Ideas for low-cost dates

[Sweet Pea]

just cooking meals together can be alot of fun. deciding what to make, going out for the ingredients, cooking and eating together. turn the lights down, put on some music, light a candle, pour a little wine, and you've got a romantic evening.

[gSteve]

you could go to a park, though it may be a bit cold

[HybridMoment]

- Go on a walk to pick up aluminum cans on the side of the road. Then cash them in. If you find scrap copper along the way you can cash in even more.

- Babysit a kid and charge accordingly.

- Do odd jobs togther, like raking leaves or something.

- Go to a carnival and pick up coins underneath the rides that turn people upside down. (Also under vending machines, around car washes, and when no one is looking grab some coins out of a wishing fountain).

- Donate blood together. Although they don't usually give you money anymore you can get free food like a cookie and juice, some places give out mugs and t-shirts for frequent donations.

- Dumpster diving. It's always good to have a lookout partner when you are on private property.

- Find out the time and day the local grocery store gives out samples. Some places will have so many samples on a weekend that you can make an entire meal out of it.

- Have a garage sale together.

- At some libraries you can check out videos for free.

[pnoopiepnats]

I like dumpster diving lol!

How about searching for a job? The time/effort spent on creative low cost things could be spent looking for a job.

[Richard Cunningham]

glasgowguy said:

I will shortly have one of my welfare payments suspended and will not have the money I used to for going to cinema or pub or restaurant. My girlfriend will be similarly skint but we don't just want to stay in and watch telly every night. So I was wondering if the group mind here could come up with suggestions for activities that don't cost a lot of money.

Cheap things we do at the moment include :-
* renting DVD's - £2 each time - and watching them while eating some microwave popcorn
* going to a coffee shop and making one coffee last (rather than going to a pub where you would keep drinking all night)
* looking through charity shops for cheap videos to watch.
* going to McDonalds for breakfast (hardly high-class dining but still a treat to us).
* going out to the 24-hour supermarkets for a look round (OK this is more of a treat for her than me but she does like it for the sake of getting out the house).
* once in a while playing Trivial Pursuits or Monopoly

Things I imagine other people (but not us) doing and enjoying include going for walks, making home-made meals together, flying a kite, going for a walk along the beach, going to a free museum etc.

If you are in a relationship already I would love to read about low-cost things you enjoy going out to with your partners - often the best things need not cost a lot of money. Alternatively even if you have never had a partner I could still learn from your suggestions of what low-cost things you would like to be doing or things you would enjoy if only you had someone to share them with. I feel this is an issue for many shy / SA people since so many of us are either unemployed or in low-paid employment so I am sure I am not the only one who finds finances as well as shyness affecting their relationships.

Just curious as to why you are getting multiple welfare payments?
SA is obviously not a huge issue as you have no problem going to the cinema, coffee shops, restaurants or the pub (I can't do any of these, especially the pub), so I guess I'm just hoping that you're not ripping off the taxpayer with exhaggerated SA claims.
I'm sure you have a legit reason for claiming multiple welfare, I just dont like it when people claim for something they shouldn't be getting when I have to work my ass off each day for jack-squat.

And going to McD's when strapped for cash isn't a good idea. They aren't exactly cheap.
I have to think twice about getting McD's when I HAVE money.

[Richard Cunningham]

pnoopiepnats said:

I like dumpster diving lol!

How about searching for a job? The time/effort spent on creative low cost things could be spent looking for a job.

Most of the stuff at my place is from dumpster diving.

My computer desk is made from crap I found in a dumpster, and all my furniture is from the dumpster too.
Even a small framed picture of a boat I found in there, and not too long ago I found about 7 Star Trek Voyager videos.

[Sweet Pea]

i'd just like to caution people about leaping to conclusions about people receiving welfare or other social benefits. don't be too quick to judge. i happen to know scotland is notorious for outrageously high unemployment rates. poverty has been increasing rapidly there in recent years. for all we know the OP could be disabled as well. there is really no reason to insult people on welfare. one never knows when one's luck may change and welfare would be needed. would you want to be treated badly because of it?

[Stranger]

hybridmoment said:

- Go to a carnival and pick up coins underneath the rides that turn people upside down. (Also under vending machines, around car washes, and when no one is looking grab some coins out of a wishing fountain).

- Donate blood together. Although they don't usually give you money anymore you can get free food like a cookie and juice, some places give out mugs and t-shirts for frequent donations.

- Dumpster diving. It's always good to have a lookout partner when you are on private property.

- Find out the time and day the local grocery store gives out samples. Some places will have so many samples on a weekend that you can make an entire meal out of it.

;D ;D

I dunno, it really depends what you're into. If I had more time, I'd spend a decent chunk of it learning stuff off the internet, which is probably free enough if you're posting here.

pnoopiepnats said:

How about searching for a job? The time/effort spent on creative low cost things could be spent looking for a job.

Even if you are looking your ass off for work, you can't be looking every waking moment of your existence. You do need something to fill in the time. Although I do agree with what Richie said (in his first post).

[theinfiniteabyss84]

stranger said:

pnoopiepnats said:

How about searching for a job? The time/effort spent on creative low cost things could be spent looking for a job.

Even if you are looking your ass off for work, you can't be looking every waking moment of your existence. You do need something to fill in the time. Although I do agree with what Richie said (in his first post).

It takes me a maximum of 30 minutes to look for a job online. You pretty much know what jobs you are qualified for and which ones you do not even bother. Its not like new and exciting and qualifing jobs are posted every hour on the hour waiting for someone to apply for them (which I am finding out, heh). I have been looking since October and I have probably applied for 4 jobs...3 of which were from the same place.

[Stranger]

theinfiniteabyss84 said:

It takes me a maximum of 30 minutes to look for a job online. You pretty much know what jobs you are qualified for and which ones you do not even bother. Its not like new and exciting and qualifing jobs are posted every hour on the hour waiting for someone to apply for them (which I am finding out, heh). I have been looking since October and I have probably applied for 4 jobs...3 of which were from the same place.

I think when I started out, I was too quick to dismiss things. I only applied for a couple a month too (on good months, lol), and just felt completely incapable of anything. Maybe I was right, but in retrospect I had nothing to lose by tossing out a few more applications. At least in my field, companies rarely seem to get exactly what they're after, and as long as you're the best candidate they've found (or in the best however-many-they're-looking-for), then you've got a decent chance.