Some people think that when you’re on a budget or trying to get out of debt that your supposed to stop enjoying some of lifes pleasures cold turkey. . This is absolutely a not true! That’s like telling someone trying to get in shape that eating one candy bar after 5 weeks of intense dieting and exercising is going to put them back at square one. It’s called balance and planning. You can still travel, dine out, shop, and do the things you enjoy, but you have to plan for it.
Whenever I sit down and do a Broke on Purpose Consultation session with somebody I always try to work some sort of “allowance” or “spending money” into their budget so that paying bills day in and day out isn’t the only thing that they are doing. This could be in the form of blow money or when there is a couple involved money for date night. My husband and I both get spending money every single month and we’re free to blow it on whatever we want or save it up for something big. This teaches us how to be discerning, content, and patient. We also have a category in our budget called “Date Night”. Each month we budget $100 for Date Night and depending on where we go we can usually stretch date night into two dates a month. In my last Broke on Purpose Article, “Living Like You’re Wealthy on a Budget”. I shared with you how Groupon and Living Social can be your allies. Here’s a scenario where Groupon worked in our favor.
Our Anniversary is in July so I decided to take advantage of a Groupon Deal to the Melting Pot. The Groupon was being sold for $58, but I paired it with a 20% off coupon it came down to $46 leaving us with $54 left for the month for Date night. With the remaining money, we were able to enjoy another Date Night for the month. Since my husband was traveling, we were unable to go out for our Anniversary and so we decided to take advantage of the Groupon to the Melting Pot this past weekend.
The Breakdown:
The Groupon allotted us $78.00 worth of food. Since it was our Anniversary dinner I decided to go the extra mile and add on a Lobster Tail, cause you know fancy, bringing our food total to 83.70. We both also had a mixed drink which added an extra $18.90 to our tab. Our total bill was $104.92. Now, had my husband and I decided to not splurge by purchasing the drinks or the lobster tail our bill would have come down to $76.07 + tax. With our Groupon, our tab would have been basically zeroed out and we would have just been required to leave a 20% tip which would have been $15.60.
Paying the balance and tip our Anniversary dinner came out to $47.61 leaving us a remainder of $52.39 for another date night of our choice.
Date Night is important, especially for couples that are working hard to tackle their debt. It allows them a chance to sit and unwind from everything around them. For my husband and I it actually allows us to sit and have a conversation with working our side hustles, being states apart, or being half sleep. If you can’t work date night into you budget yet don’t fret. There are several Date Night activities you can enjoy with your spouse that don’t cost a thing. In the warmer months you can pack a picnic and have dinner in the park or you can stay in and just rent a Redbox and enjoy pizza and a movie.
What are some of the ways you work Date Night into your budget? Do you have any budget-friendly date night tips? Share them in the comments below.
