Valentine’s Day is nearly here, which often translates to spending an entire paycheck on a bouquet of long-stem roses, an oversized teddy bear and a hard-to-find, perfectly aged bottle of bubbly.
And don’t forget securing a table at that upscale restaurant — where, for that single evening, they’re only offering an expensive “tasting menu.”
Maybe you’ll also feel compelled to book a couples’ massage, right?
Oh — and what about a box of chocolates?
Fortunately, you can skip the romantic candlelight — at this rate, your emptied wallet is useless anyway, so you might as well set it ablaze and bask in the warm glow of being broke together.
Romance, huh?
But it doesn’t have to go that route.
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A Date Idea That Costs Almost Nothing
When you’re committed for the long term, money can be a sensitive matter, and the last thing you need is another pricey addition to your month’s expenses.
Fortunately, there’s a way to whisk your partner off on a playful, unexpected outing — one they probably haven’t experienced before — that won’t set you back more than, say, a penny.
(Which, conveniently, is our favorite coin!)
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The Penny-Date Guidelines
Here’s the setup:
- Find a penny. If you don’t have one nearby, rummage through the couch cushions, check your car’s cup holder or pilfer one from your kid’s piggy bank while they’re at school.
- Ask your date to choose a number (without revealing the reason) or use an online random number generator. This number will determine how many turns you’ll take during your outing.
- Get in the car or, if you’re on foot, pick a corner to begin.
- To kick off the adventure, have your date flip the penny. Heads means turn right. Tails means turn left.
- Proceed in whichever direction the penny dictates. Pause and flip again each time you come to a stop sign, traffic light or intersection.
- Keep flipping the penny and making left or right turns at every junction until you’ve hit the number you chose at the start of the evening.
- When you reach that count, stop the car (or your walking).
- Wherever you find yourselves is where your date will unfold.
If you look up and spot a park with a charming, lit gazebo, score!
If the only thing around is a gas station, well — good luck putting a romantic spin on that spot. Oof.
But that unpredictability is part of the fun, right?
Really — the appeal of the penny date is the surprise, the absurdity and the shared bewilderment. It’s a way to do something unusual, something you wouldn’t normally try, and enjoy the process together.
Either way, it’s bound to be a date you won’t forget, right?
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Tips to Make Your Penny Date Work
To keep expenses minimal, pack a picnic to bring along. That way, wherever you end up, dinner is ready.
You don’t need to be in a big city for this to work, but tailor the number of turns based on where you are. Thirty turns might fly by on crowded city streets, but on rural back roads, 30 turns could take ages.
Even if there’s a stop sign or light, avoid making turns into dead-end parking lots or streets with no outlet. Simply go to the next intersection and flip the penny there.
Keep an open, adventurous attitude. You’ll probably end up somewhere less romantic (or possibly oddly eccentric), but that’s all part of letting chance run the date night.
More often than not, a penny date delivers a little silliness, plenty of laughter and a few fantastic stories to tell.
After all, like any solid relationship, a penny date is more about the journey than the destination.
Right? (No, left.)
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Alice Morgan is the SMS editor at Savinly. Deputy editor Tiffany Wendeln Connors updated this post.
