Dating Day

Have you gone out to eat recently? It’s pretty much standard to spend $15-$20 per adult no matter where you eat out on the very cheap end of things. Babysitters cost about $15 an hour. You can expect to spend even more if you add an activity like going to the movies. It’s totally okay if that kind of financial investment is just unwise for you at this moment. If our dates are contributing to debt or financial insecurity, it’s best we pause these things until our circumstances change.

That doesn’t mean you don’t take time to be together in a special way but there are so many ways to do just that without spending money you don’t have. You can take a walk together, cook dinner at home side-by-side, plan a game night, movie night, go for a bike ride, spend time at the library, and more! The important thing is the investment to be present with each other; no money required to accomplish that!

In our social media-driven world, it’s easier than ever to see all the Jones around us planning amazing outings, couples vacations, baby moons, and more. We can get sucked into wrong thinking that tells us that we are entitled to these kinds of experiences. The reality is few truly have the financial means to regularly plan expensive outings with their partner. For most of our marriage, we have lived on just enough, so dates that cost us money were not really in the cards. We got creative and still were able to cultivate intimacy without taking a European vacation together. The Bible tells us to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11). Finding contentment in our financial position is a free way to live!