Cheap Date Night Ideas For Married Couples
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When you’re in any relationship, married or otherwise, it’s always important to make time for each other and regular date nights are a great way to do that. However, as our relationships develop, often our responsibilities increase and in turn, many of us have less disposable income to spend on something a little frivolous, such as date night. This post is all about my favourite super cheap date night ideas for married couples.
Cheap Date Night Ideas For Married Couples
1. Try a Penny Date Night
A penny Date involves flipping a coin and letting it decide where you go! You could end up anywhere so it’s worth taking a small amount of money and some food and drink with you just in case. It could be a great way to discover somewhere new to explore as a couple.
2. Get Sky Movies For as Little as £2.99 a Month
My husband and I are both total movie buffs so a night in watching the latest blockbuster is a perfect date night for us.
We recently got rid of Sky T.V because even after haggling with them we found it was still costing more than we were happy to pay – especially as we had Netflix and Amazon Video too.
While these two streaming services are fab, they don’t offer the biggest range of recent movies.
As an alternative to Sky Movies (which can cost as much as £20 a month!) we signed up to Now T.V. Their Movies package is £9.99 a month and the same as what you’d get with Sky.
We had an introductory offer of just £3.99 a month and when this ran out I cancelled. They emailed within a few hours offering the cheaper rate for another three months.
I’ve now been doing this for a year and have only paid the full amount once or twice.
Perfect for a huge range of movies at our fingertips without paying a fortune for them and we feel less guilty if we don’t end up watching any as we’re paying so little.
3. Invest in a Tastecard
tastecard is a membership club that lets you get discounts a various chain and local restaurants, for around £30 a year. Usually, the offer is 2 for 1 across mains, starters and desserts and includes restaurants such as Frankie and Benny’s, Zizzi, Prezzo and Giraffe.
The number of people included can vary per restaurant, but of course, this is less important when it’s just two of you heading out.
We had a tastecard Membership for several years and found we were usually saving money after two meals out, saving an average of £15-£2o each time we dinned.
There is a Tastecard app which let you search for restaurants and stores your membership details which you’ll need when paying your bill to get the discount. S
ome restaurants require that you book ahead of time, so it’s worth checking the detail before you go. While offers used to only run Sunday through Thursday, there are more and more restaurants which now accept tastecard on a weekend, for a perfect cheap date night idea.
Related Post: How To Save Money With tastecard
4. Find Free Museums & Galleries
I love looking around museums and usually try to find one if we’re lucky enough to sneak in a city break during the year, as it’s such a nice way to spend a few hours.
Most museums in the UK have free entry and you can find a great list here.
5. Cooking Together With a Meal Box
Cooking together can be an enjoyable way to spend a date night and of course, is much cheaper than eating out. There are lots of different meal boxes out there and you might have already heard of some of them including Hello Fresh* and Gousto*.
Meal Boxes are great because you get to try something new without having to fork out whole bottles/jars of ingredients you wouldn’t necessarily use again – everything is portioned for the recipe you’re cooking.
£20 Off at Hello Fresh*
Hello is Fresh is probably the most well-known of the meal subscription services. You can choose boxes just for two or to feed the whole family. The minimum order is three boxes – I would pick two easy weeknight dinners and one fancy recipe to cook together for a date night.
*Remember this is a subscription service and you will need to cancel if you do not wish to continue receiving boxes after the special offer.
Gousto* 50% off Your First Box and Then 30% off the rest of the month
If you’re keen to try out meal boxes for the first time, there are plenty of fantastic offers out there including this one for Gousto. We really enjoyed Gousto* when we tried it and the recipe for Hoi Sin Meatballs we cooked from their box has become a firm favourite in our house!
Sign up to Gousto using this link.*
*Remember this is a subscription service and you will need to cancel if you do not wish to continue receiving boxes after the special offer.
7. Watch The Sunset Together
Whether it’s at the beach or in your back garden watching the sun go down is a classic romantic and cheap date night idea. You could even wait around a bit longer for the stars to come out and lie together and watch those too.
8. Midweek Curry Night
One of our favourite ways to spend a date night before we had a baby was to head out midweek for a curry banquet. Almost all of the Indian Restaurants in our area offer this and it’s usually three courses for around £12, making it a super cheap date night idea, especially if you love curry. Probably about the same price as a Takeaway but with none of the washing up!
9. Date Night Subscription Box with Buckt
Buckt is a subscription service for date nights – it offers five mystery activities in your local area, such as eating out, rock climbing and escape rooms for just £12.50 per month per person (£25 for the duo box).
You get eight weeks to use each activity too so perfect if you have a month where you might struggle to fit them all in.
Buckt is only operational in a few UK cities including London, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol
10. Cocktail Making
I love a cocktail and cocktail making is a fun and easy date night idea.
Many of us have a drinks cabinet full of odd bottles of this and that so this could be the perfect way to get them used up. If you don’t have a shaker or any idea which cocktails to make, this set from Amazon could be perfect to get you started.
