Hey, you. D’you want to impress your significant other but currently have nothing but moths and lint in your wallet? Well, romance doesn’t necessarily have to be pricey, and you can still form a good hand with the poor cards you’ve been dealt. Here’s our selection of best tips for romancing on a budget.
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Hot Tips for Romancing on a Budget
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Tip 1: Do something outdoorsy.
The good thing about nature is that it's free to admire, and it'll be more scenic than you and your partner staring at the bottom of your respective wine glasses inside a restaurant.
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Tip 2: Get crafty.
Making something for your significant other for Valentine's Day, whether it be a card, a decorative photo album or a life-size statue of her naked body, will not only appear to be more heartfelt than if you were to buy her a diabetes-inducing $50 box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers that'll be dead by the end of the week, it'll also likely be cheaper.
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Tip 3: Make a home-cooked meal.
The best way to a person's heart is through their stomach (metaphorically, of course – any aspiring surgeons reading this should definitely NOT attempt to get to their patients' heart by way of their belly), so cooking your partner a delicious meal is a recipe for success. Get it? Recipe? Haha (please kill me).
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Tip 4: Watch a movie on Netflix.
Watching a movie on Netflix with your significant other is the 2014 equivalent of renting a movie with them. It's still the same basic concept, except you don't need to return the movie back to a surly Blockbuster staff member the morning after. Also, pro tip: don't watch The Bridge.
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Tip 5: Have a game night.
Board games, video games, card games – the options are endless (if you count three options as endless, that is) when it comes to entertaining yourself with a game in the comfort of your own home. Spend your date night playing a romantic game of Cards Against Humanity, where you can both hold hands as you combine two cards which suggest that the Pope is in ownership of a bag of dildos.
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Tip 6: Go camping.
If you liked the "go outside" tip, then perhaps you'd like to expand upon this idea and sleep out there for a night or two. Find a camping area local to you, take a tent and share some wine amongst the wildlife. But be careful of dropping any romantic crumbs from the romantic lunch you'll share together in the great outdoors, because that's definitely how you get ants.
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Tip 7: Have a couples evening.
Just because you're in a relationship doesn't mean you have to shut yourself off from the rest of the world, even if that does seem like a pretty nice idea… wait… what was we talking about again? Oh yeah, not shutting yourself off from the rest of the world. If that sounds like something you wouldn't like to do, then invite other couples round for a couples evening. Or don't, and pretend that it's just you and your partner on this planet. In fact, forget your partner and pretend that it's just you. Ah, bliss.
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Tip 8: Have sex.
Because sex is free, mostly.
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Tip 9: Be single.
This is certainly the cheapest alternative, but it is also certainly the most depressing.
