Thrifty Thursday: Cheap Dates Are Good

Our wedding anniversary was yesterday and we celebrated with home-cooked tacos and a small cake with the kids. This is not as pathetic as it sounds -- it's all part of the grand plan to save enough money for an overnight getaway next month.

Every marriage is different, but for me and my husband, it's important to have time alone as a couple at least every other week. So we enlist daycare teachers, local teenagers and even the neighborhood tweens who can put the girls to bed while we have a candlelit dinner downstairs. (So the romantic meal is interrupted once or twice for bedtime kisses. I'm not complaining!)

Since child care can be expensive, we make sure that the date itself is cheap. For more ideas on saving money, check out these Thrifty Thursday tips from other About.com guides:

• Fitness for Free
• Favorite Brown Bag Lunches
• Cheapest Photo Frame on the Planet
• Save Pounds and Pennies
• Go Through the Grocery Flyer with Your Kids
• Buying and Selling Twin Stuff
• Saving on Birthday Gifts
• Swap Coupons and Money-Saving Tips
• Baby Showers on a Budget
• Stretching the Food Budget - Potato Tacos
• 5 Ways to Find Free Child Care
• Do-It-Yourself Day Camp

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