11. Movie Night with Homemade Popcorn
Is there anything better than freshly made popcorn? I love the smell as it’s cooking and when you make your own you can add any flavourings or toppings you like – from salted caramel to chocolate and bacon to peanut butter.
Popcorn is, of course, the perfect accompaniment to either watching a movie or binging a box set on Netflix.
12. Fish and Chips on the Sea Front
Sharing a portion of fish and chips on the seafront isn’t just for the oldies – it makes a perfect and cheap date for couples of any age!
13. Make Homemade Boozy Milkshakes
This one is a bit personal to us as a couple. When we went on Honeymoon to Las Vegas one of the restaurants we ate at did the most amazing boozy milkshakes and we went back several times during our trip to drink them and watch the world go by along the Las Vegas Strip.
We’ve tried to recreate these milkshakes at home several times since, as it’s such a romantic memory for us. Although we’ve not quite got them exactly right yet, we have gotten pretty close and that’s good enough for us!
14. Poundland Date Night
I wrote about having a Poundland date night for Valentine’s Day last year and it was a really popular post. Simply set a budget and head to Poundland separately to buy items to make a date night with. We ended up with bubbles and candles for a romantic and relaxing bath and a DVD and popcorn for a movie afterwards. Cheap, easy and fun.
Read my full post here: How To Have A Poundland Date night
15. Autumn Leaves
I love Autumn, there’s nothing better than enjoying that bit of chill in the air while crunching through leaves and feeling like a kid again.
For a full crazy leaf experience, an Arboretum is a great shout, however, the entry can be pricy. I looked at Westonbirt, which is the closest one to me here in Somerset and prices were £10 per adult.
16. Free Firework Date
Ok, so not one you can do every night. But if you don’t fancy the typical bonfire night/new years eve parties, it’s worth driving somewhere with a bit of elevation and quietly enjoy everyone else’s fireworks from a distance.
17. Mini Golf
Mini golf is actually a pretty cheap way to spend an hour or two – my nearest in Vivary park Taunton is around £3 each and we usually try and sneak around a couple of times to make sure we get our money’s worth.
18. Gaming Night
Although lots of couples already enjoy gaming together if you have very different tastes in what you like to play online then it can be trickier to find ways to do this together.
When we were first together, my husband and I would often spend hours messing about on the Wii – mostly trying to beat each other at Mario Kart. When we moved out the Wii stayed at my parent’s house and it’s something I miss doing!
When finding games to play together I think the old-school ones always go down best – think Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot and SuperMario.
19. Board Game Night
I am a massive board game fan and while we typically play them in a group, there are still plenty of games that are suitable for couples.
I love Scrabble but it has got to the point where Pete won’t play me anymore because I’m just too good at it, although occasionally we’ll play Scrabble Trickster which does even things up a little.
GamesRadar.com has a fantastic list of games aimed at just two people and is perfect for a date night.
20. Meerkat Movies
Meerkat Movies is a great way to get cheap cinema tickets during the week – the offer is 2 for 1 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Simply buy a product through comparethemarket.com and you’ll be awarded the offer for a year.
If you don’t need anything search for one-day travel insurance, it shouldn’t cost more than a couple of pounds which you’ll make back the first time you use the offer.
How To Get Cheap Cinema Tickets (Less than £3)
21. Meerkat Meals
Meerkat Movies has expanded and now offers discounted meals as well as the 2-for-1 cinema tickets. Perfect for the ultimate cheap date night, these are valid Sunday to Thursday across three courses. I recommend downloading the Meerkat app for further details.
22. M&S Meal Deal
We love an M&S meal deal. And while it might not be quite as good value as it used to be, it still feels like a treat while sticking to a budget.
Plus, the meals are mostly ready-meal style so are low effort giving you plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company.
23. Geocaching
Geocaching is a brilliant fun, and completely free, way to spend a date night. There are Geocaches all over the country and put simply it’s one giant treasure hunt which is based on GPS.
Before heading out to do this you’ll need a GPS-enabled device such as a mobile phone. You’ll also need to sign up at http://www.geocaching.com/ to find all the information you need for your area.
24. Pub Quiz Night
I am a big fan of a pub quiz – I go to one monthly with three of my best friends – but I also think it would make a great – and cheap date night for married couples.
And of course, it’s even cheaper if you win the prize money! If you have specific interests then look for specialist-themed quizzes – I’ve recently booked a special Harry Potter-themed quiz night for my Birthday.
25. AR Based Games – Pokemon Go
Being on your phone all evening probably doesn’t sound like the most romantic date night idea and I know it;’s something couples are often trying to get away from when they want to spend some quality time together.
What are your cheap date night ideas for married couples?
Spice up your evenings with budget-friendly date ideas like cooking a new recipe together, enjoying a picnic in the park, or having a movie marathon at home. These activities can strengthen your bond without breaking the bank.