The Frugal Dater

It’s that time of year again, when daters show their affection for each other in lavish displays of gifts and goodies.

We’re half-way through January and the red heart displays are out all over the various stores however if you look past the main pre-packed displays and shop at one or two places, then you can put together your own gift package for much less.

Now if you’re past the first or second date with the girl you’re seeing then a valentines day showering of love is a must. The worst part is that retailers know it and are ready for you to open up your wallet.

This is not the time for some hand made trinket however, you’re not a 3rd grader bringing home a paper heart to mom.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Let’s face it, going out to each is just a part of the dating game. And if you’re not a coupon person then there’s still ways to save without anyone knowing (it just might take a little planning before hand).

If you know your favorite restaurants and they’re part of big chains that offer gift cards then there’s ways to save up to 20% in buying unwanted gift cards.

Now if you want to compound these savings then you’ll want to think about lunch dates instead of dinner dates. I’ve seen certain restaurants where the appetizer jump a dollar to three dollars each after the lunch hours (usually ending around 4pm but you have to check with each restaurant individually).

There seems to be a lot of visitors coming from the Charleston SC area looking for free and cheap things to do in that area. So we’ve set out to try to find more things that everyone is looking for this year.

We’ve found a new FrugalDate idea that’s not free, but falls into our under $20 category and it’s the upcoming Boat show.

Keep reading for the rest of the details.

Popularity: 13% [?]

As we continue our series of 10 dates for less then $10 we move on to another of my favorite cities  ~ Baltimore, MD.
There’s nothing like a stroll through Baltimore to get you in the mood for crabs.

	Hit the Harbor There’s more then 10 things to do at the harbor all by itself but we’re going to count it as just one. official link

Popularity: 17% [?]

The secret to any date is to make a magic moment, something memorable.

With all the snow that’s come down in the north east in this winter, this presents the perfect opportunity to make one (or more) of those magic moments.

These moments can happen inside or outside and don’t take credit cards, but you might want to keep your digital camera or cellphone camera handy so that you can share your magic moment with all your facebook fans.

Chocolate Kisses With it being so cold outside then why not make some hot chocolate and snuggle up saving the warmth. Special skills needed? Only the ability to boil water. And if you really want to get creative then you can

Popularity: 11% [?]

There was a recent article in Smart Money magazine about how more and more people are cutting their cable service. A research consulting group has estimated that over 800,000 U.S. households have canceled their TV service in the past 2 years alone. This should not be surprising with all the free options for entertainment available on line.

According to the NCTA (National Cable & Telecommunications Association) for March 2010 their operating metrics are as follows:

Basic Video Customers – 61.8 million
Digital Video Customers – 43.5 million
source (http://www.ncta.com/Statistics.aspx)

Want to breath a little better at night, especially with cold season on the horizon? Then sign up for some FREE BreatheRight strips and wake up more refreshed.

The link to the free sample is here

From their website:

• Nasal congestion relief due to the common cold or allergies

We’re in a new year and with that comes new ways to save.  I’ve found that one of the best things to help you save money is your smart phone. And although I can’t speak for iPhone (I didn’t find it a frugal choice seeing as  you only had one choice of carriers and a small choice of plans) there’s lots of choices when it comes to android phones and apps.

Relationships these days seem to always have some role being played by text messages. The question comes down to are text messages helping or hurting the relationship?

Men & women also use (and interpret) text messaging differently.

According to different researchers, men seem to find text messaging a way to go slowy into a relationship without having to commit totally emotionally – therefore leaving the pain of rejection to a mere sting.

Arguments are easier to get into

There’s no tone or real rhythm with a text message – and sometimes through no fault of yours there can be a delay of messages or double messages which appear hours or a day later. This can cause