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I might be married, but I still wanna date

Don’t tell Wife Ninja, but as fun as this whole marriage thing has been, I’m kinda still interested in dating. Fortunately, I know a girl that might be interested in me. Her name is Wife Ninja. That’s right suckas, I want to date my wife.

I’m guilty of becoming a wee bit stagnant over the last few months and it’s time for a change. Just as I continually seek progression in my personal finances, I want mutual progression in my relationship. And that, mi amigos, sometimes means taking it back to the basics.

If you are anything like me, you use Excel to set budgeting goals. But what about an Excel spreadsheet for sweet dates? Anyone out there have one of those? I just recently created mine…

dating excel spreadsheet

Okay, so it doesn’t have much to it yet, but hey, at least it’s a start, right? Seriously though here are some potential date ideas…

1) Bike ride to nearby park, play frisbee, and have a righteous picnic.

2) Take the ferry over to Coronado and whisper sweet nothings in to Wife Ninja’s ears along the way

3) Eat breakfast at this AMAZINGLY cute breakfast spot in La Jolla that we love, but I never take her to…

4) Go on a hike through Torrey Pines

5) Kayak from Shelter Island to Coronado while telling Wife Ninja how beautiful I think she is

6) Take her to a movie. (I’m soooo cheap I never take her to movies, but she loves going to them. Honestly, I’ve only taken her to one movie in the four years we’ve been together.)

7) Go to Yoga together. Wife Ninja loves to get her Yoga on and has asked me to go with her a handful of times before. I’ve always declined. Not because I think Yoga is girly, but because last time I did it, it kicked my butt and made me feel like a pansy.

That’s all I’ve got so far. You’ll notice all of the above would cost us no more than $40 or so (and many of them are free) so I have absolutely no excuse for not doing a better job at dating Wife Ninja. I need your help coming up with some more date ideas for my epic dating spreadsheet.

What are some of your favorite things to do with your significant other? What are some super cheap, but super fun date ideas? What are some pricier dates that are worth every penny (i.e. wine tasting, etc)? Am I the only lame dude in the room that forgets it’s important to date your spouse?

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22 COMMENTS

  1. Yikes, I’m coming up on our 9 year anniversary and all I got planned out was a fancy dinner. Thanks for reminding me that I need to step it up a few notches.

  2. My favorite suggestion is yoga..or do something for wife ninja that’s for her only.

    Those kinds of selfless acts are the ones I’m touched by and appreciate the most.

  3. If Wife Ninja would like it, take her horseback riding. My girlfriend loves horseback riding and actually took me on a trail ride for my birthday. WARNING: Horses trotting and boy parts is not a good combination.

  4. If she loves movies, take her to the movie!
    Hubs and I are trying to do a better job of dating each other. Some of our favorites (on a shoestring) are: ice cream date, walk around Home Depot and plan our dream kitchen (don’t judge me), dinner out, frisbee golf (a new favorite), walk the dog…yeah we need some excitement too! haha.
    As a woman, I just want to go somewhere we can talk and goof off together. I’d really love to go bowling, but that can get really expensive. We only get to do that like twice a year. Dinner out is probably my favorite date night because I cook every night and appreciate the break.

  5. Dinner and a movie are usually the way the wife and I go when we have our date night. If we want to go cheap a little popcorn and movie at home after the kids go to bed is the way to go.

  6. Ever thought of buying a projector to watch movies at home? A one time cost (using tigerdirect.com or some equivalent), pop some popcorn and voila! Movies at home. With the high cost of movies, this might work out to a much better long term cost. And when wifey is gone- video games on the projector? Cmon, awesome!

  7. -My boyfriend is building his photography business, so any opportunity for us to take pictures is a date.

    -I love museums. I love museums with free admission more =) For those in your area that charge an admission, keep an eye out for “free admission nights” (usually weeknights).

    -Take a walk and cop a squat on a bench and people watch.

    -Volunteer together.

    I hope this is helpful!

  8. Ninja – as a lady I’m all for dating regardless of the status of your relationship. I think this is the best way to keep the engines revved for each other, and try new things.

    Personally I’d do each of the above – spread out over a year. I love these ideas. The other things I love are when my guy and I take the time to plan an entire meal, cook it, eat it, rent a movie and snuggle. This may seem like something you guys do regularly – if it is that’s awesome! My guy and I are on slightly different schedules whereby one of us is home at 4:30 each day and the other gets home around 7pm each day. Eating becomes something that is a luxury when we get to do that together.

