By Michele
Seven years ago, I married the man of my dreams! But I have to say that marriage and keeping it alive, fun and connected, is quite a challenge at times! We still find that it is extremely vital for our relationship to spend time alone. I know it seems impossible to achieve with three children and a budget. BUT YOU CAN!
I wanted to put my money where my mouth was so I set up a date weekend to see if it could really be done.
Friday:
Movie
Drink and Popcorn
Dinner
Saturday:
Lunch
Chopper Exhibit at Union Station
Total: $38.36
Normal Price: $100
One way we saved money on this date was to locate a movie theatre that has movie tickets cheaper than the average theater. At the Cinemark on the Plaza, the tickets, before 6pm are $4/ ticket and after 6pm, they are $6/ticket. We thought it was funny that our drink and popcorn cost more than a ticket. I signed up for the Cinemark Palace rewards on-line and received a new member coupon of a free small popcorn with the purchase of a drink. We shared the drink and were able to get the popcorn refilled for FREE.
Our younger children had an overnight with their grandparents! They all loved their time together and we are very blessed to have them. If you do not have family close or if they are unable to care for your children, you can have trade time with friends you trust.
We both thought it was quite weird waking up without children in the house, so we slept in until 12 noon. Remember those pre-child days of sleep!
We decided to have a quick meal but wanted it to be budget friendly. We went to Costco! I know, Costco? My husband chose a hot dog and soda meal at $1.50 and I had a piece of cheese pizza and a pop at $2.48. Our total was $4.42 and we were full, plus we had samples of carmel clusters for free as we window shopped without children.
My husband mentioned awhile back that he would like to go and visit the Art of the Chopper Exhibit at the Kansas City Union Station Musuem but then decided against the idea when we found out the price. It is $12.50/ adult ticket or $25.00 total. I tried to find coupons or free tickets by asking on Facebook as well as calling a sponsor of the Exhibit, without any luck.
I subscribe to the Union Station website for free. A few weeks ago, they sent out a promotion that if you purchased 8 gallons of gasoline at a BP gas station then you could receive a FREE ticket. Score! I did that twice and we went to the exhibit for $3.00 to cover our parking.
It was an amazing weekend and I really felt that we worked on building our marriage and relationship. I would highly recommend taking some time for just yourself and your spouse. Build a strong marriage! It’s truly PRICELESS!
