Planning Your Date
If you take your date through the drive thru at a fast food restaurant and splurge on a box of chicken nuggets, don’t expect a second date.
There’s a huge difference in not having a large budget for dating and being cheap.
What cheap says to a woman is not, “He’s good with money.” What it says is, “He doesn’t think I’m worth spending money on.” You can plan dates that show you’ve put thought into it without having to break your budget to do so.
If you know what your date enjoys, the work is half over already. You can plan a date around what she likes. There are low, medium and higher cost dates you can plan. Keep in mind, there’s nothing wrong with not being able to afford to spend a lot on a date, that’s where your creativity can come into play.
Free or low cost dates: going on a picnic, taking food and grilling out at a lake or by a pond-not only low cost but toward the evening as the sun is setting, this can be a beautiful and romantic backdrop.
Check out historical places where you live. Take a walking tour. Do you live near a beach? Walk along the beach. Spread a blanket on the sand and share a treat-iced tea in the summer, coffee or hot chocolate in a thermos in the winter. It’s a relaxing way to spend time together and talk.
Is she the outdoor type? Play tennis or badminton, go for a horseback ride-if you have a friend who owns riding horses, this can be a great low cost date as long as she’s not afraid of horses. Go skating. Check your local newspaper for any community events. One city offers Music Beneath the Stars and hosts free jazz concerts.
Medium cost dates: dinner and a movie, a short boating trip, a horse and buggy ride, bowling or golfing.
Higher cost dates: go to a concert, eat at a five star restaurant, visit a museum, if she likes sports, go watch a baseball or basketball team play, go white water rafting or skiing. The ideas for dates are endless and while a dinner date is always pleasant, women do like for a man to step outside the routine and plan a date that’s different from the norm.
For your best odds of a successful first date, make it a memorable one. Have an activity planned so that the entire time isn’t spent in conversation. The way to choose a good first date activity is to have at least some idea of what your date will like.
If she doesn’t have someone you can ask what she might like to do, then just ask her. Be up front about it and say, “I’d like to make sure you have a good time. Do you enjoy ___” fill in the blank with the activity you had in mind.
If you plan on taking her to a restaurant where you’ve never been, make sure you know beforehand if the restaurant has anything in it that you or date might find offensive. You would hate to take your date to a nice restaurant only to discover a singer serenaded customers by singing in a suggestive manner.