dates that don't break the bank

You have to love it when you're dating a great guy. Spending time together is always a blast and you can't wait to bask in his company. But between restaurants, movies, bowling or whatever else, you've burned a pretty deep hole in your pocket. So how do you date and not go broke? Here are my tried and true methods:

Go to a museum. Lots of museums are free or have tremendous student discounts. So what if you're not an art buff? There are still plenty of things to do. Try making up a story for that mysterious painting or steal confused glances and smiles as you look at the modern art section.

Go to a bookstore. Ryan (my adorable boyfriend) and I went to a used bookstore and headed straight for the kids section. We read each other our childhood favorites. I read him The Lorax and he read me Where the Wild Things Are. So precious!

Cook dinner together. Who needs an expensive restaurant when you can whip up a feast and light the candles yourself? You can even make a day of it! Start in the afternoon by planning your menu, then hunt around your local farmer's market to find cheap, fresh and fantastic ingredients. Head home and cook together—then enjoy your well-earned meal!

Take advantage of school events. Okay, so maybe NOBODY goes to your High School's basketball games, but who cares? It's a perfect place to hang out because you don't have the stress of being one-on-one!

College towns rock. In high school, I lived right next to the University of California at San Diego. I used to scour UCSD's website for events open to the public. I think the best date I ever had was going to a lecture on human sexuality... Strange? Maybe. Interesting? Definitely.

So have fun and be creative! And clue me in on some of your cheap date ideas!

Smiles,

Carina K.