    I especially love our Pizza and Movie and Snack night on Fridays. It’s like a date we look forward to each week – even though we don’t go out all the time. Plus we get to completely unwind from work, talk about everything from the week, discuss weekend things, and talk about upcoming events for the following week – all while chowing down on some really great pizza.

    I applaud you for understanding that just because you married each other, doesn’t mean you get let off the hook about dating each other.

  9. We used to go out every Friday night to dinner and a movie before kids. After kids, we don’t date nearly as much as we should. Life gets busy sometimes, and it can be easy to take things for granted. I am glad you are not doing that Ninja- keep it up!

    My husband and I play racquetball, frisbee, and go for a lot of walks in the evenings. Or we go to the local Barnes and Noble, look at books and then have sit in the cafe for awhile. We have other dates as well, but those are the easy and inexpensive ones.

  10. This is so true. My wife and do found the same thing and we’ve found that dating is so much better once you’re already married! It eliminates all the awkwardness, nervousness, and tension and you can just talk and have a great time.

  11. One of the most fun out of the ordinary dates we’ve had was indoor rock climbing at REI (that bomb one in downtown Seattle). We got a discount for having an REI card. As of late, we have done dinner and a movie (something easy and we can get home before it gets too late for the sitter).
    A frugal tip: I use Groupon, Livingsocial, goldstar, etc for discount prices on lots of fun activities: museums, ferry rides, restaurants, etc. And a $25 purchase to an Entertainment book comes with loads of coupons for fun/local activities, restaurants, hotels, stores, etc.
    Trina

  12. Nice dinners at home (you DO cook, don’t you, Ninja?)
    Miniature golf
    Go-kart racing
    Museums (look for free ones!)
    Sometimes we just drive around in the country and look for land that we’d like to buy some day… but I kind of had to put a stop to that because it made me discontent where we are now.

  13. I’ll add with things that haven’t yet been mentioned:

    -Real estate shopping in rad neighborhoods.
    -Vacation planning with maps and pictures.
    -Coffee date on a weekend morning at a local coffee shop- chill quietly in one another’s company.
    -Berry or flower picking
    -Batting cages!
    -Go to sporting events –there are free events/community events you can watch and get your cheer on! (cyclocross! marathons!)
    -Trip to the costume shop with a camera — good times!
    -Play darts at a pub
    -Pinball tour of the area- hit up all the best places to play pinball!

    🙂 have fun!

  14. Look into local planetariums. There is one at a college near us that is open to the public for free once a month, so you can go star watching. Fun, free date!

    Definitely Groupon, Entertainment book, and restaurant.com will reduce your dating expenses and expose you to new and interesting experiences for less money.

    Now, I’m off to e-mail this to my husband, who hasn’t used a pickup line like the pirate wanting booty in a long time!

  15. “Are you a pirate? I want your booty” is hilarious!

    – Free admission festivals/street fairs/parades can be fun
    – giving her a massage (all you need is lotion!)

    I also second/third/fourth the Groupon idea. Restaurant.com can be a good idea, especially if you buy them 80%. This happens usually at the end of the month. Check the restrictions!

  16. One keyboard click often leads to another treasure. Fine posting.. I think you were fairly very clear in introducing the tips. I will bookmark it and be back for later.. take it easy.

  17. My mother-in-law informed me that all wives are “brides” for one year and need AND deserve special treatment the whole year through (although that should never stop either). I moved part way through my year so I was all stressed out and demanded to have an extra year. I got it. And you should encourage Wife Ninja to not only be a bride for a year but insist on a rename! She should be Bride Ninja for 1 year!

  18. My friend buys an entertainment book every year on Craigslist. In it, there are discounts on movie tickets which reduces the $11/ticket down to $6.50/ticket! If they buy the book for $20, they practically break even after two movies!

  19. I know this sounds really cheesy, but I have a reminder pop up on my electronic calendar every week. All that pops up is a little heart symbol. It reminds me to do something thoughtful for my husband, like leave a nice note or bring home a big pack of his favorite gum or give him a back rub. Or even to just look him in the eye and give him a super genuine, thoughtful compliment. I don’t have to do it that day (how weird would that be if I was extra nice every Wednesday?), but it regularly reminds me to show him how much I appreciate him!

    He just asked me to try to do once a week date nights since we are entering the busy season of his career, and he can be on the road up to 5 days a week! We are trying to do early movies (Only $5 in Minneapolis), FREE museums or Groupons–as others mentioned 🙂

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