Never neglect date night. I know. You've got it in your heads that date night gets expensive. You want the dinner out and the fun evening out. Here's the thing, that gets old even when you can afford it. So don't worry now about how you don't even have the money for the dollar menu at McDonald's. Just find something to do together and have fun with it.
Date night is hugely important. It's a time every week for you to focus exclusively on each other. There are no distractions and if you want to you can make rules like no bringing up current arguments or boring household stuff. Just talk about you. Right now you can spend hours dreaming about your future because it's so wide open. Have fun with it.
Some of Dad and I's most romantic dates were at home dates. we put the kids to bed and I made him a nice dinner. We played music and danced in the living room with the lights turned low. Then we snuggled on the couch watching a movie we already owned. It was lovely and it didn't cost us a dime.
You are both very creative; come up with things you can do together. If you can't, there's a lot of lists on the internet that can give you ideas. Here's the one I found that sparked this post:
68 Cheap or Free Dates
Pick a day for date night and go. You might think that just because right now it's just the two of you date nights aren't that big of a deal. Date night (or afternoon!) changes the dynamic. You are more focused on each other and on your relationship. Date night keeps you friends for the long term in ways that other things can't.
Date your spouse. Always.
