this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

Sometimes it seems as if date night is more trouble than it's worth. Though I love spending time with my husband, deciding what to do is always so hard! Not to mention the fact that it seems as if the things we mostly want to do involve money, which is okay every now and then but can add up when the date nights become more frequent.

This past Saturday night we had some friends who offered to watch our older two kids (free baby-sitting!), so we headed out to dinner at a restaurant that we had a gift card for (free dinner!), then we went put together the remaining balances on two gift cards and used that for dessert (free again!). Then, after thinking that it would be fun to stick to our gift card theme for the night, I suggested we head to Target and use the $5 gift card I had to buy silly little gifts for each other. But this was kind of a joke and a trick because everyone knows that you can't leave Target with only spending $5. We ended up spending buying light bulbs and apple scented shampoo and condition. Great gifts seeing as I am the light of his life and he is the apple of my eye. Okay not really, actually we just needed those things and found them on clearance.

Next time you're searching for a date night idea, see if you can be creative with any remaining gift card balances you might have. No gift cards? Try a nice dinner at home. Purchase some cuts of meat or other ingredients that you normally wouldn't (but are still cheaper than a restaurant meal) and prepare the dinner yourselves. Enjoy the great outdoors and go for a walk, or a hike, or play sport you both enjoy. See if you can find any inexpensive community concerts or lectures (if there's a university near you, you are bound to find something). What other ideas do you have?