Making date night happen

It has been quite the challenge making date night happen around here this year. Not only are we low on cash, but finding a free/cheap babysitter and a cheap place to go while also giving up a night of study time all adds to the challenge. I think of it as an obstacle to overcome, and although it's been hard, Dan and I have been able to do this somewhat regularly.

St. Louis is not only a great place for families, but it's also couple friendly. There are so many fun date things to do for free, especially in the summer. There are free museums, great parks for long walks and free live music. Still, there are times when we just want eat out, have a conversation longer than 42 seconds without being interrupted by a certain toddler, and not worry about the clean up.

The best premarital advice we've gotten was to GO ON DATES!!! As many as possible is preferable, but twice a month is also good. Especially since entering the wonderful world of parenting, dates have become very important to maintaining a relationship that goes beyond talking about teething tablets and baby eye boogers (yeah-we actually do talk about those things... embarrassing, I know.)

With a date budget smaller than a Netflix membership, this is how we make it happen:

Groupon : Simply type in your city and check the site daily for awesome deals. Most of the time, there are great discounts to restaurants in your area, perfect for a cheap date. Other days, you might find yourself buying a teeth cleaning with the dentist at 75% off. Either way, it's a great place to cash in on great deals and has really helped us to keep up on our date nights.

Restaurant.com : Until today, I have never bought gift certificates from restaurant.com, but Slickdeals had a great promo code making the deal unbeatable. Again, go to the site and type in your zip code to view participating restaurants in your area. Pick a few and at check out, enter promo code MEAL. You can get a $25 gift certificate for $2.50!!! Of course the minimum purchase for most restaurants is $35, but that still only makes the date $17.50 for what would have been a $35 night!!! We took advantage of this, spent $5.50 for three restaurant coupons (worth $65) and will enjoy three cheap dates sometime in the future. Totally worth it!!! The restaurants you always wish you could go to are suddenly more affordable!

Alright couples, especially my lovely pregnant friends in Seattle-get out while you still can!!!!!!