why you both fell in love.

It’s good to date your spouse regularly. You have to work on friendships in life and the same goes for your marriage because they are your best friend.

If you’re like me, we live on a tight budget with 2 kids. Daycare isn’t cheap! So we give ourselves $20 for our date night. It’s best to have a date night jar at home so any extra change or dollars can be thrown in the jar so you don’t feel like you’re pulling from your bank account.

So here are 10 Cheap & FUN date ideas that are $20 or less!

1. Cook Together or do Dessert Night

Have a special dish you both love or want to get creative and try something new? This is one of my favorite things to do with my hubby! We both love sushi and because it can get so expensive, we decided to YouTube how to make our favorite roll and give it a try! It was so much fun and we were able to make a lot (more than the restaurant gives you). That instantly became “our thing” and we made a great team at it! If you have a sweet tooth, then dessert night is where it’s at! Whether you’re making homemade ice cream with all your favorite toppings (you can get super cheap at the dollar store) or going with a new brownie recipe, it’s sweet to learn something new together.

2. Netflix and Chill (Be sure to get Dollar Store candy & popcorn to keep it cheap)

This probably is the most common date idea because it’s super easy and requires little to no effort. While I’m not knocking this idea because it is on my list, don’t pick this if you worked a 12 hour shift before or just know you probably won’t make it to the end of the movie. I’m guilty of falling asleep in about every movie date night we have because I get comfortable and drift to sleep! (Fun fact: I fell asleep on the 2nd date at the movies with my husband. I had my head back up against the seat with my mouth open and everything. Talk about embarrassing!! Thankfully he thought it was funny and still decided to marry me, whew!)

3. Picnic at the Park (throw in a game like frisbee or bring your favorite board game from home)

This is so simple and a little cheesy but how often is it that we get to go to the park WITHOUT kids and enjoy peace and quiet? Pack a basket full of goodies and a quilt and have a good old fashioned picnic. Don’t forget to put your phones out of sight so you can focus on each other! If you like sports and want to move around, bring something with you like a frisbee or a wiffle ball set. Let yourself be a kid again and flirt with your spouse!

4. Bonfire & Smores

Need a few hours to reconnect under the stairs? My husband and I even bring the guitar or make a playlist and have a slow dance by the fire. It’s one of our favorite favorites!

5. Ice Cream Date

Simple and sweet! Have extra fun with it and try a new flavor.

6. Game Night

If my hubby could choose a date night idea every time it would be this one! He loves Xbox and it fills his love tank when I play with him. I despise the xbox most days but it makes him happy! Other games you could play are: guitar hero, wii, old fashioned card games, or couples card games. We are big coffee lovers and it’s nice to make a cup of coffee and sit down with a couple’s two player game.

7. Go Hiking Together and Explore Nature

If I could choose my favorite date, I think it would be this one. State parks and waterfalls are my favorite place to go! It’s free and fun. I also feel very connected to God when I’m outdoors because I’m reminded of all He created.

8. Water Gun Wars

So much fun on a hot summer day and if you want to make it even more competitive, add your best friend and their spouse! Buy a few water guns and keep at the house for dates like these.

9. Scavenger Hunt

If you’re creative, then this could be done in so many ways (fun fact: my husband sent me on a scavenger hunt when he proposed to me and it was so romantic). Wherever you want it to be romantic or just creative, scavenger hunt dates really spice things up!

10. Make Funny Tik Tok Videos Together (or videos that you can save on your phone and laugh at later)

If you have Tik Tok, you know how easy it is to get lost down a rabbit hole. Making funny Tik Tok videos together is silly and can have you laughing every time you re-watch your video. If you don’t have Tik Tok, recording videos on your phone of you two being goofy or interviewing each other with off the wall questions is just a way to reconnect and forget about being an adult. The best part is you can always watch them later when you miss your spouse or need a good laugh on a rough day. You’ll be glad you saved those videos!

And that about does it! 10 Cheap & FUN date ideas that are $20 or less. Be sure to pin this for later when you and your partner are needing date night ideas on a budget. Share your comments below if you have done any of these! Which one is your favorite?