You would be surprised at how many movies/DVDs are available at SwapaDVD.com. You can get rid of old movies you really don't want anymore, and get new ones for the cost of postage (usually $2.05). Nothing like snuggling on a couch with a good movie.
If you can't think of movies you might like (because you have never heard of them), they have different search engines that really do the trick.
By Suntydt from Tazewell, TN
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My boyfriend and I go to the movies a lot and it and can cost a lot to go. It gets old renting or going to the movies all the time. There is not much to do. I live in a small town. I need some date ideas. Cheap date ideas. Thank you.
By Mary
There are so many things to do that are free, or almost free. Depending on where you live, you might go to free concerts or lectures at a local college, walk on the beach, be volunteer ushers at a local live theater and then watch the play, send the kids to grandma or a friend and cook dinner together or just be romantic.
Well, my husband and I do a lot of free/cheap stuff. We go to the mall (only good if you have the will the resist), we usually go "play" at Wal-mart...sounds silly, but we bond and I learn all about car stuff and electronics (yea) and we just walk around and talk and laugh.
At a particularly low budget time, we went to the Dollar Store, found some cheap toys to keep us entertained, and subjected the dogs to our silliness. You could also try going to a matinee movie, or enjoy eating out at an inexpensive place. And since it will be spring soon, you could find some art fairs or farmers markets to stroll through...oh, and how about going to antique stores or garage sales? Having a nice breakfast and going out in the morning can sometimes be a nice change from the norm. Good luck and have fun!
You don't mention children, and you don't say if you ever enjoy a glass of wine...but some Dramatic dates include going to a local bring your own bottle restaurant and ordering just an appetizer, with your own glass (just one) of wine. Get dressed up. Enjoy the candlelight; the ambiance. Make a gourmet picnic and go to a new and scenic spot that your youth group tells you about and you haven't visited. Take a drive to a new place and take pictures of each other as tourists. Take a bus trip to a nearby town that you are unfamiliar with and search out the best pizza place or dollar store for a souvenir for someone special. Go to the library and look for a free video rental of an old movie from the 40's. Come home and dress the part, play the right music, and be seductive.
How about hiking? It's healthy free and fun. Cross country skiing or snowshoeing in the winter is nearly free. Come home to a hearty crockpot dinner and glass of wine by the fire. If you don't have a fireplace, light candles. Browsing in bookstores is always fun. Second-run movie houses are a great way to see a movie on a bigger screen for cheap. Another thing we like to do is tour open houses in neighborhoods we could never afford. You get great decorating ideas (of course you would go the frugal route with these ideas!) and you can dream. One of our favorite free Saturday night activities is to break out the old favorite albums and CDs (the ones with the lyric sheets) and sing together.
We sometimes go to a large bookstore and browse through the books to see what's new. Sometimes they have entertainment or you can stop at the in store coffee shop for a hot drink of coffee or chai.
I am always looking at the local newspaper (online is free) for local (or semi-local) events. And we get the community flyer for events but they do have a local television station that posts those activities too. And for the occassional fun we go to estate sales or garage sales. :-)
We have gone to the local library---its quiet and relaxing!!! Some libraries have free passes to local museums---great date idea!!!
We do alot of picnics---either I make my own or we share meals from restaurants.
How about your own backyard Drive-In Theater complete with popcorn.All it takes is aa TV and VCR and your favorite movie Yeah the mosquitos will join you,but if you recall they also did at the Drive-In.
Hey you can lie on the grass on anything or anyway your heart desires. Oh your TV should be under roof or unplugged and covered after use, but it is a trip back to yesteryear.
Another cheap date is make your own music with a guitar and even if your other half can't carry a tune He or She is doing this for just you.
A walk around your neighborhood is nice, holding hands and if you are lucky you will feel how in love and proud you are walking side by side. Oh and conversation seems easier atleast to me in that type of unrushed situation. Going out for an Ice Cream cone is another cheap date. Heck maybe you can even walk there.
Cheap Dates or inexpensive dates use to be the Norm 40 or 50 years ago.Back them most everything thing was free or very cheap to attend. Now today even church suppers and festivals are beyond some couples bank accounts.
My wife and I get the biggest thrill just sitting on the porch swinging watching the sunset. So far they still are FREE OF CHARGE.My friends that IS ADULT QUALITY TIME
Eating biltong sandwiches under the stars! (Or whatever your favourite food is!!)
We have some friends that go into the city for an occasional free concert in a park. Take a blanket (easier to carry around that a couple of chairs). Take along a rolling cooler filled with drinks, cut veggies, fruit & sandwiches, if you choose.
Watch for those free magazines you can pick up at convenience stores. They keep them by the entrance doors. Usually those have upcoming events listed in the back. Some of those are free. Mark your calendar of the free events & try to take in as many as you can, if gas allows. Best of luck!
Used bicycles are cheap and plentiful, sometimes free. There may be a bicycle touring group near you. That can be fun, I'm trying to talk my wife into doing that next spring. It's too cold here now though.
We have 3 kids and bowling is inexpensive and very fun. It's nice to cheer each other on and do a little happy dance when someone does well. Usually the pizza or snacks are pretty cheap too.
3 words
silly string war
its totally fun
Go to the food store and read all of the labels for ingredients.
I agree with b1write about the broke college kids. Ask what they do, or better yet, try and remember what you did. I'm a big sushi fan so I'm always looking for new sushi specials around town. And believe me, there are plenty of them, lots of 1/2 priced nights and $1 roll happy hours. A couple could fill up and enjoy the atmosphere for less than $20. My advise, just remember to keep your youth as long as possible and you'll always be happy and in love!
I just wrote a bunch of stuff, hit a button, and lost it. :-( But I'll write it again!
I looked at your profile and feedback and figured out that you're 22 or 23, and from Oklahoma (I'm in central Oklahoma).
