Spending quality time with your significant other is important to keep your marriage thriving. There were times in the beginning of our marriage that we couldn’t afford to go out for date nights but wanted to change that. After our first two years of marriage, we decided that a date night fund was a necessary expense to keep our marriage exciting. We started our first fund over 20 years ago and are so glad we did!

When money is tight, finding the funds for date nights can be pretty tough. Being a single income family with three kids means we need to make every penny count. Date nights don’t need to be expensive, and finding the money doesn’t have to be a painful process. We’ve come up with several ways over the years to fund our date nights and today we want to share some of them with you.

Tips for Starting a Date Night Fund

Do you shop online? If so, be sure to sign up for Rakuten! This site has not only funded dates for us, but entire family vacations! Head on over and sign up for FREE!

Use coupons + save the difference.

There are hundreds of sites available for restaurants, retail, car shops, and printing free coupons online.. Use these coupons every time you go shopping and put your savings into the date night fund. On some of my grocery runs, we can save anywhere from $5-$20 on a single trip. If we were to save that $5-$20 from each trip, we would be able to put anywhere from $20-$80 toward our date night fund that month!

Find areas in your budget to cut back on.

Evaluate your budget every month and look for one expense you could cut back on. If you normally eat out twice a week, cut it down to once a week and put that extra money toward your date night fund. We’re certain many of you are guilty of stopping in at a coffee shop a few times a month. If you decided to skip the coffee shop for a whole month, you’d have even more money for your date night fund! Trust us, it’s worth it!

Check out our favorite family budget binder to help you get your budget on track and stay on track!

Set money aside each paycheck.

Even if you can only contribute a few dollars of each paycheck, it will add up quickly. No amount is too small. It’s really important to go out every once in a while, even if your budget is really tight. Set aside money before you start spending your paycheck, and treat it like another expense in your budget. When it finally adds up, you get to spend a fun night out with your spouse!

Haven’t started a budget yet? Check out why (and how) to have weekly budget meetings here.

Start a date night piggy bank.

Starting a date night piggy bank is a great way to start a date night fund. Whenever you have spare change or find a couple dollars in your pocket while doing laundry, add it to the piggy bank. You probably don’t even notice this money being put away, and it adds up quick! Once a month, dump out the piggy bank and use the cash toward your date night.

Enjoy stay at home date nights while you’re saving.

Between saving up for a night out and trying to find a babysitter, it might take a while before you can actually enjoy a night out. Rather than throwing your hands up and giving up on date nights completely, use your creativity and make your date nights at home until you can afford to go somewhere.

Dates don’t have to mean fine dining and expensive getaways just to show each other how much you care. It’s where you go or what you do that really matters; it’s who you are with and the intimate moments you share together that really make date night an amazing success! Date nights can do wonders for you as a couple, and it’s important to spend that quality time together. So what are you waiting for? Get that fund started today!

More to Consider