Dating is as important in marriage as it was in courtship but being financially conscious, you always look for ways to save money even in dating. A lot of married couples forget to go out on dates because they say life happened. They work during the day and have just enough energy to get home to attend to the kids and make sure that their house is in order.
If you remember how dating in the past before you got married allowed you to get to know your partner a lot more and helped you build memories you can both hold on to as you get older. But all these has a financial component to it. Going to the movies and having dinner meant forking out a few dollars which will add up to a big amount if you do it frequently.
As you get married and have kids and try your hand in putting together a household budget, you seem to lack the hours in a day to get everything in order for your family. Earning a living and managing a household is not an easy task. Oftentimes you might be too tired to even think of going out with your spouse and all you want to do is sleep and rest.
But you need to understand how important dating is even for married couples. You might think that you already know your spouse too much for a date but you might be surprised with things you get to know about them. It might be things that you missed out before or new ones that blossomed while you were too busy living your married life.
Going out on a date doesn’t have to be expensive
One of the challenges that is preventing you to go out on a date with your spouse more than time is money. Of course you would need to spend money on the date but no one ever said that it needs to be expensive or extravagant especially if you do not have enough money for such activities. But this should not stop you from going out on dates because as NYDailyNews.com shares, 1 in 3 marriages started out in dating online.
- Sending the kids over to friends or relatives. Apart from trying to find time to get a sitter to be able to catch a movie or a fancy meal in a new restaurant. One way to save money is to get the kids to stay with friends or relatives for few hours one night and you get to enjoy the house all on your own. Instead of heading out to an expensive dinner, cook a great meal for the two of you and make the most out of a quiet house. You might get to watch your own programs or just spend a few hours in the backyard with wine on hand without a kid screaming for them.
- Take up volunteerism together. This is a great way to nurture your relationship and add a new facet to your marriage. It does not cost a lot in fact, it might not even cost a penny. You can look at common interests and see where you can volunteer together. It might be the local animal shelter where your common love for animals is put to good use. You can also look for other organizations online that would cater to both of your interests.
- Find an inexpensive hobby. You and your spouse might find it hard to look for extra hours in the week to get a downtime but you need to do it to make the relationship work. It would be hard to wake up one day not knowing the person sleeping right next to you. It is perfectly fine if you do not have the same interests and hobbies because you can look for common hobbies along the way. If one of you loves the beach and the other loves to travel then you might find a common ground travelling to great beach destinations. If you are looking to save money, you can also look for things to do at home. It can be working on wood products in the garage or making the most out of your kitchen with one cooking and the other going to the market to buy the items.
- Make use of your backyard. There is a fine line between being cheap and being a frugal spender and you need to know these when talking about your marriage. It it frugal to save for a date next month and it is cheap to scrap the date altogether. One of the things you can do to make that date happen is to make use of your backyard. Cook a delicious meal, set up a nice table at the backyard and get some music going. If your kids are around, get them to help you by dressing them up and acting as the wait staff bringing the food and even giving you water.
- Surprise each other. There was a once a video of a married couple and the guy just told his wife to pack up and gave her some Euros because she would be needing it later on when they get to their destination. The wife got was very happy because they have been planning to go to a trip for the longest time. Of course surprising your spouse does not have to be that expensive. You can buy her small things that she needs everyday or even just a nice home cooked meal or even a clean house when she gets home.
How to save for expensive trips
Of course travelling to nice places or exotic destinations are still on top of your wish list as a couple and because they costs a lot doesn’t mean that you have to put them off year after year. You just have to know how to save up for them.
- Keep a jar at home. This is one of the classic saving strategies you can use to help you save up for that trip. If you saw that movie “Up,” the couple was trying to save for their trip using a jar but they oftentimes had to break that jar to use the money for unexpected expenses. It is possible to go down this route but one thing you need to learn is to set up an emergency fund to cover those unexpected costs. This can help you keep the money in the jar intact for that trip.
- Include it in your household budget. Your household budget is one of the most important tools in managing personal finance and you need to make sure that you include your budget all the income and expenses including that travel. Your should be able to give you a bird’s eyeview in your finances and it should include everything. This can help you move funds around to help you reach your long-term goals. If there are extra funds in your budget, you can have some of them go to your travel fund to help you reach your target amount faster.
- Make use of automatic transfer. Investopedia.com shares that automatic transfer is simply the ability to transfer funds from one account to another. This can help you save up for that trip a lot faster because you get to sock away that amount before you even get to spend it.
It is possible to save money to prepare for your date or when you are already on your date. The important thing is to make sure that you and your spouse have a good time and you both get the chance to improve on your relationship.