Have you considered dating more and spending less? Cheap dates are the answer, if you are single and want to have some fun, memorable times.

The rising costs of housing, gas, food, and entertainment have brought us to the necessity of discovering new and imaginative ways to date. If you are single and want to be social, there are some great off-the-beaten-path places to go and things to do. If you are strapped for funds but want to have fun, you may want to think about some of the following:

Cheap Dates

*Your Personal Chef Bake-off

Invite your love interest over to read a cook book. Each of you choose a recipe, write down the ingredients, and go to the store together. Keep the recipe as simple and as cost effective as possible, depending on how flush you feel that week. Come back home to cook and prepare a meal for each other.

*Freebies and almost freebies

Local breweries or wineries offer free tours and then free beer or wine at the end of the tour. If you do not have any wineries or breweries near you, look for farmers who allow you to pick fruit or vegetables at a fraction of the cost that you would pay in the store. There are seasons for berries, peaches, melons, tomatoes and more. Watch your local calendar and announcements in the paper for when you can eat, drink and be merry.

*The zoo is for you

The time to visit the zoo is in the middle of the week in the middle of the day. If you and your date can ever steal away from your work at the same time, you will discover lion feeding time, animals being washed, pens being cleaned out, and caretakers willing to talk. This is a roaring good date.

*Be a game player

Have you played a board game lately? Perhaps it is time to rediscover Monopoly, Checkers, Chutes and Ladders, or Scrabble. Card games are always a good bet when you can find one that you both enjoy. An afternoon of soup and sandwiches, a good Board game, and the winner gets to plan the next date, can be a time of conversation and sharing and growing closer. Being a game player can be a good thing.

Rising costs and cheap dates may bring us something we had not thought about but which our soul was longing for: time to connect with each other. Who would have thought we could have discovered a way to meaningful conversation, communication, and bonding when we started planning for--a cheap date?

Tonja Weimer

Tonja Evetts Weimer is a Master Certified singles relationship and life coach, speaker, syndicated columnist and author.

Tonja is a full time professional coach with a practice in Greenville, SC. She helps individuals, especially singles, re-craft their lives and find happiness and success in their career and relationships. Some of Tonja's professional activities include:

==> Syndicated singles relationship columnist, writing SAVVY DATING, a weekly column read by over a million readers in many U.S newspapers. Tonja's column addresses relationship and life issues of interest to all adults, but particularly to the over 110 million singles in the U.S. Tonja has also had articles published in New Woman, Hope, and House Beautiful magazines, and has won 3 Matrix Awards for her writing.

==> Motivational speaker, Tonja has been a keynote presenter at national and international conferences over the last 30 years.

==> Author of materials for educators and parents (7 books, six music albums and 2 videos), which have won 22 awards.

Some Speaking and Media Highlights:

==> Keynote speaker for 2004 Women’s Issues Network Conference, Sumter, SC.

==> Keynote speaker for 2002 Parents as Teachers International Conference, St. Louis, MO.

==> Keynote speaker for 1999 International Conference for Children & Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder.

==> Keynote speaker for 1998 European Education Conference, in Mannheim, Germany.

==> Keynote speaker in 35 U.S. states at educational conferences.

==> Presenter at the International Special Olympics in Notre Dame, at the request of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

==> Created Space Songs for Children, at the request of NASA (album taken into space by astronauts three times.)

==> Appeared on CNN’s Showbiz Today and many other TV shows.

Educational and Professional Qualifications:

==> National Fellow (U.S. Dept. of Education.) M.A. in Human Development and Education, with an emphasis on creativity.

==> Master Certified Singles Relationship Coach, Relationship Coaching Institute.

==> Personal Life Coach, Graduate, Institute for Life Coach Training.

==> Member, International Coaching Federation