If you’ve been following along, you know that Taylor and I paid off $61,000 worth of debt in only 16 months. 

We were newlyweds at the time so we definitely wanted to have our time to connect, but we were also on a very strict budget. This made us come up with some pretty creative date night ideas.

Truthfully speaking, some of these dates were way better than the super expensive dinners we used to go on.

Fast forward a few years later and our net worth has grown by well into the six figures, but we still enjoy these frugal date night ideas over the fancy ones.

Here are some of our favorite date nights we’ve done.

Date Night Ideas

Massage Night

There are a lot of different ways to pull this one off. You can order a book filled with massage techniques on Amazon or even pull a few from YouTube.

Another way to make this a fun night is to write down a few body parts on separate strips of paper, drop them in a hat, and take turns pulling to see where you have to massage for a set amount of time.

Regardless of how you decide to pull this off, make sure you kill the lights/tv/phones/etc, put on some soft music, and light some candles.

The cost of this date night could range anywhere from free to about $20.

Wine & Board Games

This is easily one of our favorite date night ideas. We have a ton of games and there’s usually some kind of alcohol lying around our house so this just works for us.

Some of our favorites are Clue, Monopoly Empire, and Uno.

We do sometimes have different tastes on games, so, again, drop a few names in a bowl and pick one.

If you don’t have any, you can find some card games for under $10 and big name board games for under $20.

Word of caution: There have been a few times where my competitive spirit has gotten the best of me. Don’t let that happen and ruin a great date night.

Laser Tag

I have to admit that we’ve done this one twice and I’m 0-2. They honestly haven’t even been close.

The crazy thing is I always end the game feeling like I CRUSHED it. Then I see the score and get a little upset.

This is fun because it gets you both active and letting off a little steam after a long day.

It’s also a great idea for new couples because it eliminates a lot of those potentially awkward moments made by small talk.

The price on this one is usually somewhere near $10 per person for us.

Paint

I’ll be honest. I’m not much of an artist. I mean my stick figures come out looking deformed.

To say I was nervous about trying this one would be a massive understatement. But I did it and we had an amazing time.

We started with a blank canvas, some tape, and paint, and let the creative juices flow.

Both of our pictures came out fantastic in my opinion. I’ll let you see for yourself.

In the comments let me know who you think painted which one.

This is another date night you can pull off for less than $25. To keep it simple, you can order an entire kit on Amazon below.

Bake Desserts From Scratch

I actually think we started a new family tradition last Christmas. Taylor was pregnant so we didn’t feel like getting out much and traveling, so we decided to stay home and bake all day.

We cooked all of our meals that day, but the highlight was definitely knocking out some of the best Christmas cookies I’ve ever had.

There was music playing throughout the day and we danced in the kitchen several times as we worked on our delicious treat.

We found the recipe on Pinterest (of course) and the ingredients were less than $10.

Another time we even made our own chocolate covered strawberries which was a blast!

You can find a great recipe here at Moms Need To Know.

Netflix & Chill

There’s not much better than grabbing your favorite snacks, turning off your phone, snuggling up with your love, and binge-watching some of your favorite movies/shows.

This is another one where you can skip the disagreements by dropping the names of a few different movies into a jar and pulling one to determine what you watch.

After a long week, this connection time can be just what both of you need to rest up.

Total cost of this one is the cost of snacks and your Netflix subscription…unless you still have your parents login of course.

P.S. Don’t forget the “chill”.

Escape Room

Oh man we had a blast with this one! We went a few years ago before they really got popular and swore we would come back, but, unfortunately, we just haven’t made the time yet.

We went just as a couple and were teamed up with about 8 strangers and our group actually escaped!

One of the reasons we want to go back is to repeat our success with family and friends.

We really had to think a lot during this one, and the times Taylor got scared and ran into my arms was a nice perk too.

Total cost for this one was about $15 per person, but we did use a Groupon at the time AND it was a few years ago, so definitely check before you hold me to that price.

Pool Hall

Taylor and I are both absolutely terrible at shooting pool and I think that’s what makes this one so much fun.

We probably laugh more during this one than any of the other dates mention because our shots are just so freaking terrible.

You can spice this one up by making little wagers on certain shots or games.

The total cost is usually less than $10 and depends on how long you stay.

Random Redbox

This is one of the date night ideas that I came up with one day on a whim.

I had Taylor pick a number between 1-20. We then drove to the Redbox kiosk and picked the movie that was in the slot she chose.

The big rule was that neither one of us could complain about the movie from the moment we saw what it was until it was over. The complainer would have to serve the other person for the rest of the day.

We actually picked a pretty solid movie (called Indignation) so neither of us complained and it was a pretty great date although I think we are too chicken to try it again.

Do you have any date night ideas that don’t break the bank? Feel free to share in the comments and we just may try some out and feature them on our next date night post.