Dating on a budget!

climbgirl

A couple of months ago I started seeing a lovely guy and things are going really well, yay! :j

The thing is he earns a lot less than I do (less than half) and sometimes struggles to make ends meet. I have of course, introduced him to the joys of this site, he's well on the way to becoming an addict like the rest of us!

What I'm really after is ideas for cheap/free dates, ways to keep the costs down so we can go out and spend time together without blowing the budget. We've been making the most of things like Orange Wednesdays at the movies, 2-for-1 meal deals etc. I'm just looking for a bit more inspiration really. Oh, I live in London too which makes it easier as there's a wealth of free things to do in this city, markets, galleries etc....

Lyncroft

Shag alot.

scotgirl

If you get fed up of Lyncroft's suggestion (!) there are loads of great things to do in London on a budget.

Make the most of the parks while the weather is still nice - what about a picnic or a walk - romantic!

When I lived near London we used to try and get tickets as much as possible for TV recordings (usually at the BBC) - check out www.tvrecordings.com. We went to see Harry Hill and Alistair McGowan (as well as some not so good ones - eg. Dale Winton!)

Hope this helps! Happy Dating!

Wesker

Take up one of the free dvd rental trials and watch some films together :-)

laughing_cow

Beg or borrow a copy of Time Out or check out their website. There's always ads for stuff that I've not heard of anywhere else - eg on Friday night this week in Trafalgar Square there's a free modern Latin American music festival, if that's your thing. Also, throughout the summer they've had a voucher each week for 2 main meals for the price of one at Wagamama (I've used this one loads).

Visit London is primarily for tourists, but there's loads of info on there on upcoming events. And sometimes it's quite good fun to be a tourist for the day - you just need your travelcard to get around.
http://www.visitlondon.com/

In September there's the Brick Lane festival and the Mayor's festival which has a big fireworks display on the river. There's also some kind of Spanish festival (poss this weekend) on Regent Street.

Open House is also worth going to - it's basically a weekend in September where you can visit buildings which are not normally open to the public, eg the gherkin.
http://www.openhouse.org.uk

pms

If you like going to the cinema and you have a Cineworld near to you try getting one of their unlimited cards its £10.99 per month and you can go to the cinema as much as you like. Its been my saving grace for about 4 years now

MascaraMinx

London is the best for free stuff/ bargain nights out

Toptable.co.uk always have meals for under a tenner

Between Jan - March you can get reduced theatre tickets see here http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/getintolondontheatre

If you invest in a Time Out guide or Lonely Planet there's a million ideas in there - when I first moved to london my fave thing was to go on the free walks - you can do a World War 2 walk, a Krays walk, Jack the Ripper etc it's really fascinating.

There's supposed to be a restaurant in Finchley road where you only pay what you think the meal was worth?!

hth

K9cuddles

Sign up to the Cinema Thread for free screenings at the cinema!!

melancholly

tesco clubcard points can pay for lots of things - i'm in the position of your partner, where i earn about half what my bf does..... but i always pay half just because i don't want to be a kept woman!!

keep an eye out on http://www.hattrick.co.uk/ for tickets to have i got news for you, room 101 etc

we seem to spend timing cooking together and watching tv! not very glamarous, but in the first few months we were together we went out a lot, both put on weight and i spent more than i should have. now both of us are a lot healthier!!