When my husband and I were in college, a couple times we went and got jigsaw puzzles. It took a few sittings to complete them, and we enjoyed the quiet time together, doing something different. Around Christmas last year we checked Barnes and Noble, and their puzzles seemed pricey. Back in the day we got ours at Hastings, and last week I noticed jigsaw puzzles at Hobby Lobby, they have 40% off coupons regularly.
Part of the time we were in college, we were still living with our parents. A few times we took over one of the kitchens and made a nice meal. You could do that, or bake and decorate cookies. And he can help you clean up afterward!
I don't know which part of the state you're in. I grew up in the SW part of the state. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is right outside where I grew up. Sometimes we'd drive through at night, find a lake, get out and listen to the night and look at the stars. If you do something like this, slow down while driving! Buffalo cross the roads whenever they please. There are no road lights (at least there weren't 20 years ago!), and the buffalo are dark, so you don't see them until you're kind of close. You're just enjoying your time together anyway, so it's okay to slow down a bit for your drive. :-) And if you get out of your car, stay in a parking area that they've provided, and stay near your car. It's dark; there are critters out there, and you don't want to get lost.
Christmas is here, so you could go looking at lights. In Lawton they had the Boulevard of Lights. They've moved it from Gore Boulevard to Elmer Thomas Park, so I don't know if they've changed the name, too. But I understand that you can get out and walk around. Chickasha has the Festival of Lights. We went maybe 5 years ago. My best friend and her sons followed our car. I made rice crispy treats for everyone. We drove through slowly (anticipate lots of traffic!) and ate our treats. They had an area where you could get out and walk, but we didn't do that (it was cold and we had small kids).
OKC has Bricktown. We went a couple years ago, the weekend before the big ice storm hit. Good timing, because everything was so damaged from the storm (some places lost power for weeks). We went on a horse drawn carriage ride. We had to pay for it, but they provided a heavy blanket, and it was nice to be outside and see everything. They also have free canal rides during the Christmas season. We got to ride with some drunk business people. Normally we'd just blow it off, but we had a little kid with us. Other than the drunk people (they weren't offensive, just loud), the ride was very nice. They had a Santa riding around on a Segway, and I think that there were people caroling. Plus, if it's in your budget, there are places to eat all around there.
I don't know much about the eastern part of the state. I suspect that there are other wildlife areas, and Christmas lights to be seen -- particularly towards Tulsa. I hope you find something fun to do (that doesn't cost too much!).
Sounds like you really enjoy movies but are "tired" of renting. Ever since the grand-kids were little, we had a "special time" when we got together and watched movies. We had the popcorn made and drinks, etc. It was like "oh boy!" we get to watch a movie! The attitude is what matters. Picnics even inside are great! "Pretend" you are in a jungle or whatever. Play Scrabble, Clue, poker games, Sorry, Chinese checkers, regular checkers, UNO, other card games I can't recall now. Wow, we've had hours of enjoyment out of these!
My grand-kids all know NOT to gamble, but we have played penny poker for years for fun. The reason the casinos are huge, and have shows, etc. is it is all geared to THEY win. So if you want to throw money away or just burn it, then gamble. They have a clear understanding but we still have oodles of fun playing various poker games!
I loved to go to farmer's markets or to fields where they let you pick your own berries or beans or whatever. Both of those are fun. You could also look for charities to volunteer together. Visit senior citizens, serve food at a homeless shelter, walk dogs at a pet shelter. All of those are free and will give you many happy memories together while also doing something good for others.
My boyfriend and I used to play cards and make a pizza as a cheap date. Puzzles as someone else suggested would be nice, or board games; Monopoly, Trivial pursuit, whatever you like to do. Invite another couple over for snacks and board games or cards. Take some kind of lessons together, dancing, Karate, etc. That might not be the cheapest, but it would be very useful. Try art galleries and museums.
Hi there,
Have you heard of Geocaching? It will cost you fuel only & you can decide the distance you'd like to travel, so fuel will fit in with your budget. If you find there's not much, or none in your area, try starting some of your own. Here's the link to give you all the information you will need:
www.geocaching.com/
Good luck & have fun doing it!
Cheers,
Wendy
Is there a lake nearby that you could have a picnic at? A cafe where you can have dessert and coffee or soda, and taking your time to learn three new things about each other. Take a stroll through Walmart and find five unusual things you would buy for each other. Most of all, just have fun, whatever you do!
When I was dating and he didn't have a lot of money I'd pack a picnic lunch and we'd go to a park and take a frizbee and walk trails. In winter we went to the public library and check out movies and I'd make a pizza or pop popcorn. In winter it's fun if it's snowed because we'd use a sled or inertube and go down the hill . Also I still like to watch people ski at a local resort. You could go to a local lodge for a day take a game or cards to play and sit by the fireplace or watch tv in the lobby and pack some sandwiches to take along. Go out to McDonald's and have a ice cream and just enjoy each others company.
My hubby and I play board games at the table, which I don't think we've missed a day in 18 years of playing something. We love it, and it becomes addicting because it's so much fun.
And even though we live in Las Vegas, where there's something going on 24/7, we got burned out on that, and it's costly, so sometimes on weekends we get up real early before the sun rises, just to go driving to find a nice place to fly our drones and have a lunch I've packed up.
There's nothing like getting outside with the fresh air and laughing and enjoying nature too, which is nice for taking a camera for that also. It's just revitalizing to keep in tune or balance with free nature and all it's beauty. Plus, you never know what you're going to see, so it's never the same.
Have fun, laugh, and enjoy your surroundings, and even if just for a little while, all becomes another world of peace and happiness and carefree, which is a wonderful break from the rest of the world. This makes great memories too, the kind that have deep meaning that stick with you.
